Microsoft Office Live Basics?

[k1ll3rdr4g0n]

I suppose this is recently is that Microsoft has came up with Microsoft Office Live basic for new businesses who want their slice of cyber space but don't want to pay globs for it.
Sounds like a good idea right? Microsoft does everything for you, even buys a domain for you.

So I decided to dig deeper. Something was a little fishy about this.
I start to go through the signup process, lo and behold you need a vaild CC.
No big deal, big brother just wants to make sure that I'm not some guy from the warez scene about to load "Pirates of the Caribbean" up on mircosoft servers.
I trust microsoft not to steal my CC, but I decided to read why they require this.

Why do you need my credit card for a free subscription?

Even though Microsoft Office Live Basics is a free service, we still require a credit card in order to validate that every customer is a legitimate entity. We are concerned for two reasons:

Microsoft wants to help mitigate fraud and strives to ensure that the Web sites we provide for our small business customers are for valid purposes. Requiring a valid credit card is intended to decrease the likelihood that malicious users will sign up.

Just like I said...however next paragraph.

We also require a credit card to facilitate payment of additional services (e.g., the purchase of additional domain names or extra storage) as well as at the conclusion of the Microsoft Office Live Collaboration Beta period, when customers will be asked if they would like to continue using our services on a paid, monthly subscription basis. With your explicit permission, we can establish monthly billing using your credit card information. You will be able to continue using our services without interruption and without having to submit additional account information.

Woha...WAIT A MINUTE. They just admitted this is only a trial. So....once I have my company setup and running, they are going to charge me to continue using it. And if I don't pay, guess what happens? Microsoft absorbs that domain and all the content.
There is always a catch!

Morale of the story: read the fine print!

[Arrow_Raider]

Indeed, it is wise to read the fine print. In the fine print, everything mentioned above is always declared as actually untrue, but when presented in court, the fine print has precedence over the main content of the document.

Example:

The fish is blue!
Not really. The fish is actually green unless there is a full moon and you explicitly ask for the fish to be blue.

In court, the fish is not blue.

[homer13j]

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away...

[Arrow_Raider]

My example is really strange. I promise that I wasn't on drugs or drunk when I wrote it! Anyways, what is office live?

[kleinma]

The first paragraph you quoted is for
"Microsoft Office Live Basics"

The second paragraph you quoted is for
"Microsoft Office Live Collaboration Beta"

My guess is these are not the same products, one is likely an addon or a superset of the basic free service.

[k1ll3rdr4g0n]

The first paragraph you quoted is for
"Microsoft Office Live Basics"

The second paragraph you quoted is for
"Microsoft Office Live Collaboration Beta"

My guess is these are not the same products, one is likely an addon or a superset of the basic free service.

If you go: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/of...2-17D122C2C20E

Then click on get the office live basics free, then click on "Read about how this helps to protect our customers." that is what gets presented to you.

I bet its one of those checked-by-default-and-you-can't-uncheck-it-later things.