For Office 2007 at home, Outlook is out, OneNote is in
Summary: Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the name of its next Office package and some details about pricing and packaging. The new name - Office 2007 - isn't a surprise. Nor is the mix of applications that make up the business-oriented SKUs. But one of the bundles jumps off the list because it's just so different.
Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the name of its next Office package. (The press release is here; follow the links in the sidebar to download Word documents containing details about pricing and packaging.)
The new name - Office 2007 - isn't a surprise. Nor is the mix of applications that make up the business-oriented SKUs. But one of the bundles jumps off the list because it's just so different. And I think I know why.
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 is the successor to Office Student and Teacher Edition. The new name reflects the reality that this low-cost edition (estimated retail price of $149, street price typically $120) is priced for budget-conscious buyers who can't charge the cost of the software to their business. Although the exact license terms aren't in the press release, this edition will probably adhere to the same conditions as its predecessor, which can be installed and activated on up to three computers and specifically prohibits upgrades or any business-related use.
So what's different? Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition was essentially identical to Office 2003 Standard Edition, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook in the box. For the 2007 release, Outlook is out and OneNote is in.
This packaging decision is baffling for two reasons.
- This is the only one of the new Office versions that doesn't include Outlook. Even the bare-bones Office Basic includes Outlook. Does Microsoft think that its home customers don't want a full-featured personal information manager? Do they think that Outlook is somehow too complex for home users?
- This is also the only Office version that includes OneNote. The implication, I guess, is that Microsoft has decided to position OneNote as a student tool and downplay its usefulness to business users.
In the 2003 editions, there is a clear upgrade path from every edition. The Basic edition includes Outlook, Word, and Excel. If you pay extra to get the Standard edition, you get those applications plus PowerPoint. Upgrade to the Small Business Edition and you get Publisher and Outlook's Business Contact Manager add-in. Go one step further to Office Professional and you get all that plus Access. The mix of products in each edition is a superset of the previous edition.
The new line-up doesn't offer any of these clean upgrade paths. If you're a home user who wants Outlook, you'll have to pay extra for it. Likewise, if you want OneNote at work, you can only get it as a supplement. Update: As Milly Staples points out in the comments, OneNote is included with the Enterprise Edition; that's only available with Volume License copies, however, meaning it's not an option for small businesses and retail buyers.
In fact, there is only one explanation that makes sense here. How many small businesses do you think were paying $120 for up to three licensed installations of Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition instead of paying $299 for each copy of the otherwise identical Standard edition? By cutting Outlook, Microsoft eliminates one of the core applications for business users and removed the incentive to cheat on the license terms.
Unfortunately, home users who want to take advantage of Outlook are the ones who pay for that decision.
Update: Microsoft has published a chart that shows the contents of each Office 2007 version.
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Talkback
Complicated and a new show of Greed
Maybe I'm missing something, but I haven't seen any great leaps in technology in the product since Office 2000.
Forget Microsoft and look at Open Office.
I looked...
Perhaps another reason for the strange home edition?
At that price point, the big question to me is how long do they keep putting out new versions of Microsoft Works?
On Works.
Now there's a cheap version of Office for home use, including by schoolchildren. Now Works can go back to being what it was, a $40 recipe book and shopping list accumulator, and source of other computerized conveniences.
By the way, I think the cost of Home (version of Office) will drop closer to $100 once the new version interest subsides.
Perhaps there's a Live angle here too
In my view, a big mistake
Give me an example please.
from Joe Six
I think I am a general user and about the only reason why I use MS Office is because of Outlook. I use the contacts part and the agenda for simple things as a reminder at birthdays, an appointment with the dentist and so on. Without Outlook, MS Office has lost any advantage over Open Office for me.
From Jeff Six pack
We sycnh our PDAs to our calendar that way our work schedules are on the home computer as well. We have our Contacts with birthdays, anniversaries, etc. in there. We keep track of tasks for things like rebates (it'll pop up on the day we should have received it and we can call to check on them). I open Notes when I'm on the phone to "jot" stuff down...I know, they want me to use OneNote for that. :-)
About the only thing in Outlook that is not used at all in this household is Journal. Part of the reason for that is that I have NO IDEA what it is! :D
Outlook may in fact be underused, but I think OneNote might suffer the same fate. I have OneNote on a desktop and a laptop and I *rarely* use it anymore. I would probably use it on a TabletPC, but without 'inking' it loses some relevance to me. The public point of the Microsoft decision is that they imagine some increased value to the consumer of OneNote over Outlook and I don't share that vision. In my view, consumers at home...just like consumers at work, use email, calendars, tasks, etc., and Outlook allows them to do all of that digitally. Even "Joe Six pack" could find value in that.
Dropping Outlook makes some sense...
"From what I?ve read there was a good amount of research that went into the decision to include OneNote in the Home and Student package as opposed to Outlook. The research showed that the vast majority of Student and Teacher edition users used Web-based email applications such as hotmail ? in fact Outlook usage was in the single digits."
(http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/archive/2006/02/15/532998.aspx#533288)
Windows Vista is going to include a full-featured calendaring application, as well. As a whole, most home users barely scratch the surface of Outlook's capabilities. If you're so upset, then buy Outlook standalone, or buy Office Standard edition which will include it. But for the majority, Outlook Express/Windows Mail + Windows Calendar will do just fine.
How ablut the fact very, very FEW home users...
Lots of families use Outlook's calendar
Your estimation of home usage may be skewed. Spend a few years (I have) in the Microsoft Outlook news groups and you will see the number of home users who have questions about getting the full experience from Outlook.
Plus, rememeber, a growing segment of families are purchasing SBS with Exchange to be able to collaborate using shared calendars and contacts.
I think you need to take your own advice and not project onto others how you perceive Outlook's home user base.
Appointments in Vista?
Can anyone provide details?
I've thought the Outlook appointments functionality was oriented to sales staff, more complicated than I needed.
I've been using simple calendar freeware, though I haven't found one that works easily and smoothly enough to recommend.
But I think basic functionality in the operating system could be enough.
not sure, but...
where is this data coming from
One of the things about these decisions and our ensuing arguments is that people will make grand arguments based on their "knowledge" about the current use of the masses. The truth is that we don't know what the masses are doing. In my VERY limited, non scientific, archaic and biased induced, non-study...I find Outlook to be a very popular program that enhances the organization of people's lives and provides value to that box of ones and zeros with the pretty screen.
Correction Ed
Only with VL
Where do you say "small business" in your article?
As usual, in this as with your other published opinions, you paint Microsoft as wrong with the broad tar brush and then issue a "correction" days after you have disseminated this information with a "oops, mea culpa."
Oh, and by the way, volume licenses are available in many flavors, starting with the basic 5 product volume license.
Last time I bother correcting you or your other employer.
No Upgrade Necessary
From what I can tell by the time Office 2003 no longer provides me with happiness, Open Office will be a well tuned and entrenched alternative path which I will take.
I no longer have any plans to upgrade any Microsoft Software any time in the future.
office
cheers
gianfranco, italy