The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant today announced it will start to charge for some of the product support that, to date, has been free. Customers, for instance, will only get free support with Microsoft Office for two "incidents," or problems, starting September 14. An incident can involve multiple phone calls. Currently, Microsoft gives Office customers unlimited free assistance.

Consumers will also only get two free support incidents on Windows 98 or Windows 2000. Customers now get free, unlimited support for the first 90 days after installation.

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