Microsoft unveils Office LTSC 2024 for users that remain stubbornly offline
- Reference: 1726669814
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/09/18/microsoft_office_ltsc_2024/
- Source link:
A device running Office LTSC 2024 need never be attached to the outside world...
Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) 2024 was [1]made available on September 16, drowned out by the company's [2]Copilot "innovations".
Microsoft would [3]much prefer customers went down the Microsoft 365 route , but has acknowledged that some users prefer stability over stockholder-pleasing subscriptions.
The release is aimed at Windows-using government and commercial customers and is to be supported for five years. It is a disconnected product, so many of the features of Microsoft 365 are unavailable, including cloud storage and the option to subscribe to Microsoft 365 Copilot for an additional fee. That said, while "extended offline access" in the Microsoft 365 world means a device must connect to the internet at least once every six months, a device running Office LTSC 2024 need never be attached to the outside world.
Microsoft published a table of stuff to show what users would be missing by going down the Office LTSC route. The big hitters include desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, but absent was anything that needs the cloud or web services, alongside Publisher, which is due to be deprecated in 2026.
[4]Python in Excel goes live – but only for certain Windows users
[5]LibreOffice 24.8: Handy even if you're happy with Microsoft
[6]China's top Office clone copies Microsoft again – with an inconvenient outage
[7]Multiple flaws in Microsoft macOS apps unpatched despite potential risks
Microsoft also said fresh on-premises versions of Project and Visio would be generally available to all customers by October 1.
[8]In addition to dropping Publisher, Teams is also not preinstalled with Office LTSC 2024, and the Publish to Power BI feature has been stripped from Excel. ActiveX controls are also disabled by default, although administrators can re-enable them if necessary.
[9]
Perpetual licensing is not something Microsoft likes to talk about too much. It is currently the subject of [10]legal action over incentives given to customers to move from perpetual licenses to Microsoft 365 subscriptions, as well as the subsequent fate of those perpetual licenses.
[11]
With the Office LTSC 2024's preview announcement, Microsoft committed to at least one more release, which will come before the end of this decade. Nothing has been definitively stated beyond that, although it is easy to imagine customer demand playing a part.
After all, Office LTSC 2024 only exists due to the requirements of some users that their devices do not connect to the internet, meaning Microsoft 365 and its cloud-based wizardry are simply not an option. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/office-ltsc-2024-is-now-available/ba-p/4244953
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/16/microsoft_copilot_wave_2/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/19/office_2024_microsoft/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/18/python_in_excel_general_release/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/23/libreoffice_24_8/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/22/kingsoft_wps_office_outage_china/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/19/cisco_talos_microsoft_macos/
[8] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/ltsc/2024/overview
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zur5ISkchalPIihu11o60gAAAUQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/microsoft_valuelicensing_update/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zur5ISkchalPIihu11o60gAAAUQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
So, long term is five years in Redmondland
Just one question, Nadella : have you planned on shutting down Borkzilla in five years ? No ? Then why is your Long Term limited to five years ? Are you planning on leaving before that and you won't care any more ?
Your customers, the ones who pay for your product, definitely plan to be there in five years and long after. It is exhausting to continually read that software companies are the ones who decide how long their software is supposed to be used. It's not like that. You're a multi-billion dollar company. You put out a critical piece of business software, and YOU FUCKING SUPPORT IT UNTIL BUSINESS DOESN'T NEED IT ANYMORE.
That should be enshrined in law.
> Microsoft unveils Office LTSC 2024 for users that remain stubbornly offline
We are not offline. We just want to keep using the software when *Microsoft is offline*.
Though its weird that Microsoft markets it for offline deployment when it still has online-only DRM in the "default" install.
Re: We just want to keep using the software when *Microsoft is offline*.
Well Put. Have an upvote.
Ob: LibreOffice
I'll acknowledge that some jobs, in some places, require features specific to MS Office. Those people are in the minority.
After a decade or more I can't see giving Microsoft any more of my money. For the vast majority of home or business related tasks LibreOffice is more than capable.
And free.
And can even save your work in MS Office formats.
(This week I find myself using a shiny new Windows laptop, and cannot grasp why the Start menu is now located in the middle of the bottom task bar, and not on the left.)
Re: Ob: LibreOffice
You can now move it to the left again if that’s what you (and many others) want to do.
"In addition to dropping Publisher, Teams is also not preinstalled with Office LTSC 2024, and the Publish to Power BI feature has been stripped from Excel. ActiveX controls are also disabled by default, although administrators can re-enable them if necessary."
so, a better Office than Office... sounds good.