Does it still make sense to buy Microsoft Office?

(Credit: Microsoft)

As you've no doubt heard by now, Microsoft just announced Office 2013.

Not announced: pricing.

Call it a hunch, but I suspect Microsoft will charge at least as much for Office 2013 as it does for Office 2010. After all, the new suite is chock full of new features, giving Microsoft ample justification for keeping prices the same -- or even raising them.

Currently, Office 2010 Home and Student and Office 2010 Home and Business sell for $119.99 and $199.99, respectively. That's for a single-user license. The three-user version of Home and Student costs $149.99, while a two-user Home and Business license will run you $279.99.

As a certified (and certifiable) cheapskate, I've developed a healthy (unhealthy) indignation toward Microsoft's stubbornly high Office pricing. It just strikes me as out of whack relative to consumers' needs and the available alternatives.

And that brings us to today's question: Does it still make sense to buy Microsoft Office?

A loaded question, to be sure. If you're half the smart-aleck I am, you no doubt shouted at the screen, "It never made sense!"

I ask because I'm in the process of "divorcing" Outlook, a program... [Read more]