Microsoft will not include InfoPath and OneNote as part of the Office suite sold at retail or installed on new computers, the company will disclose Wednesday. Microsoft had left some doubt about whether these new applications would be included with Office suites. OneNote will not be available with any of the bundles, while InfoPath will come with Office 2003 Professional Enterprise Edition. Microsoft plans to only make that version available to businesses subscribing to the company's volume licensing program. Six Office System bundles will be available, including a new addition for small businesses and another to be installed on new PCs. Microsoft plans to ship Office System this summer.
"By offering different versions of Microsoft Office 2003 for different types of customers with different needs, we will be able to offer customers the latest productivity tools that fit their needs and the way they want to purchase their software," said a company spokesman.
Some analysts said offering of InfoPath only to volume-licensing customers is an attempt to make Office 2003 more appealing and as another peace for some ill will created by the Licensing 6.0 program. Microsoft announced the controversial plan in May 2001. On Aug. 1, it fully enacted Licensing 6, where under two- or three-year "Software Assurance" contracts companies pay for discounted upgrades in advance of receiving the software. The new program, which research firm Gartner estimated would raise licensing fees between 33 percent and 107 percent, also eliminated off-the-shelf upgrades that allowed businesses to purchase the software when they wanted.
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News source: c|net
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