The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker launched Office XP on Thursday morning, during a New York gala officiated by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Adoption in those areas would be particularly nourishing for the industry, given that PC sales in the United States are down as much as 10 percent from early 2000, according to Technology Business Research analyst Lindy Lesperance.
Every little bit helps to drive sales, particularly with consumers and small businesses.
Catalog and online retailer Zones also offers a free copy of Acrobat, and PC Mall offers 128MB of free memory with select versions. Regionally, retailers are making some attractive offers. The Standard version will offer new versions of the word processing application Word, the Excel spreadsheet software, the Outlook e-mail and contact application, and the PowerPoint presentation program. Microsoft said PC makers determine the final pricing. Office XP Small Business comes with Word, Excel, Outlook and Publisher.