> Here is kind of where you are right and wrong. And here is where I disagree with you. > Corel is now marketing a version of Word Perfect, but that power > house has now become a joke of a program. > > This is one case where MS used their monopolistic market muscle to > force people into using their version and upgrade. (Many of these > clients are on contract to do so.)
There is no mechanism to force people to stop using older versions of Office and upgrade to v. 2007. If you want to buy a new version, no, they won't sell you the old one, but you can probably pick one up on eBay. These clients you refer to are most likely on their Software Assurance licensing system, which provides upgrades at no cost beyond the initial license cost. It's the hook to get you to rent the s/w instead of buying it. AFAIK, there is no "forced upgrade" provision in there. You only have the right to get the upgrade at no additional cost. There is no requirement to use SA and companies are still free to use Open License or just buy in bulk (or use something else altogether). There are several free, open source alternatives to Office available, including Google Docs, which our new glitterati Fed CIO started moving the DC gubmint to when he was the DC CIO. Many .orgs have moved to Open Office to take advantage of the significant cost savings. I recommend it to staff who ask about getting an office suite, but some still insisted on getting MS Office. > I am not sure but I think 07 Office is showing about as much > penetration as Vista is, which means not as much as they would have > liked to see. > > (If it were sex, the one partner would be asking is it in yet! :-( ) So, about those church "services" of yours, Rev.... ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
