Mediaboss Marketing

When Microsoft Office finally got off its duff this spring and released versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the iPad, it was a big departure for a company that has been careful not to undermine its money-printing Office software. But its decision Thursday to make the software free marks a more drastic shift and brings Microsoft more in line with newer competitors.

In March, Microsoft (MSFT) required anyone who wanted to create or edit documents on their iPads to buy a $99-a-year subscription to Office 365. People without subscriptions could use the apps to read documents but not to create or edit them. Now people will have full use of the programs for free; Microsoft will still charge for advanced features such as unlimited storage and Dropbox integration.

The model for many new software companies, especially on mobile, is to draw huge numbers of people with basic services, then rely on a group of core users to pay for features that are needed only for heavy use. Microsofts traditional software strategy has been the opposite: It makes software, and everyone pays to use it. But the company apparently decided that the only way to compete against free was to be free itself. It is also introducing a version of its Office software for Android tablets, further expanding its reach.

For Microsoft, the iPad is a gateway to the desktop. The PC version of Office will still require a subscription, and Microsoft is hoping that people accustomed to using the mobile versions will eventually feel compelled to have the same experience on their personal computers.

The risk here is that companies building tablet computers will succeed in their efforts to build mobile devices that replace laptops altogether. The distinction between mobile and PC computing is becoming less clear, and the distinctions between a smartphone and a tablet, or a tablet and a laptop, could be hard to draw in the future.If this happens, Microsoft could succeed in its goal of getting the mobile generation hooked on Officeand end up being worse off because of it.

Read the original post:
Microsoft Makes Office Free for Mobile

Since the Steve Ballmer era, Microsoft has struggled to find its niche in the fast-paced tech world. It has been accused of falling behind small start-ups and failing to create innovative products.But in recent months, Microsoft's new leadership has made changes in an attempt to bring the company back to the forefront of technology.

Microsoft released a new version of its Office suite for the iPhone and iPad Thursday. The software, which includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, improves thepreviousiOS version and update the iPad apps released in March and hasalready been downloaded 40 million times. The iPad app had all the capabilities of the desktop Office version. But it required a subscription. Now, in a major move, Microsoft is giving its software away for free. The new iPad and iPhone apps allow users to utilize basic features for free and will charge customers for premium features, such as security tools.

"The most striking first impression made by Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the iPhone is how great they look on theiPhone 6andiPhone 6 Plus,"wroteWired'sMarcus Wohlsen. "On these big, crisp screens, working on documents doesnt feel like a kludgy compromise anymore. Microsofts designers have figured out how to minimize the intrusion of menus without dropping the functionality that desktop users take for granted."

Microsoft is still working on a general version of the app for Android devices, but Android users can download a preview version of the app. The company didn't release a date when it will launch a complete version.Because Android and iOS devices far outnumber Microsoft's mobile operating system, the company's challenge is to create a version of its software for all the different operating systems and devices.Microsoft is trying to circumvent that challenge by developing a Web-based version of the software that can be used on smaller screens, Michael Atella, Microsoft's Office apps product management,told the Associated Press.

"With Office on nearly every device, its incredibly important to us that customers have a consistent experience and the ability to do more anywhere and everywhere," John Case, Microsoft's corporate vice president,wrote in a blog post.

The new apps mark a major shift in priorities for the once device-minded company. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, who took over in February, has said he wants the company to focus on mobile and Web-based products. A much needed change due to the decreasing number of PCs sold. For years customers and businesses have began buying mobile and tablet devices, but Office, one of Microsoft's cornerstone products, wasn't available for these devices.

"The relaunch of the companys most iconic suite as free software on its arch-rivals most iconic mobile device marks a turning point," Mr. Wohlsenwrote. "Instead of trying to cram mobile computing into a shape that fits its old model, Microsoft is reshaping itself to fit what mobile computing already has become."

Microsoft has already made a push to enter the cloud storage market with its Office 365, launched in 2013. The product offers unlimited online file storage and updated apps for $7 to $10 a month. The product already has 7 million customers. And this week, Microsoft announced a partnership with Dropbox, a data storage service, to allow documents stored in Dropbox to be easily edited by Microsoft's software.

Mr. Case said he expects these moves to be positive for the company.

"This is not a small change," he told The New York Times.

Read more:
Office for iOS shows Microsoft's shifting philosophy

Anonymity and evolution - Waldo Vieira (Conscientiology) - English subtitles
Watch more videos on http://conscientiology.blogspot.com/ Video in Portuguese with English subtitles. Original taken

By: http://www.youtube.com/user/AEpicon/videos (Edited with free software,...

By: Conscientia Universalis

Read more:
Anonymity and evolution - Waldo Vieira (Conscientiology) - English subtitles - Video

Binary Options Trading Live Signals Robot 2014 - Make 1,000$ A Day
Click here: http://binaryoptionstradingz.com/Binary-Options-Trading-1 --------------------------------------------------------...

By: Binary Options Trading Live Signals Robot 2014

More here:
Binary Options Trading Live Signals Robot 2014 - Make 1,000$ A Day - Video

Equipment and Out-of-body Experience - Waldo Vieira (Projectiology) - English subtitles
Watch more videos on http://conscientiology.blogspot.com/ Video in Portuguese with English subtitles. Original taken

By: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRb4kDcxf1o (Edited with free software,...

By: Conscientia Universalis

Link:
Equipment and Out-of-body Experience - Waldo Vieira (Projectiology) - English subtitles - Video