Microsoft Works 9 without ads
Many of us look down at Microsoft Works, and for good reason. It’s a stripped down office suite that doesn’t hold a candle to Microsoft Office or any of the open source/freeware alternatives. It costs PC manufacturers next to nothing to bundle Microsoft Works with new computers, and that’s often why it is included.
Unfortunately I don’t think it is going away anytime soon. As expected Microsoft has begun offering an ad-supported version called Works SE 9.0, where SE stands for Sponsored Edition. They believe that they can make more money by providing an ad-supported version than they currently receive directly from the manufacturers, and the manufacturers are therefore not charged a dime for distributing it.
Microsoft is currently running this program in five countries: The United States, France, Canada, Poland, and the United Kingdom. You can’t download Works SE 9.0 as a standalone program, but if you look close enough you might start to see which manufacturers have jumped on board. Even Sony’s $3,200 Laptop includes the ad-sponsored version:
Microsoft Works SE 9.0 w/ 60-Day Trial Version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
It will be interesting to see how this pans out for Microsoft. If they make enough money from it then we might see more of their products following a similar route in the future.
[via CNet]
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Tags: Software, Computers, Cost, Microsoft
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Actually if they refresh the Windows 95-era icons in the individual apps and polish it up a bit more, then I feel it’s a rather powerful program that easily beats Google Docs, save for the connectivity and certain online advantages that Google Docs offers.
I find it disgusting that high end Windows laptops stil lcome bundled with crapware, even when the manufacturer has NO financial incentive to bundle it, and every incentive (customer goodwill, good press) for not.
(of course, I’m being charitable and assume that Sony does not in fact make money from the ads)
True, I do think that half the problem is that it looks dated. But it also saves in odd file formats that are not very universally accepted, and that’s one of the other things that has always bugged me.
MS Works came free, bundled with my computer as well as other useful applications. IMHO, it’s a pretty good program which could be used by elementary and high school students.
It doesn’t hurt to get it for free with a few ads. As your needs grow, then you can later evolve into Word, PowerPoint, Excel or what have you.
I agree that it is good for beginners, but the file formats are not the traditional ones that people would expect. That means that they couldn’t take a paper they wrote to school and work on it unless they have Microsoft Works installed. Maybe Microsoft has changed that in one of the latest versions, but I know that was always a huge complaint.