Microsoft to Release Free Version of Works

Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that it will be rolling out a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Works over the next few months.

ADVERTISEMENT The free version, Microsoft Works SE 9, won't be distributed by Microsoft. Instead, the company's OEM partners will be responsible for the pilot deployment, according to a statement released by the company.

Microsoft decided to run the pilot, which will run for about a year across an unspecified number of "developed" countries, "in response to customer and partner needs who definitely value having productivity [applications] installed on their new PCs," said Melissa Stern, a senior product manager for Microsoft, in an interview.

The Works 9 SE software, however, will only be deployed by a limited number of OEMs. Microsoft's Stern would not name them or their number. The Works 9 SE software, however, will likely provide an inexpensive means of enticing customers to use Microsoft's low-cost Works suite, which include a word processor, database, spreadsheet, calendar and task launcher.

Microsoft Works Suite 2005
Works 9 SE (the SE is a designation, not an abbreviation, Stern said) will complement Works 9, which will be available for retail "very soon" for $39.95. Both Works 9 and Works SE are essentially identical in features and function, with the only difference the addition of advertising in the SE product, Stern said.

That advertising will be provided by Microsoft, through its partners. Ads displayed will be in conventional formats, such as a 180 x 150-pixel format. They also will be located in natural locations, she said: in the task pane, for example, the top two-thirds of the pane are used for displaying relevant information, such as recently-opened documents. The bottom third of the pane will be used to display the ad.

Accordinng to Stern, the ads served will be "relevant" to the user's activities. "We're defining who the audience is and what they're doing, such as working in budgets," she said.

"We've put a lot of thought into the implementation of advertising in Works, a lot of careful research in designing the ads in a way that's not overly intrusive," Stern added.

As one of the first major offline applications to integrate advertising, Works will have to provide relevant ads to keep its advertisers happy. However, Stern flatly denied that the software would examine the user content, whether actively -- as the user types it in -- or via saved content.

"We're serving relevant ads about what we know about Works users," Stern said. "We're not looking at content at all."

Stern declined to name the advertisers.


Editor's Note:This story was updated at 4:03 PM PDT with comments from Microsoft's Stern.


source:pcmag.com