So Office 2013 is out. Microsoft is aggressively promoting Office 2013 as a home user product – businesses will get slammed on pricing.
But for a home user that is willing to entrust all their files to the cloud (and to the stability and speed of their internet connection), Office 2013 is available on a subscription basis for $99 per year for up to 5 home licenses. But to repeat: that depends on your internet connection. If you do any serious work (Microsoft even advertises videoconferencing) WiFi just won’t cut it. Further, if you ever stop subscribing, all your files turn to dust... er, read only copies.
That’s the good news. For a business, however, the news is different. The “official” price for 2013 Home and Business (the version most businesses will probably buy), there appears to be only a $20 increase, from $199.99 to $219.99. However, 2013 Office is for one computer only, whereas 2010 Office could be installed on 3 computers. So for a business that needs to have software installed on users’ office and home computers, it will cost them up to $659.97 for the same number of licenses. Let’s see, $659.97 vs. $199.99 – how much of a price increase is that?
And there’s more. The 2013 Office is permanently tied to the computer it was first installed on. If you get a new computer, you cannot transfer the license, you have to buy a new copy. So if you upgrade your computers, that’s another $220 or more. How much is the cost of Office 2013 up to now?
And there’s more. Microsoft has eliminated upgrade pricing. For a limited time (until the end of April), if you can find a copy of Office 2010 and buy it you can get a free upgrade to 2013. Other than that, upgrade pricing is gone.
But what about features?
As usual, for all things Microsoft I rely heavily on Woody Leonhard. His review of Office 2013 concludes that: “We’ve been using Office 2013 for a long time now and while it has some nice additions there’s nothing really compelling that would justify the cost of upgrading...We’ve read some Office 2013 comments talking about the ‘big improvement’ in Office 2013. But frankly we can’t see it and nor can we see it after reading those glowing reports.” (Click here for the full review).
As for features – what if you don’t want to trust your data to the reliability your internet connection and the cloud? A useful summary in Infoworld provides some help to people who want to fix what the review terms “enraging flaws” in Office 2013, including how to disable the SkyDrive default.
Lastly, look closely at the features you need (footnotes, indexes, etc.). Some or all of these may not be available in the Cloud. Ditto if you use anything but generic Microsoft fonts. Check carefully before you take the leap.
But for a home user that is willing to entrust all their files to the cloud (and to the stability and speed of their internet connection), Office 2013 is available on a subscription basis for $99 per year for up to 5 home licenses. But to repeat: that depends on your internet connection. If you do any serious work (Microsoft even advertises videoconferencing) WiFi just won’t cut it. Further, if you ever stop subscribing, all your files turn to dust... er, read only copies.
That’s the good news. For a business, however, the news is different. The “official” price for 2013 Home and Business (the version most businesses will probably buy), there appears to be only a $20 increase, from $199.99 to $219.99. However, 2013 Office is for one computer only, whereas 2010 Office could be installed on 3 computers. So for a business that needs to have software installed on users’ office and home computers, it will cost them up to $659.97 for the same number of licenses. Let’s see, $659.97 vs. $199.99 – how much of a price increase is that?
And there’s more. The 2013 Office is permanently tied to the computer it was first installed on. If you get a new computer, you cannot transfer the license, you have to buy a new copy. So if you upgrade your computers, that’s another $220 or more. How much is the cost of Office 2013 up to now?
And there’s more. Microsoft has eliminated upgrade pricing. For a limited time (until the end of April), if you can find a copy of Office 2010 and buy it you can get a free upgrade to 2013. Other than that, upgrade pricing is gone.
But what about features?
As usual, for all things Microsoft I rely heavily on Woody Leonhard. His review of Office 2013 concludes that: “We’ve been using Office 2013 for a long time now and while it has some nice additions there’s nothing really compelling that would justify the cost of upgrading...We’ve read some Office 2013 comments talking about the ‘big improvement’ in Office 2013. But frankly we can’t see it and nor can we see it after reading those glowing reports.” (Click here for the full review).
As for features – what if you don’t want to trust your data to the reliability your internet connection and the cloud? A useful summary in Infoworld provides some help to people who want to fix what the review terms “enraging flaws” in Office 2013, including how to disable the SkyDrive default.
Lastly, look closely at the features you need (footnotes, indexes, etc.). Some or all of these may not be available in the Cloud. Ditto if you use anything but generic Microsoft fonts. Check carefully before you take the leap.
MS also reversed their policy about not swithching computers. I just bought a copy of office 2013 home and business from an online store for a client for $168. Pretty good deal.
Posted by: Adam | March 20, 2013 at 03:53 PM
I actually find most of the blog here very informative. There aren't many like it that cover law office technology and have this kind of insight and information. I happen to use PCLaw and Worldox so I check back here often. I think he has decided to take a negative view of Microsoft, as many people have, and I see quite the opposite. Microsoft's product line up has never been stronger.
He is right about at least about some of the negativity he has heaped on PCLaw support. The product as a whole has gone downhill since Lexis acquired it. It seems the same thing is happening with Time Matters. PCLaw 12 does seem to be improvement though.
Mr. Hungus, you say he is wrong about how bad Time Matters is, yet you also say the program is outdated. Also your name is spelled Karl not Carl.
Posted by: Jackie Treehorn | March 06, 2013 at 08:49 AM
Sounds like this is just one of the many things that John Heckman is wrong about. He was a Time Matters consultant for many years, then when they booted him from the program, all he could talk about was how bad Time Matters was & still does this to this day. Seems like he is becoming as outdated as the programs he still supports.
Posted by: Carl Hungus | March 04, 2013 at 10:13 AM
I think you paint a distorted picture of office 2013. I have a subscription to Office 2013 home, which is actually called office 365 home as all the subscription based office products are called office 365. I don't have to entrust all my files to the cloud. I can save them wherever I want. I can use office and access skydrive files offline as it creates local copies and syncs them with skydrive when I am back online. If I ever cancel my subscription, my files are just fine. Office 2013 goes into read only mode, just like any expired trial version of office. You also get 20GB extra skyrive storage, 60 minutes of free skype calls, install on 5 devices and the ability to stream office on an unlimited number of devices.
As for comparisons to office 2010 your numbers are off. First of all there is no upgrade pricing in 2010 either. MS dropped upgrade pricing in 2010. The office 2010 retail box version could be installed on two PC's, not three and the retail price is $280 not $199. The product key card version, which is all they sell now for 2013 - the retail box DVD is gone, is for one user in 2010 and 2013 and costs around $200. If you wanted to install office on 3 devices you would better off with a office 365 subscription, whether you are a home user or business.
Office 365 for business not only allows the multiple device installations, but also gives you exchange email, sharepoint, and lync server depending on which business level you get. Microsoft has made a very compelling model to switch an entire office (or family)to subscription based office and also nudge the IT department into moving their servers into MS's cloud.
Posted by: Adam Z | February 27, 2013 at 10:01 AM