Microsoft Corporation has launched into the market a discounted software, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student for Africa, targeting low end and student customer portfolio.
Its retailing at Ksh 4,000 and can be installed on three computers , compared to the standard Microsoft Office license that lets you install the software on one computer plus a portable device for use by a single person.
Microsoft is trying to fight piracy here with such products but I doubt if they will work since the reason why piracy is common is simply not addressed here. First policing against counterfeits is very very hard in this market since most of our Police officers dont even know what Microsoft is leave alone what a software is.
And checking on the Microsoft Suite comparison, the student and home edition doesnt have Outlook, Access, Infopath and Groove softwares. Thats not going to work for me because first the reason why I will have an office suite and really not have the complete suite is neither here not there. Most parents have students who take ICDL or MOUS lessons and wont take it that they don’t have the necessary software to take their lessons at home.
Another thing is that if I want a Microsoft Office then I wont be needing the student edition which has very few functionalities. I want a complete office suite.
Statistics from the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicate that Piracy of applications on personal computers (PC) in Africa stands at 80 percent with industry losses, due to software piracy, in Africa estimated at over $95 million (Sh7.3 billion). Funnily its now very easy to get bootleg copies of the Office 2007
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