Microsoft offers free office, but you are not after your surprises
Microsoft plays on two tables. On the one hand, the firm increases the prices of Microsoft 365, to the chagrin of its subscribers. On the other hand, it now offers to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free on Windows. Good news? Not without counterparts.
An option to use Office for free, but not without contradiction
From now on, at the launch of an Office application, a “Continue continued” button allows access to basic tools, without license or subscription. The offer is generous in appearance: edition and consultation of documents operate without major restrictions.
But Microsoft requires a size constraint: impossible to save a local file. Everything goes through OneDrive. In other words, without internet connection, it is impossible to access your own documents. A skillful way to push users to the company's cloud ecosystem.
Another point to note: advertisements invade the interface, in the form of a side banner. Microsoft leaves the choice: undergo the pubs or go to the checkout with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Less features, an incentive to pay in addition
If this free version allows you to carry out current tasks, it remains amputated many advanced features. No more dynamic cross paintings in Excel, animations in PowerPoint or layout tools in Word. Macros, smartarts and advanced personalization options also disappear.
This strategy recalls that ofOffice Onlineformerly accessible from a browser, but with even more restrictions. The objective is clear: attracting users with a “free” offer, while putting enough sticks on the wheels so that they end up paying.
A test in progress, without an official announcement
For the moment, not everyone has access to it. Some see the button to “continue for free”, others not. A progressive deployment, even a life -size test, to measure reactions before a global launch? Not really. HAS Pcworlda company representative indicated that it was carrying out “limited tests” and that it was not currently ” *not planned to launch a free version and funded by the advertising of Microsoft Office office applications. *”
It remains to be seen whether this approach will be put in place and will appeal to those who seek an alternative to paid office consequences. Or if she will only confirm what many already think: at Microsoft, nothing is never really free.
