Microsoft is heading to a new low, and I'm not talking about their stock value.

I am talking about the fact that they have announced earlier today that the Android version of Office, which is a touch version, will be free.

That is a good thing for consumers that are used to not pay. But what kind of precedent it sets for developers out there?

How, if you are trying to sell extensions to Office software as a vendor, how are you going to have customers pay even a single dollar for your software when Office itself is free?

I'll answer that very simply : a vendor is not in a position to sell in such condition.

So this is a terrible precedent, which is even worse, if that's possible, that what followed when Apple introduced the app store full of 1$ apps.

When the store is full of apps sold 1$, you have to compensate with volume in order to make a living, let alone to run a company with paid salaries.

But when the software is given for free, what can you expect?

Really, I can't see a way this action isn't against the vendor community out there, and it is a euphemism to say I resent Microsoft for doing this. Last week, they were showing Windows 10 and their story telling was that it was a good idea for vendors to support that platform.

Now let me ask the question : should I support the platform and hope to make a single dollar from it?

The future is looking pretty bad for vendors out there. The more politically versed would say daddy Marx told us all of that already centuries ago. But you always think this time it will be different.

But it isn't.