Office 2003 has been around for nearly four years and
Microsoft feels that it's time to send the old mare off to the glue factory.
According to Microsoft, OEM versions of Office 2003 will no longer be available
from Microsoft after June 30.
For those that still wish to use Office 2003, Eric Ligman --
Microsoft US Senior Manager for Small Business Community Engagement -- offers
this bit of advice: "Remember that for your clients wishing to run Office
2003 still today, by taking advantage of the downgrade rights included in the
Volume Licensing versions of Microsoft Office 2007, they can utilize Office
2003 today and then move to Office 2007 when they are ready without having to
re-buy their Office license like they would with OEM. Remember that OEM Microsoft Office does not
have downgrade rights."
Microsoft is now encouraging its OEMs to make the transition
to Office 2007. Microsoft released Office 2007 for volume licensing on November 30 and made
retail versions of the productivity suite available to customers on January 30.
Prices
for retail copies of Office 2007 range from $149 for Office Home and
Student 2007 to $499 for Office Professional 2007.
