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Consumers who download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 will be charged US$1.50 per download, beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m. PDT, a Microsoft representative said.
"Since the end of May, Beta 2 has been downloaded more than 3 million times...That's 500 percent more than what was expected," the representative said.
"The fee helps offset the cost of downloading from the servers."
Although Microsoft's Information Worker Product Management Group decided to initiate a fee for new users of Beta 2, the "technical refresh," or update, for current users of the software will remain free, the representative said.
Those who want to test drive Beta 2 to see how it works can access the software for free. But if they want to test it against their internal systems, a download or the CD is required.
"This is the first time Microsoft has charged for an Office beta, and it's not something that is planned for on a repeat basis," the representative said.
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Q: Do people still use MS's horrible office suite? A: Yep, the one's who have no clue... OpenOffice people. Unbelievable... and they want you to pay for the download/beta. Riiiiight.
Posted by anonymous on Tuesday, August 01 2006 12:00 AM