You choose the software when you buy it. If they included MS Office in Windows Vista there would be a million and one lawsuits about how they're abusing their position in the market - the same reason they can't and will not include a full blown AV solution in their operating system.
Why is that Microsoft's fault - at times I feel for them. Kinda damned if you do and damned if you don't.
And pay for it, pirating scum. Be it one copy or one thousand, it's theft and is dealt with similarly. To be honest Microsoft have been making it easier for the home user as they know that Works is utter doo. You now get 3 machine licences for Microsoft Office Home and Student edition, and it's priced very well. Several years ago it was a couple of hundred quid for the standard version of Office with similar functionality.
exactly, in some countries they aren't even allowed to include media player or IE i think (possibly france) because of the big law suit that said they were monopolising media playing and web browsing or something.
Why should they give it away free though, when you buy a laptop you are paying for the OS, not for office so thats why you don't get it although most manufacturers now include a 60 day trial of office on pc's which gives you the chance to use it and then buy a key to unlock it if you want to keep it.
What annoys me is that big corporates pay less than joe bloggs on the street, its Joe that can;t afford to pay the ridiculous price of £400 to be able to write a letter.
So while I agree we should pay for it, i think it should be a lot cheaper to the average person.
I get a copy free from work with home user rights so i'm fine.