Moved to Forum: Original Link
Previously offered on new hardware, now Office 2010 Starter Edition (stripped down edition with non-collapsable side bar with ads) is now being offered to all.
Nice if you only need the very very basics and it's the real deal Office 2010 rather than OpenOffice.org which requires a little more learning.
What do I do with the exe. Virus?
I agree it should have been a link to the website, rather than the .exe
OP was no doubt trying to be helpful, but I went, "Woah" when it started to download an .exe
Agreed, good suggestion but stopped as soon as I saw the .exe
Agree … does anybody know the website?
Don't worry, it's legit, at least in the sense that this is official Microsoft software offering. There's no proper download page or whatever as probably MS don't want to make it easily accessible to everyone, it's only meant for manufacturers to install on new PCs. These files have never been secured however, they have been known for ages on various sites.
And yes, the 500kb size or whatever of the exe is fine. It's a setup/downloader, so it will retrieve the other ~400mb of setup files when you try to run it. You can get links for the other 30 or so files from a few places (google it) but it isn't really necessary. The setup will work fine if you do or don't have them; it just checks if the rest of the files are present and downloads them if they aren't.
TL,DR: It's fine, it's legitimate. Download it if you want it.
I would disagree with the comment on Open/Libre Office require more learning.
The open/libre office still uses the typical/familar office layout, while Office 2010 uses the ribbons. I still find it annoying, its big and cumbersome, and does not add to usability.
You are right on that, that Open as well as Libre Office do use 'familiar' layout, and that is why they are easier to use.
The ribbon's great once you get used to it. And Excel 2007 finally introduced 1 million rows - I love my spreadsheets:)
Moved to forums, as this has been free for over 2 years according to a Google search
See APC mag report Oct 2009 http://apcmag.com/office-2010-gets-free-ad-supported-starter…
Um, yeah it was free only for manufacturers previously, now via this link it's free for consumers as well. You could only get Office Starter previously by having it preloaded on a new computer.
As said I said above, these links to installers have always been available. They just aren't widely known.
So this is what happened to Works - makes sense, given that Works would have required a totally separate programming effort and used different file formats.
Here is a better place to download.
Anyway to download the ful version to install on more than one PC?
http://downloads.pcauthority.com.au/article/26083-microsoft_…
Edit.
Here is the only way I can see to download the whole thing for multi-install
http://www.instantfundas.com/2011/11/download-free-microsoft…
Just what the kids need when doing their assignments, to be interrupted by ads changing every 45 seconds.
Nice find OP and will no doubt be of interest to some, but LibreOffice is still a good pick for free, no ads. It is an OpenOffice fork, with better future prospects than OpenOffice for home users.