Microsoft Extends Half-Off Promotion for Win 7, Office 2007

Microsoft is aggressively pushing its small and medium business clients to make the move to Windows 7 and Office 2007. It announced an expansion of an existing promotion allowing business customers to upgrade to Windows 7 and the Office 2007 productivity suite at half off the suggested retail pricing.

To be eligible, customers must be part of Microsoft's Open Value Subscription (OVS) program and currently running one of the listed prior versions of those products. The original program--which expires June 30, 2010--included customers migrating from Windows Vista and Office 2003. Microsoft has now expanded the scope of the promotion to include customers upgrading from Windows XP and Office XP as well.

When it comes to operating systems and productivity suites for businesses, Microsoft's biggest competitor is itself. Alternative operating systems and office productivity applications exist, but pose little threat to Microsoft's dominance. However, tight budgets and a comfort level with the existing platform and applications can lead customers to complacency and apathy. Bottom line: if it ain't broke, why fix it?

On the Windows side of that equation, the answer is that it is, in fact, broken. Companies that have already made the switch to Windows Vista have less compelling incentives to upgrade, but the vast majority of customers still rely on Windows XP. The advantages offered by Windows 7 just in the areas of security, remote support and connectivity, and simplicity of networking justify the upgrade by themselves.

As for Office 2007, there are a couple of reasons business customers should consider taking advantage of Microsoft's generous offer. First, in addition to saving half off the suggested retail price of Office 2007, customers will also receive the associated Software Assurance benefits which include the ability to upgrade to Office 2010 for free when it is released later this year.

Second, customers that take advantage of this offer quickly--like this week--can still get Word 2007 with the XML-associated features Microsoft recently lost its court battle with i4i over. As of January 11, 2010, Microsoft can no longer sell Microsoft Word with the patented technology, so a modified version lacking the functionality will be sold. However, customers that jump on this deal and make the purchase prior to January 11, 2010 can still get the "complete" Word 2007.

The actual savings may vary, and in many cases won't truly be 50 percent. The reason is that business customers already have volume licensing agreements with volume discount pricing. The promotional offer is for 50 percent off suggested retail, but a company that is already used to getting 20 percent off as a volume discount will only get an additional 30 percent off--not 50 percent off of the discounted price they normally pay.

Source:

http://www.itnews.com/windows/12515/microsoft-extends-half-promotion-win-7-office-2007

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Google to end support for IE6

Google will phase out support for Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 Web browser starting in March, the company said Friday.

"Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers. We're also going to begin phasing out our support, starting with Google Docs and Google Sites," Rajen Sheth, Google Apps senior product manager, wrote in a blog post Friday.

The announcement comes more than two weeks after Google reported that its servers had been the target of attacks originating in China. Those attacks targeted a vulnerability in IE 6, for which Microsoft has since issued a fix.

Support for IE6 in Google Docs and Google Sites will end March 1, Sheth said in the post. At that point, IE6 users who try to access Docs or Sites may find that "key functionality" won't work properly, he said.

Sheth suggested that customers upgrade to Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 3.0, Google Chrome 4.0 or Safari 3.0, or more recent versions of those browsers.

According to StatCounter, IE6 has 18 percent market share among browsers.

Source:

http://www.itnews.com/browsers/13689/google-end-support-ie6

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Apple Briefly Cuts Student Price of MacBook to $728

Apple on Tuesday reduced the price of its least expensive notebook to $728 for students, teachers and educational staff.

The company's educational online store yesterday listed the MacBook for $728 , a 19% reduction from the new $899 standard price for students and teachers -- earlier, the educational price was $949 -- and 27% less than the $999 price tag for other customers.

It was the lowest price Apple had slapped on the MacBook since the machine first appeared in May 2006 for $1,099.

The MacBook sports a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive and integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics.

Apple's entry-level laptop was revamped Oct. 20 , when Apple started shipping the 13.3-in. notebook with a sleeker "unibody" enclosure, similar in look to the more expensive MacBook Pro line. Apple's MacBook remains the only Apple portable that uses a polycarbonate case; all others feature a more stylish and sturdy aluminum enclosure.

Computerworld's Michael DeAgonia called the MacBook "a solid deal" in his first take review last month, but noted that at its full price, it was only $200 less than the $1,199 low-end MacBook Pro, which features the aluminum case, a FireWire 800 port, an SD card slot, and backlit keyboard. The educational price for the entry-level MacBook Pro is $1,099.

Apple did spell out how long the MacBook's $728 educational price would last and by late Tuesday, the price was listed at $899.

College students, as well as teachers, administrators and staff at both college and K-12 levels, are eligible to purchase Apple products at the company's educational discounts.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld . Follow Gregg on Twitter @gkeizer , send e-mail at gkeizer@ix.netcom.com or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed .

Source:

http://www.itnews.com/mac/12401/apple-briefly-cuts-student-price-macbook-728

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