<p>The University of Minnesota is ending a licensing agreement with Microsoft Corp. that sold discounted versions of the company's Office suite, a reflection of waning demand among younger users for what had been a perennial software sure-seller.</p><p>The Minnesota Daily reports that the university spent $750,000 last year on licensing the software from Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft in exchange for letting students buy Office for $40 apiece. But demand has fallen off in recent years, and the Board of Regents last week approved ending the deal.</p><p>The reasons for the dropoff in sales: Users are increasingly using free (or nearly free) online apps that do nearly everything Office does. In fact, Microsoft itself has become a competitor to the full Office suite, pitching a cloud-based version of the software to college students this spring at $80 for four years (with a free three-month trial).</p><p>The school plans to sign a new deal with Microsoft, but if it doesn't, students who have already purchased the software will have to uninstall it next year. Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.</p><p><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/morning_roundup/2013/06/u-of-m-scraps-microsoft-office-student.html">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2013/06/23/u-cuts-microsoft-office-student-discount">U cuts Microsoft Office student discount</a> (Minnesota Daily)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dSY1whiUBKjQ2vMLfISzA4UuP6JVM&ned=us">2 additional articles.</a></p>