Office 2013 License Longevity

Microsoft Office 2013.svg

   With the release of Microsoft's Office 2013 package comes a new policy regarding licensing. It is really only new from the perspective of previous Microsoft office packages; however, it is important to realize that if you or I were to install this new package today and the computer we have installed it on becomes unusable that license will also be unusable.

   This carries with it some very unfortunate potential loss of resources for anyone who for instance were to install an Office 2013 License on a machine that was already out of warranty. One might not otherwise think of this being is a potential problem because in the past one would simply re-install the software. This is evidently no longer true as with Office 2013 it is tied to the hardware upon which it is initially installed.

   Microsoft has made some very good advances in the eyes of many people regarding the cost of their products (and likely the quality of their products) but this licensing characteristic of Office 2013 is not likely to fall into the same graces. People don't want to spend money arbitrarily or with no specific guarantee as to the longevity of that which they are purchasing.

   Because of this, it seems likely that although office 2013 will likely make sales along with new machinery, is not so likely to make huge sales on its own. The question becomes will this be a new trend in Microsoft policies? The future will tell us the answer to that question as the results of hardware and software sales emerge and evolve throughout this year and the likely challenges to Microsoft policies do the same.

   Recommendation: Office 2013 has some very good potential but think carefully before buying it off the shelf as a stand-alone software package. Buying a nice new machine that has Office 2013 installed is probably a safe enough bet but that might just depend on betting on your machines warranty. You can read the Office 2013 EULA (paying attention to the paragraph titled "How can I use the software?") here.

 

 

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