In Microsoft’s Office 365 (a.k.a. Office 2013) announcement, the rest of us were pretty an after thought, which is hardly surprising as 2012 is an off-cycle Office for Mac year. Nevertheless, Redmond’s new emphasis is on Office 365 for Mac subscriptions rather than purchasing discrete licenses, though packaged software is still available.

At $99.99 a year for a Office 365 for Mac household subscription (Home Premium) and $149.99 for SOHO (Small Business Premium) — complete pricing details below — Redmond’s pricing is designed to push users toward software as a service versus the old “ownership” model.

Microsoft just launched Office for Mac in 2011 and is currently working on the next release. Our Mac customers are important to us, and we’re excited that they’ll be able to take advantage of Office 365 Home Premium subscriptions — Microsoft press statement.

And, to sweeten the subscription pot for existing Office for Mac 2011 owners, Microsoft is offering a “free” one-year Office 365 Home Premium subscription, a package that includes the right to install it on five Macs.

For what it’s worth, you can get Office for Mac 2011 Home & Student – Family Pack (three-user license) on Amazon for $109.99.

Again, Microsoft isn’t killing packaged software yet, but it’s obvious where their heart is…

What’s your take?

via 9 to 5 Mac, The Verge

Related posts:
— Dragon Dictate 3 (download) now shipping
— GraphicConverter 8.3 adds Aperture library, Automator, Notification, etc. support
— Skype for Mac: The slow march to oblivion
— What’s new in iTunes 10.7
— OS X 10.8.2 Update nearly ready