Microsoft woos Office 2000 users

Microsoft appears to have been busy thinking up ways to encourage users in the UK to upgrade from its Office 2000 desktop productivity suite to the forthcoming Office XP release.

Users buying Office 2000 between now and 30 June will be able to obtain upgrades to Office XP free of charge, while the software giant will make a 'free' 30-day demo available to other customers. They will be charged $9.95 for postage and packaging, however.

Reports also suggest that Microsoft may provide potential customers with trial versions of its entire Office XP suite for the first time rather than offer them individual packages such as the Excel spreadsheet.

A national publication is expected to carry a cover-mounted version of the CD in May, and users may likewise be able to download the trial suite from the Microsoft UK website.

Industry analysts at the Gartner group have rated the product only as "nice to have" for Office 2000 users, but say it is "very attractive" to those currently running Office 97 on their PCs.

Office XP will be available in some retail stores and pre-installed on Dell machines from 31 May and will be rolled out elsewhere throughout June. Despite the name, you won't need Windows XP to run it.

The standard version of Office XP, which includes Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint, will cost £429 for new users, and £199 for those upgrading from either Office 97 or Office 2000.

See also:

Microsoft won't turn on Office light

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