And so it begins...

I have a natural dislike of subscription services, for software, but not sure if it's the right way to be. If you upgrade whenever the latest release is issued It may be that subscription is the cheaper option, I know there's the statement that you never own the software, but technically the same is true with the current system. Obviously if you are part of the majority of users who keep using software long after the upgrade to the "latest and Greatest" is available then the subscription model fails.

Seems if a product isn't selling it goes monthly to make it more affordable,
Seems Adobe is using the same mind set to increase Photoshop.....,
I did try the cc6 release but it was 10 bucks a month which I doubt I'll pay anymore or even re-subscribe but regularly 49.99 a month,
Too many free offerings that aren't bloated,
Constant revenues I believe is the mind set or model,
Cheers.

A lot of software these days also seem to be implementing "silent updates".
So, considering just this side of things, you have a problem with each major update - they introduce plenty of bugs. Then it takes weeks or months for those bugs to be rectified. If you are a business and dependent on those products god help you.

The moral - you have lost control of your own computing environment.

Here in Aus we get charged foreign transaction fees (~ 3%). Don't know if the subscription would be billed from M$ Australia, but they would just add on extra anyway. We have often paid 40% more than the US for software.

Like Jimbo, we purchased office 2010 Home and Student for $99. We were allowed to install it on 3 PCs. So $33 per PC for around 4 years = $8.25 per year. Haven't seen the AU pricing yet, but if it's $6.99 per month USD that will be $8.99 per month AUD, or around $108 per year. That's one hell of a massive price increase already.

And that's for one PC. So if I were to have this subscription for the 5 PCs that used office, I would be up for $44.95 per month. I'm on a pension. That's completely unaffordable. Whether I like it or not, I would then be forced to stop using Microsoft products and find free or cheaper alternatives.

M$ again have blown off more customers and priced themselves out of the market.

And yet another person who has control of your bank account. Here in AU, no bank can/will protect you from companies taking money from your account if you do it via a card number, which in most cases is the only option.

For example, I had a contract with the ISP Dodo. I cancelled my contract with them verbally and in writing. They kept taking money out of my account. I had to close my bank account to stop them.

If you cancel your M$ subscription they too potentially can just keep charging you. I'm sure there will be cancellation notification periods, possibly even (eventually if not initially), minimum subscription periods and so on. Add that to the potential price.

I like it this way.
Go to the store and buy Office.
Install Office using the DVD and install the key.
Now you can keep Office updated and use it any time you want to.
**
At this point none of you Office personal information is in a Cloud.
Their is not bank account information floating around the net for hackers.
You don't have to be online to use Office.
**
If your business needs of Microsoft Office only extends to month at a time you don't have a Office program problem you have a business problem.

I don't feel bad at all now with '07. :)

Seriously I mean it's word documents, occasional spreadsheets & power point. MS can pack sand if they want me to think I need a newer version of office for that. They can pack that sand in other orifices if they think I'm going to subscribe to their cloud / 365 plan.