4 ms·

If you’re Microsoft, why not just make it 100% free? It’s 11 year old software that’s so irrelevant that they can’t be bothered to support anymore, right? What’

If you’re Microsoft, why not just make it 100% free? It’s 11 year old software that’s so irrelevant that they can’t be bothered to support anymore, right? What’s the harm? Oh wait, for 99% of users there is no difference between Office 2010 and Office 365. In fact, the only significant difference I can think of is the pricing model. If the old office were free, there would be almost no reason to use the latest version. Thanks, Microsoft. /s

Asooka 5y ago
Make it free for personal use, but unavailable for institutions.
gbrown 5y ago
When it works, the collaborative editing features are nice. It’s good to be able to do that in the native app rather than a browser.
- wizzwizz4 5y ago
  > When it works, the collaborative editing features are nice. It rarely works – but it's miles better than “this file has been locked for editing by somebody else”, so I'd still call it an improvement over 2010. (Just not an improvement over its competitors.)
  - gbrown 5y ago
    Within an institution where everyone has the same desktop app version, it’s ok. Especially if nobody is using the malignant cancer that is EndNote. I have a few collaborators with whom it’s not really feasible due to incompatible versions, but mostly it works for me.
ptsneves 5y ago
Because not fighting for your intellectual property has legal value, and even more PR value. Given the /s i am not sure this was not a joke.
- bigyikes 5y ago
  I edited my comment to add the /s to try and make it more clear but I think I made it less clear. Whoops. I think there are legitimate reasons they don’t give it away for free, like some replies have mentioned. I was trying to draw attention to the fact that Office 2010 works just fine for most use cases, making this activation kerfuffle and Office 365 in general seem even more like a soulless cash-grab.
tonyedgecombe 5y ago
Because the current version isn't significantly better?
- bigyikes 5y ago
  Yes, that is what I was trying to say.
Nexxxeh 5y ago
Security. Office 2010 is no longer receiving security updates.
- iggldiggl 5y ago
  Curiously enough, it did still receive updates for roughly half a year after the official support end, though.

Asooka 5y ago

Make it free for personal use, but unavailable for institutions.

gbrown 5y ago

When it works, the collaborative editing features are nice. It’s good to be able to do that in the native app rather than a browser.

wizzwizz4 5y ago
> When it works, the collaborative editing features are nice. It rarely works – but it's miles better than “this file has been locked for editing by somebody else”, so I'd still call it an improvement over 2010. (Just not an improvement over its competitors.)
- gbrown 5y ago
  Within an institution where everyone has the same desktop app version, it’s ok. Especially if nobody is using the malignant cancer that is EndNote. I have a few collaborators with whom it’s not really feasible due to incompatible versions, but mostly it works for me.

ptsneves 5y ago

Because not fighting for your intellectual property has legal value, and even more PR value. Given the /s i am not sure this was not a joke.

bigyikes 5y ago
I edited my comment to add the /s to try and make it more clear but I think I made it less clear. Whoops. I think there are legitimate reasons they don’t give it away for free, like some replies have mentioned. I was trying to draw attention to the fact that Office 2010 works just fine for most use cases, making this activation kerfuffle and Office 365 in general seem even more like a soulless cash-grab.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago

Because the current version isn't significantly better?

bigyikes 5y ago
Yes, that is what I was trying to say.

Nexxxeh 5y ago

Security. Office 2010 is no longer receiving security updates.

iggldiggl 5y ago
Curiously enough, it did still receive updates for roughly half a year after the official support end, though.