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Microsoft to charge for Office beta

Hurmoth   on 29 July 2006 - 02:48 · 127 comments & 48264 views

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Microsoft plans next week to charge a nominal fee for Office 2007 Beta 2 downloads, in a move that runs counter to the practice held by most software companies.

Consumers who download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 will be charged $1.50 per download, beginning next Wednesday at 6 p.m. PDT, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.

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 spokeswoman said.

"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 spokeswoman said.

View: Full Article @ CNET News.com

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#1 shanepitman on 29 Jul 2006 - 03:52
The price is cheap, and is really a non-issue for no more than what it is. However, (and more importantly) in my opinion, this is a huge blunder for Microsoft in terms of PR. Of course it could be that this is Microsoft's way of saying "we know that the majority of those downloading our open betas aren't actively participating, submitting bugs etc, and this is an effective way to deal with those who are just leeching our bandwidth." Still yet, after announcing their "12 philosophies for not being evil" this doesn't sound like the most well thought out decision.

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