Microsoft Office XP not subscription based.
  05/07/2001 9:22:47 AM MDT Albuquerque, Nm
  By Dustin D. Brand; Owner AMO

Office XP won't be subscription based in the US, but will be in other select locations.   REVERSING their previous decision, and in a smart direction I think, Microsoft decided not to offer Office XP via a subscription model in the United States, a company representative said late Friday.

  The upgrade to the Office productivity suite, which will be formally released at an event in New York on May 31, is in line with MSFT's ability to move to a "software as a service" model.

  Their original plan, which was unveiled at Comdex last fall, was to sell Office XP both in stores and through a subscription model, which would offer users bug fixes, enhancements, and other updates automatically over the Web.

  However, company officials last week decided to scrap the subscription model in the United States in an effort ensure that customers receive a "near-perfect experience with how this [upgrade] is delivered," the Microsoft representative said.

  Office XP will be available through a subscription model "in a few select locations" elsewhere in the world, the representative said, adding that Microsoft eventually will offer Office in a subscription model in the United States.

  One the of the biggest products Microsoft offers is Office, and Office XP will be no different, however this time around Microsoft has $100 million invested in Corel, the leading competitor to Microsoft's Office with their WordPerfect offering. Subscription model or not, here in the US and the rest of the world, Office is standard.

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