>
http://winsupersite.com/article/office-2013-beta2/office-2013-pricing-packaging-144267
>
>
> Apparently the subscription-based Office product has such a fantastic
> price that "it's a no-brainer".
>
> Is it just me? Personally, I'm appalled at Microsoft's latest attempt to
> suck money out of my wallet. And I'm baffled as to why this reviewer is
> so excited about the prospect...
>
> So let's see now. I can purchase a copy of Office, and then use it.
> Forever. (Lest you doubt this, my mother is still running Office 95.)
>
> Alternatively, I can pay $100, every single year, for the rest of my
> life, to get... exactly the same thing?
>
> In WHICH UNIVERSE is that better??
>
> Oh, but apparently that makes me a "luddite". Ho hum...

Unlike cars or washing machines, which eventually break, software 
doesn't, so in theory, unless your mom needs additional functionality 
from her word-processor, she will never need to upgrade.  Therefore, at 
one point, everyone in the world will have a copy of Office and 
Microsoft's business would have to operate on the replacement model 
(like cars and washing machine suppliers already do), which can't 
sustain them, so they need to artifically generate demand for new versions.

At first they did it by putting more and more features in the software, 
but by now most people realise they don't need 90% of what Office can do 
(it was already true back in the days of WordPerfect 5.1, but people 
hadn't caught up to that yet), so they keep the version they already have.

To keep pleasing its shareholders, Micrsosoft needs to keep the money 
flowing in and their only recourse is to move to the next level, which 
is the protection racket.

They've been trying to "float" the subscription model for years, but the 
industry was very reluctant to jump on board.  Now with Office365, they 
have a foot in the door with large corporate customers, so they think 
they can do the same with the retail customers.

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