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Office for iPad Pro Requires Subscription

This has been the case since day-1 of MS Office for iPad. Actually, scratch that. When Microsoft initially released Office for iPad, it was read-only unless you had a subscription. They have since expanded that to allow for some basic functions.
 
Saw the same. They'll work, but you'll have to buy an Office 365 subscription. Hey, anyone who's throwing down the scratch for the Pro can afford the sub, no? ;)
 
I've got the sub for my Macs so that extends to the tablets. I've bought the software like 4 times in my life. Now I need a subscription. Microsoft blows.... And so does Windows 10. I have that on a tablet and it bricks all the time with barely any additional software on it. /rant
 
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sracer said:
This has been the case since day-1 of MS Office for iPad. Actually, scratch that. When Microsoft initially released Office for iPad, it was read-only unless you had a subscription. They have since expanded that to allow for some basic functions.
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But they actually opened up quite a lot of functionality for free on the iPad version. With the Pro, it seems like it's back to the original setup. I guess Microsoft views 10.1" as the cutoff between a "desktop" device and a mobile device.
 
ron7624 said:
I've got the sub for my Macs so that extends to the tablets. I've bought the software like 4 times in my life. Now I need a subscription. Microsoft blows.... And so does Windows 10. I have that on a tablet and it bricks all the time with barely any additional software on it. /rant
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I guess Windows 10 bricks because Microsoft bricks. I have no idea why their closed source coding refuses to cooperate with me behind the screen. But thats why Im an Apple nerd.
 
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ron7624 said:
I've got the sub for my Macs so that extends to the tablets. I've bought the software like 4 times in my life. Now I need a subscription. Microsoft blows.... And so does Windows 10. I have that on a tablet and it bricks all the time with barely any additional software on it. /rant
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Maybe you should learn how to use computers, I have Windows 10 on a Mac Mini, 3 other computers, a tablet and 2 phones, no bricking no glitching.

If I could Bootcamp on my iPad Mini 4 I'd put it on there as well.
 
RockSpider said:
Maybe you should learn how to use computers, I have Windows 10 on a Mac Mini, 3 other computers, a tablet and 2 phones, no bricking no glitching.

If I could Bootcamp on my iPad Mini 4 I'd put it on there as well.
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I've been using computers since the late 80's. Notice my sig, I still use windows and have no problems with Win 7. I've built 2 from scratch. win 10 has been the most unfriendly version. I feed my family using computers and they were windows computers until this year. My IT Dept will not go past Win 7 because it won't run all that is needed for accompany of over 10,000 users.
Possibly my Omni 10 is ant fault, but was designed for Win 8.1 so should not brick while open and not actively being used.
No, I think that Microsoft has gone in the wrong direction with its orientation to subscription service based methods. I have paid them enough for programs, well written or crap. I stand by my original post. Microsoft blows.
It's obvious that you are a Microsoft based user and I'm sure spend hours figuring out how to keep your tech running smoothly. Good on you.
 
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This is the future of professional grade software. Adobe already does it with Creative Cloud, and Autodesk is on their way. MS has been doing Office 365 for a while. I'm not sure how I feel about this trend.
 
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I agree, but I'm sure how I feel about it. :( :thumbdown: In the first place, with Adobe at least, it has made them less careful about QCing updates (IMHO). In the second place, Adobe has a history of problems with Cloud verification and installation. In the third place, there are situations where I'm unable to connect to the internet for somewhat extended periods and with my luck the software would decide that the time had come to phone home or lock the software during one of those periods. I much prefer a locally installed, non-Cloud dependent version, but that's going to go away before long.
 
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Nausicaa said:
This is the future of professional grade software. Adobe already does it with Creative Cloud, and Autodesk is on their way. MS has been doing Office 365 for a while. I'm not sure how I feel about this trend.
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Well, we'll see about this. According to "Microsoft by the numbers", 1.2 billion people are using Office. On the other hand, they recently reported having just 15.2 million Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers, and the subscriber growth is slowing compared to previous quarters. Even including business subscriptions, they have a long way to go if they want to convert a significant share of users to subscriptions.
 
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Rigby said:
Well, we'll see about this. According to "Microsoft by the numbers", 1.2 billion people are using Office. On the other hand, they recently reported having just 15.2 million Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers, and the subscriber growth is slowing compared to previous quarters. Even including business subscriptions, they have a long way to go if they want to convert a significant share of users to subscriptions.
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Are there comparable publicly available numbers for Adobe?
 
Rigby said:
Well, we'll see about this. According to "Microsoft by the numbers", 1.2 billion people are using Office. On the other hand, they recently reported having just 15.2 million Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers, and the subscriber growth is slowing compared to previous quarters. Even including business subscriptions, they have a long way to go if they want to convert a significant share of users to subscriptions.
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Microsoft is going to run into the same problem every other desktop software publisher has run into on the iPad--users of iOS balk at any app over $.99.
 
Mivo said:
The day where I pay a monthly or annual subscription for software (or an OS) will never come. :)
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Ditto...Thankfully Apple provides iWork & iLife for free for iOS/Mac. Granted, Corporate America uses Excel/Word/PowerPoint, but Apple's alternatives are mostly compatible.
 
spiderman0616 said:
Microsoft is going to run into the same problem every other desktop software publisher has run into on the iPad--users of iOS balk at any app over $.99.
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I think Ive seen Microsoft saying something contrary. They will sell apps at free prices for people who apparently own Windows 10.
 
FSMBP said:
Ditto...Thankfully Apple provides iWork & iLife for free for iOS/Mac. Granted, Corporate America uses Excel/Word/PowerPoint, but Apple's alternatives are mostly compatible.
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My experience is that Pages and Numbers provide so little compatibility that although I can usually use them to read a Word or Excel file I cannot make any edits without wrecking the file.
 
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Mivo said:
I pay for software, but I don't rent software. (Or rather, I pay the rental fee only once.)
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Everyone is renting software. That being said, you either value Office at 70$ a year or not. Throwing around words like 'I will never have a subscription' is really just masking that you don't think Office and unlimited storage is worth 70$ a year.
 
Michael Goff said:
Everyone is renting software. That being said, you either value Office at 70$ a year or not. Throwing around words like 'I will never have a subscription' is really just masking that you don't think Office and unlimited storage is worth 70$ a year.
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Some who are anti-subscription for MS Office have no problems with subscription services for their music. :eek:
 
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KPOM said:
I guess Microsoft views 10.1" as the cutoff between a "desktop" device and a mobile device.
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The problem with that is desktop have alternative 'one off' versions. The iPad won't :(

I was glad when they added basic usage to the iPad version. Removing that on the pro is a big step backwards.

They either need a decent free version or a 'one off payment' version otherwise a lot of people just won't use it with others options available.
 
Michael Goff said:
Everyone is renting software. That being said, you either value Office at 70$ a year or not.
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Yes, according to most software licenses we "rent" the product, but there is a difference between this traditional "buying" of software and the subscription-based model:

If I purchase a license of a program, it's a one-time expense that I make when I have the funds, and I know I'll be able to use it for as long as I have a computer that runs it. There may be an update price later on, but that will still be optional. If I don't upgrade, I can still use my old program. It's not a recurring expense.

If I subscribe to a program, I pay a monthly or yearly fee, which typically leads to a substantially higher price over the course of several years, and I will lose access to the software the moment I stop the regular payments, regardless of how much I already paid in the past. That is a business model that I won't support.

Throwing around words like 'I will never have a subscription' is really just masking that you don't think Office and unlimited storage is worth 70$ a year.
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I don't buy eggs from places where chicken are kept in small cages. I do this because I don't want to support a practice I disagree with. It doesn't mean I am "masking" anything, but indicates that I'm aware that money talks.

It's the same with companies that switch to software subscriptions: I disagree with the practice and will not support it with money, because that's the only "vote" I have. Whether the program is worth the price is completely irrelevant to that decision. I'd rather settle for a lesser featured program that I can purchase properly.

Just like I pay more for my eggs.
 
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