How much will Office 2010 cost?

cloud8521 said:

my wallet is crying... why does this cost more then the os?

Unfortunately, that is the way that it has always been with Microsoft Office. Microsoft makes quite a bit of money from businesses and such on licensing for the Office suite...which many businesses have to stay current on. For home use though...I generally don't see that much need to stay current with Microsoft office.

rbmorse said:

A TechNet subscription is nice, but keep in mind it imposes its own set of restrictions on how the software can be used. Probably not something that affects too many people here, but all it takes is a few selfish sociopaths to get caught misusing the program to convince Microsoft to restrict availability or eliminate the program completely. Which would be a shame as the MSDN subscription with the closest equivalent "Software Benefits" package (Visual Studio Professional with MSDN Premium) runs about $2,500 USD.

As far as Technet goes, I called Microsoft on the issue and they have no problems whatsoever if a home hobbyist buys a copy of Technet and uses all of the software provided on multiple computers within their own home for their own personal use. Microsoft only has an issue if you try to run or support a business with Technet software or if you share your technet software/keys with another person. Personally though, I feel that if you obtain your OS's and Office through Technet...then you should be renewing this Technet subscription year after year. I know many will disagree with me on this, but based on the amount of money saved on what you are using...it's not going to cost that much more (if any) to keep your Technet subscriptions current.



Microsoft is not likely to discontinue Technet as they make quite a bit of money off it that would otherwise likely be lost as people using Technet software would have likely obtained their software through other means.

MSDN costs more than Technet...but it's typically because you get more software and you also have the right to use said software in a business environment. In fact, if purchases for work use by your employer....I don't believe that it allows copies to be used outside of the office (for example, in the developers home).

I looked at the info on subscriptions on the TN site. Excuse me for being so dense. How do it work? I am interested in Office 2010 with Access which puts it in the $400 range retail. How would I benefit from a TechNet subscribe? I'm just trying to cut down on the surprises if I do subscribe.

HammerHead said:

I looked at the info on subscriptions on the TN site. Excuse me for being so dense. How do it work? I am interested in Office 2010 with Access which puts it in the $400 range retail. How would I benefit from a TechNet subscribe? I'm just trying to cut down on the surprises if I do subscribe.

Technet is a software subscription service from Microsoft. The retail cost is $349 for the 1st year. There are however discount codes available online which I have seen which drop that cost down to around $250-$265.

Technet provides all of the client operating systems (Windows XP, Vista, 7), as well as the server operating systems (Server 2003, Server 2008, etc), as well as the Office products. They provide approx 10 licenses for each product on the site...which would mean that you could install Windows 7 on 5 home computers with Office 2007 on those 5 home computers all legally for a cost of about $249-$349..depending upon any discount codes you might find.

So for anybody technical with a couple of computers at home with a desire to run Microsoft software...and a desire to not pirate...you cannot beat the price of Technet for what you get.

How much will Office 2010 cost?

For me? $25 for the full package(under my employers 'work from home' licensing agreement with Microsoft). I knew there was ONE advantage to be stuck in a boring-as-sh*t University job