erockerOffice 2016 is supported on all current O/S's until 2025. So, 7 years is plenty of time to phase out all of their previous O/S's. I doubt there would ever be much need to run Office 2019 on a non-Windows 10 computer.

Windows 7 went out of mainstream support on Jan 15, 2015.
Windows 8.1 went out of mainstream support on Jan 9, 2018.
And I doubt anyone on Windows 8.1 would mind too much upgrading to Windows 10. I definitely would not :D

They are supporting only Windowses currently in mainstream support. For Windows 10, they seem to have moved the support model to the bi-annual updates being supported for 2 years and more recently 1.5 years.

Has it been said if Office 2019 will actually work on Windows 7/8.1? Supported and actually working can be different things. Kind of like the "on supported hardware" comment above.

My understanding from reading else where that MS plan to stop supporting Office 2019 the same day they stop supporting Office 2016. I wonder if that a sign that Office 2019 will be the final one time pay version and after that office 365 will be the only option.

cyrandMy understanding from reading else where that MS plan to stop supporting Office 2019 the same day they stop supporting Office 2016. I wonder if that a sign that Office 2019 will be the final one time pay version and after that office 365 will be the only option.

Then windows will become a yearly sub (M$ will call it updates), just wait. They'll try to pinch the corporations first. Hopefully, those dumb bells have the balls and wits to show 'em the middle finger and ditch 'em.

Ha! Screw you MS. I'm still using this work of art. For some reason, Office XP runs on everything. Really odd

This is really no different than before. Office 2003 only ran on 2k and XP, Office 2007 only ran on XP and Vista. The only reason this comes as a shock is because we got used to having operating systems with longterm support, namely XP and 7. Considering that Windows 10 is still technically free, and Office doesn't change all that much between versions (which means that only people with specialist requirements will have problems using older versions), this isn't really something to cry over.

lexluthermiesterEspecially when there are viable and arguably better open-source alternatives out there.. For those of us who don't use Microsoft Office, this isn't a problem.

I've don't think I've every come across an open source alternative that was as good as Office, you can forget about better. But for a lot of people, the open source options are viable.

ZeDestructorOr you could just get Office365 like most of us home/SMB MSOffice users. 100USD/year gets you 5 desktop licenses, 5 mobile (Android/iOS) licenses and 1TB of OneDrive. In my case, just licensing MSOffice for my 4 machines works out cheaper using O365 than buying any form of lifetime license, and I get to always be on the latest version (or any other supported version, in case I need a downgrade).

I think that is the idea here. If you want to use Office 2019 on an older OS, you have to get it through Office 365.

timta2More corporate greed from Microsoft, to try and extract more money from suckers.

Right, a product that requires a 3 years old OS, OS that has been offered for free to basically anyone. I don't know how they live with themselves... :rolleyes:

newtekie1I've don't think I've every come across an open source alternative that was as good as Office, you can forget about better.

That depends greatly on perspective and usage models. As a part of my job I frequently get free promotional Microsoft products. I do try them out and give it an honest go. The last version of Office that impressed me was Office 2003. After that Open Office appealed to me much more. The look, feel and functionality made more sense.

bugOS that has been offered for free to basically anyone.

They may not have charged money for it, but it's anything but free..

Windows 7 dies on 2020. Why, WHY would MS need to support it for just a bit more than a year? No, seriously, why?

EasoWindows 7 dies on 2020. Why, WHY would MS need to support it for just a bit more than a year? No, seriously, why?

LOL. It doesn't die in a year. Extended Support ends then. If you have a good reason to continue using it past then and can keep it secure, then it will still be alive.

lexluthermiesterThey may not have charged money for it, but it's anything but free..

The guy brought "corporate greed" into the conversation, so money is precisely what he was talking about.

I mean, let's look at the whole picture here. We're talking about running something to be released in the second half of 2018. If you don't like Win10, you're running Win8.1, an OS released 5 years ago that never cracked 10% market share or, more likely Windows 7, an OS released 9 years ago. If you were Microsoft, would you be willing to support any of those for the next 5+ years?
And please do keep in mind that for the last 5 years or so, Office 365 is also a thing.

rtwjunkieLOL. It doesn't die in a year. Extended Support ends then. If you have a good reason to continue using it past then and can keep it secure, then it will still be alive.

Well, it depends how much money you are willing to spend. Microsoft does seem to have a rather extensive documentation on how their product lifecycles work. For OSs:
support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14085/microsoft-business-developer-and-desktop-operating-systems-policy
Mainstream Support is where everything is normally supported. Extended Support is only security patches.
For companies that are willing to spend a lot of $$$ and I mean A LOT of $$$, they can wrangle more out of Microsoft but not mere mortals like you or me.

But when it comes to Office, they just do not want to pay attention to a dead product. Resolving issues with supporting an OS that is out of Mainstream support does not make financial and business sense. I am not saying I necessarily like what they are doing, just stating a fact.

lexluthermiesterThat depends greatly on perspective and usage models. As a part of my job I frequently get free promotional Microsoft products. I do try them out and give it an honest go. The last version of Office that impressed me was Office 2003. After that Open Office appealed to me much more. The look, feel and functionality made more sense.

They may not have charged money for it, but it's anything but free..

I feel ya, its the main reason I'm stuck on Office XP. When they introduced Ribbons in Office, I lost interest completely in any newer version... they're bulky, totally not intuitive or useful in any way, and lots of functionality is hidden or found in odd places. OpenOffice is remarkably similar, just simple buttons, small in size, lots of functions on a small footprint. As the years go by, the information density in Windows/MS applications goes down, and I don't like it.

bugYou gotta love the public. Microsoft fights tooth and nail for backwards compatibility (at some point Widows included 3 USB stacks), they catch flak for being bloated. They release something that sheds technical debt, they're greedy bastards.

Its like politics and politicians - they can never get it right for everyone :)

You gotta love the public. Microsoft fights tooth and nail for backwards compatibility (at some point Widows included 3 USB stacks), they catch flak for being bloated. They release something that sheds technical debt, they're greedy bastards.

rtwjunkieLOL. It doesn't die in a year. Extended Support ends then. If you have a good reason to continue using it past then and can keep it secure, then it will still be alive.

It dies from support standpoint. You will be using OS which will not be receiving any patches - vulnerable. Because you can be 100% sure that new stuff will be found after January 2020.
Was WannaCry really that long ago and it's teachings forgotten? If your shit cannot be patched it is vulnerable. Antiviruss, firewalls and hardening won't save your stuff (might mitigate, but not always) in case of kernel vulnerability, if that vulnerability is never patched.
So why Microsoft has to release Office for it, when they will stop the support within year?

EasoSo why Microsoft has to release Office for it, when they will stop the support within year?

That there is the real reason. And before anyone says that they could just drop 7 support when 7 reaches EOL proper, people will bitch about it. even more than they already are right now!

bugThey release something that sheds technical debt, they're greedy bastards.

What make them greedy isn't the technical aspects, but rather the reasoning's. From a technical aspect, Windows 10 is an achievement. But that's not the only consideration. What make's 10 hideous and unacceptable by certain people is how invasive it is to our privacy and security(actual security, not Microsoft's definition of such). So when they release this version of Office and state that it will work only on 10, they are effectively alienating a solid part of their core market. Sure some people will transition over to 10, but a lot of them will not and instead seek out alternatives. 5 Years ago Microsoft was the dominant software maker on the planet. Now? Not so much. Windows is losing ground to other OS's and that trend isn't slowing down.

ZeDestructorThat there is the real reason. And before anyone says that they could just drop 7 support when 7 reaches EOL proper, people will bitch about it. even more than they already are right now!

And for good reason. There are many that look at Windows 7 as Microsoft's finest version of Windows.

lexluthermiesterWhat make them greedy isn't the technical aspects, but rather the reasoning's. From a technical aspect, Windows 10 is an achievement. But that's not the only consideration. What make's 10 hideous and unacceptable by certain people is how invasive it is to our privacy and security(actual security, not Microsoft's definition of such). So when they release this version of Office and state that it will work only on 10, they are effectively alienating a solid part of their core market. Sure some people will transition over to 10, but a lot of them will not and instead seek out alternatives. 5 Years ago Microsoft was the dominant software maker on the planet. Now? Not so much. Windows is losing ground to other OS's and that trend isn't slowing down.


And for good reason. There are many that look at Windows 7 as Microsoft's finest version of Windows.

The funny thing is that the terrain lost in Windows is mostly moving to Android, which is fár more invasive in every sense. There is only a tiny niche that really is bothered with W10's security/privacy setup. Most people just use different devices - that is why there is movement.

lexluthermiesterAnd for good reason. There are many that look at Windows 7 as Microsoft's finest version of Windows.

Yes, and XP before that... its hypocrisy and path of least resistance that dominates these decisions.

Vayra86The funny thing is that the terrain lost in Windows is mostly moving to Android, which is fár more invasive in every sense. There is only a tiny niche that really is bothered with W10's security/privacy setup. Most people just use different devices - that is why there is movement.



Yes, and XP before that... its hypocrisy and path of least resistance that dominates these decisions.

Windows for desktop and laptop is 82.7% they wont lose anything, anytime soon, the mobile phone market is no contest andriod will win that.

T4C FantasyWindows for desktop and laptop is 82.7% they wont lose anything, anytime soon, mobile phone market is no contest Android will win that.

But when we factor in that fewer people are using desktops and laptops in favor of tablets, phablets and phones, that number is dropping at a steady rate in relation to total computing devices in the world. More people are using mobile devices than traditional PC's. Fewer and fewer people want Windows machines. For many of those people it's because Microsoft took Windows in directions no one wanted to follow. It's depressing.

lexluthermiesterBut when factor in that fewer people are using desktops and laptops in favor of tablets, phablets and phones, that number is dropping at a steady rate in relation to total computing devices in the world. More people are using mobile devices than traditional PC's. Fewer and fewer people want Windows machines. For many of those people it's because Microsoft took Windows in directions no one wanted to follow. It's depressing.

that doesnt effect gamers though should be (windows master race)

bugYou gotta love the public. Microsoft fights tooth and nail for backwards compatibility (at some point Widows included 3 USB stacks), they catch flak for being bloated. They release something that sheds technical debt, they're greedy bastards.

Seriously for an "Evil company" its amazing how many millions they spend to try and keep people happy. I'm surprised they made it this far if 99% of the complaints in technical forums ACTUALLY reflected 99% of the population. Yet here they are, releasing a new version.

timta2More corporate greed from Microsoft, to try and extract more money from suckers

I get my MS office products at discount thru my work. I get it cheap and legit :)

edit just confirmed I bought Office Pro 2016 for 9.99 thru MS HUP.

flmatterI get my MS office products at discount thru my work. I get it cheap and legit :)

edit just confirmed I bought Office Pro 2016 for 9.99 thru MS HUP.

That's how I get mine too, otherwise it would not be something I would buy.

ypsylonYou can choke o your Office M$...

I bought yearly license last year because I was forced to it with some stupid macropowered spreadsheets running only on M$ Office. Month or two later problem has been solved by moving to different platform and I promptly cancelled this POS. Yeah, I've lost a bit of money, but in 10 years I won't even remember this.

No way, in a million years I'll use M$ Office again. Last which I was using before going to Open>then>Libre Office was Office2000 and since then everything went south, beyond mud and bottom level. Being forced into W10 is just as much of M$ as I'll tolerate in my life post-W7 era.

Why to go through the effort to hate (and let anyone know about it) a product when you can simply move to something that fits your needs or possibilities? Do you do this with every software you wouldn't want to use, or is this actually only about MS?

On topic, Windows 7 support ends in January 2020. Windows 8.1 support ends in January 2023 (but it's also used by 10 or 12 people around the globe). Does it make sense to launch a new Office version to target OSes going out of support so soon? Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others all do this with big product launches. They look to synchronize support schedules so they don't end up spending (and charging you) 10 times more to support old platforms with missing features. You expect the software (especially from Microsoft) to always be bleeding edge and secure, but somehow run on outdated, out of support, and insecure platforms. And be dirt cheap. Or free. And you're surprised that a business is looking for profit. Are you giving away your work for free every day?

Do you complain manufacturers don't support you with putting 2018 tech in a 2009 car. Or put in a 4K panel into your 10 year old TV. Or run today's apps on an iPhone 4. Or run 32bit apps in iOS 11, and in MacOS starting June 2018. Or run Chrome browser on a Windows Vista. Or run this year's Android on last year's phone. Or put an NVMe SSD into your 7 year old laptop.

Looks to me like you're willing to accept and justify these limitations for everybody but MS. Which means it's not an actual problem, it's just your personal grudge with one company.