I wanted to mention that the Office Web Apps have gone live. (I didn't pay attention!)
If you have a (free) Windows Live ID, you can log into http://office.live.com/ and you will find free, ad supported versions of Office 2010 – Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote.
You can create new documents, save them to your SkyDrive, or open and edit any documents you have stored there.
Microsoft allocates a generous 25gb per user, plenty of storage, if you ask me.
Files may not exceed 50mb (which might get tricky with OneNote), but it will keep them managable on slower connections.
So if you need access to the latest version of Word, but can't afford it right now — you now have the option to use it on the web.
It doesn't have all the features – obviously. Else why would you buy the full version?
And you can only save files with the .docx extension (not .doc), but seriously… if you need quick access from anywhere, it's a great solution, even with the tradeoffs.
Also, if you buy a new PC, it will likely come loaded with the free (ad supported!) Office 2010 Starter version.
I will experiment a little with my Office 2010 version, and how it fares backup wise with the SkyDrive, and report back.
