All about Microsoft posted a news story on Office Starter 2010, the new free ad-supported version of Microsoft Office

Office Starter 2010 — in spite of its name — is primarily meant to be a distribution tool, rather than a low-end, free version of Office. Yes, Office Starter 2010 is the replacement for Microsoft Works. It will be free and ad-supported and bundled on many new PCs sold at retail. But Starter includes stripped-down versions of Word and Excel only and allows only basic document viewing and editing.

  Retail customers: Do your Office Starter 2010 homework