Observers have said that, with this newest pricing shift, Microsoft is using a carrot-and-stick approach or trying to “nudge” customers toward a subscription service for Office. But I’d go a bit farther—for some buyers, it might feel like signing up with a gun to their head.

That’s because Microsoft is making it much more expensive to buy Office the old way, in order to make the new subscription model look like a better, simpler, more straightforward deal.

via Can Microsoft Convince People to Subscribe to Software? | Xconomy.