Microsoft on Friday confirmed it is planning to release a subscription-based
"value box" of low-end productivity software code-named Albany, and
has sent an early version of the product to thousands of beta participants for
private testing.

News
surfaced last month that Microsoft was planning the suite -- a combination
of Office Home and Student 2007; Office Live Workspaces; Windows Live Mail,
Messenger and Photos client software; and Windows Live OneCare -- to compete
with Google Docs and other free or low-cost productivity suites available in
the consumer market. Microsoft late last month sent out select invitations to
test Albany, asking people to sign nondisclosure agreements just to sign up
for the test, sources close to the company said at the time.

However, Microsoft Product Manager Bryson Gordon said that Albany -- which
the company internally had called a "value box" of software -- isn't
simply a productivity play. "The free applications online address one portion
of this," he said.

Albany goes beyond that and provides what consumers have told Microsoft are
the "essential" products they use on a computer, Gordon said. "It
extends both into the security value proposition and extends into the category
of helping people connect and share with others," he said.

In addition to Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications found in Office, a plug-in
for Office Live Workspaces in Albany will give customers the ability to store
and share documents online from directly within the Office interface. Albany
also covers basic PC security needs with Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft's service
that includes firewall and antivirus protection, as well as basic consumer e-mail,
instant-messaging and photo-sharing needs with the Windows Live software.

Albany suggests that Microsoft recognizes it must differentiate Office from
less costly or even free software such as Google Docs or IBM's Symphony. These
suites threaten to commoditize the consumer market for productivity software,
where low-end versions of Office, for now, remain prevalent.

While people can separately purchase or download all of the products that will
be a part of Albany, a key feature of the package will be that it provides for
unified installation instead of customers having to install all of the offerings
separately. "We don't want them to go through a cumbersome process to set
this up," Gordon said.

Albany also will feature a "welcome" window that shows customers
all of the features and offerings in the suite and from which customers can
begin using the software, he said.

Microsoft has not set pricing for Albany yet, saying only that it will be sold
on a subscription basis. Whether that subscription will be monthly or yearly
also has yet to be determined. Moreover, the company is still deciding through
which channels Albany will be sold, although sources close to the company previously
said retail outlets such as Best Buy would be among places people could purchase
it.

Gordon said Microsoft is not planning a public beta for Albany, which it expects
to release before the end of the year. The company will use the feedback from
the private beta to come up with a final version of the product.

IDG News Service

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