Users of Windows XP and Vista will be dismayed to know that the upcoming Office Suite won’t run some older versions of Microsoft Windows.
The news was just confirmed by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) on their Office 2013 Preview Technet Page. The good news is that Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012 will be able to run the suite on their computers. Since most Windows Vista users probably plan to upgrade to Windows 7, this shouldn’t be a problem. Converting Windows XP users may be a harder task. According to stats from Net Applications, XP users still make up about forty percent of the market. This number includes many businesses who enjoy using XP for it’s more stable environment that most users are familiar with.
In order to use this new software, users will need to ensure their hardware is up to par with specs like 1Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM for 32-bit/2GB for 64-bit, 3GB or more of free hard drive space, and graphics card of 1024 x 576 resolution.
It sounds like Microsoft is ready to ween their users off XP, and trying to move them on to Windows 8 and Office 2013 . Technical support for XP will officially end April 2014.
Office 2013 is expected to feature Click-to-Run technology that shortens the required amount of time it takes to download and use preview client products. Other notable features and applications include office web apps, co-authoring feature, and new security features, all of which was designed primarily for information technology professionals.
Another unique aspect about Microsoft Office 2013 is that it’s also designed to work well with the upcoming Surface tablet. On Wednesday, Gray Knowlton for Office Next wrote an interesting blog post about Office 2013’s advantages on the new Microsoft tablet. He went into specific details on how people can utilize all the software’s features on a tablet.
Microsoft is clearly making some significant changes to their product and software, but how this will end up in the long run is anybody’s guess. Some people have their doubts on whether Microsoft will be able to pull this change off without anymore problems. Although more people are making the switch from XP to Windows 7, there will still be a large portion of XP users left in the dark. That move could prove to be a big mistake in the long run, if people don’t quickly make the switch prior to the move. Let’s hope Microsoft re-evaluates their plans before the launch.
