Topic: Microsoft to stop shipping Office 2003 to OEM partners on July 1

[Amker]

Office 2007 may only be six months old, but it's now set to become the de facto Office standard—as of July 1, Microsoft will no longer be shipping OEM copies of Office 2003 to PC manufacturers. Microsoft has been aggressively pushing Office 2007 from the get-go, and has encouraged OEMs to preload the software before shipping systems, so the decision to stop sales of Office 2003 this soon after launch isn't particularly surprising.

As Eric Ligman, Senior Manager of Small Business Community Engagement with Microsoft points out, companies that still want or need to install Office 2003 will be able to do so, if they purchase the appropriate volume licenses:
Also, remember that for your clients wishing to run Office 2003 still today, by taking advantage of the downgrade rights included in the Volume Licensing versions of Microsoft Office 2007, they can utilize Office 2003 today and then move to Office 2007 when they are ready without having to re-buy their Office license like they would with OEM. Remember that OEM Microsoft Office does not have downgrade rights.

Customers who get Office 2003 with a new PC will continue to be supported via their PC manufacturer's policy. Mainstream support for those who have purchased Office 2003 from a retail outlet will come to an end on April 14, 2009. Extended support, which includes free security updates and paid incident support, will continue until April 8, 2014

 Ars Technica