The software giant is now offering small businesses a hosted website solution. Office Live is in Beta testing offering:
- Free domain name and Web hosting
- Easy-to-use Web site design tools
- 500 MB of Web site storage space
- 25 company-branded e-mail accounts
- Web site reports
- Search advertising tool with $50 credit*
So intrigued by this offer I clicked on the "Get it for free button" only to be given this error message:
It seems that Office Live does not consider Firefox a browser, makes me wonder if the website will work with browsers other than Internet Explorer.
Despite my disappointment, I opened up Internet Explorer and tried to signup, however this time I found that a credit card is required field.
Why would you need a credit card for a free service?
Even though Microsoft Office Live Basics is a free service and Microsoft Office Live Collaboration is free during the beta period, we still require a credit card in order to validate that every customer is a legitimate entity
So how long will the beta last? How long before Microsoft charges my card $1000/month. I will never know, the disclaimer and non-support for firefox turned me off instantly.
Good try Microsoft, better luck next time.
