Microsoft to launch Office 2010 on May 12

In a blog post today, Microsoft has confirmed Office 2010 will begin shipping to business partners worldwide beginning May 12. Consumers will have to wait until July to purchase a copy.

To entice both businesses and customers to continue purchasing Office until 2010 comes out, Microsoft has also launched a free upgrade program, which guarantees users who purchase Office 2007 today will receive a free copy of the same edition of Office 2010. "Starting today, consumers who purchase and activate Office 2007 will be able to download Office 2010 at no additional cost when it becomes available in June 2010," Jevon Fark, a Sr. Marketing Manager at Microsoft Office said on Thursday. "The Office 2010 Technology Guarantee will be fulfilled online, via download, at no additional cost." To be eligible for the program, users must buy Office 2007 or a new computer with a copy installed, and activate it between March 5 and Sept. 30, 2010. Also required is a Windows Live ID, and consumers must visit a special website, office.com/techg before Oct. 31 to redeem their free upgrade. Mr. Fark also confirmed earlier reports that Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010 are all on track for release to manufacturers next month, after which in May it will become available for businesses to purchase and in July for consumers to buy. Office 2010, just like Windows 7 is to Vista, is more of a touch-up to Office 2007. than an entirely new suite. Having said that, it does have new features, such as the extremely helpful "Backstage View," which replaces the old "File" menu, and new features in PowerPoint allow for extremely easy video editing and placement. Its launch will also see the debut of the much talked about Office Web Apps, the first time Microsoft has made a ''cloud'' version of Office.