Microsoft Backs Off Bundle Plans

Microsoft Corp., uncharacteristically heeding industry criticism, said Monday that it would not sell its package of word processing, spreadsheet and other programs with the new version of Windows due later this year.

A Microsoft executive said the company did not want to upset distributors and retailers who objected to the idea.

But rival software makers had also criticized Microsoft’s plan, saying the company was going to use its sales leadership in operating software, which runs a computer’s basic functions, to boost its business for programs that perform specific applications.

The company last fall proposed to wholesalers and retailers the idea of putting its Microsoft Office suite of applications on the CD-ROM version of Windows 95, the revision to its chief product that is due this summer.

People could then experiment with limited versions of Microsoft Office programs. If a person wanted the full version, he or she would be able to call Microsoft, make a payment arrangement and be given an access code.