Small Business

Get a Free Upgrade to Office 2010

By Dave Johnson

Updated on: March 10, 2010 / 12:12 AM EST / MoneyWatch

Microsoft Office 2010 is being released to manufacturing ("RTM") in April, and it'll hit the streets this summer (May for businesses, June for consumers). The downside of the imminent arrival of the next version of Office is that you might feel like a sucker if you have to buy a copy of Word now.

Well, fear not -- Microsoft has kicked off its usual Tech Guarantee program, which means that if you buy Office 207 today, you get Office 2010 for free later.

The Office blog announced the free upgrade to Office 2010 last week. Here's how it works:

Buy Office 2007 or a new PC with Office 2007 preinstalled.
Activate Office 2007 anytime between before September 30, 2010.
Redeem your Tech Guarantee before October 31, 2010 by visiting the Office Website. You'll need a Windows Live ID to complete the process.

If you can't wait till May for your copy of Office 2010, you can still install the Office 2010 beta now. And don't forget to check out 4 killer reasons to switch to Word 2010, and 4 equally good reasons to switch to Outlook 2010.