Equipt Service Closing

Service for Equipt, a subscription-based bundle that includes the Office Home and Student suite, the Windows Live OneCare antivirus and PC management product, and other software, will end Apr. 30, 2009. After that date, Equipt customers will not be able to create or edit Office documents and will not receive virus signature updates. The closure affects relatively few customers, but it illustrates some uncertainties subscription services customers will face in a period of downsizing by Microsoft.

Closure Doesn’t Affect OneCare

Equipt customers will receive a prorated refund based on the number of months remaining on their subscriptions, and a free copy of the full Office 2007 Home and Student software. However, customers will not receive a substitute for OneCare, which is due to be replaced by a free antivirus product (code-named Morro) in the second half of 2009. Oddly, customers who bought the stand-alone edition of OneCare are not affected; that edition is still available at retail (until June 30, 2009) and online, and Microsoft has said it will maintain service to those customers until the end of their subscriptions.