i first heard about this from watcing tech tv and now i found more on the story, Microsofts next version of office isnt gunna run on the 9x platform, itll only run on 2,000 and XP...heres the story:
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) has confirmed that the next version of its Office software will run on only the latest versions of its Windows operating system. Citing security and stability concerns, Microsoft will offer Office 11 only for Windows XP (news - web sites) and Windows 2000 (news - web sites) with Service Pack 3. This announcement does not bode well for users of earlier versions of Microsoft Windows who may want to upgrade their Office software.
Microsoft plans to releasing Office 11 in mid-2003, and started beta testing the product in mid-October. Some beta testers were unable to participate in the program because they use Windows 98 (news - web sites), 98 SE, Me or NT.
Observers say it is possible that Microsoft will reverse the policy, based on feedback from testers and from its user base.
Security and Stability
According to a posting by Microsoft on the Office 11 beta newsgroup, published by BetaNews, the company has a number of reasons for not offering Office 11 support for its earlier releases.
In addition to creating a better and more stable product, the decision is related to the company's push to improve security, according to the posting, which noted that Windows 9x is inherently unsecure.
The statement also pointed out that considerable development time is required to make new products work effectively on Windows 9x, and that Microsoft decided its resources could be used more effectively to make its programs work better on its more advanced platforms.
Veteran Microsoft watchers say ending support for earlier releases of Windows is also part of the company's move to create a single code base, based on 32-bit operating systems, for future Windows programs. This would eliminate the requirement for the company to support two code bases, as it did when it offered one code for businesses and consumers using Windows 95, and another for those running Windows NT.
Not only would the single code base cut costs for Microsoft, analysts say it also would likely result in better versions of the company's programs. Microsoft representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Repercussions Likely
While limiting compatibility for Office 11 to Windows 2000 and XP may be an impetus for consumers to upgrade, some of Microsoft's business clients will be unhappy with the costs involved.
"They're doing it because they can get away with it," Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio told NewsFactor. "This is vintage Microsoft." Didio noted that there is considerable resistance among corporate clients to upgrading in today's down economy.
The company's enterprise customers already have had to shoulder significantly increased software costs as a result of Microsoft's new licensing plan, which charges users an annual fee in exchange for access to upgrades. In response to these changes, DiDio said, some businesses have begun to explore lower-cost alternatives, such as OpenOffice.org and Sun's StarOffice.
Mammoth Task
On the other hand, DiDio said, Microsoft does have some justification for its new Office 11 upgrade policy. "It is a mammoth task to support multiple versions of multiple applications, OSes, and server systems. They just can't do it."
According to research firm IDC, approximately half of all Windows users will need to upgrade their OS if they want to use Office 11 when it is released in 2003.
DiDio noted that five years ago, sales of Office upgrades accounted for 50 percent of Microsoft's revenue, but that figure has declined steadily to about 26 percent.
"The reason for this decline is that the software has become evolutionary, not revolutionary," she said. In other words, because the newer releases offer only limited increases in functionality, companies are hard-pressed to justify the cost of upgrading.
i wasnt sure this was thee right spot to post this but it does say its forsecurity reasons that they are doing this... anyway thats still not cool of them.
