Microsoft is taking its subscription-based productivity suite Office 365 into the realm of higher education in the first quarter of 2013 with a new package called Office 365 University.

At just $1.67 per month, college students can get Office 365 for their entire four years of undergrad for just about $80. The subscription includes the usual Office Home and Student Gang: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, plus Outlook, Access, and Publisher which aren't available in the $119.99 desktop version (but are only available to Windows PC users.)

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Almost a month ago I wrote "Steve Ballmer hints at Microsoft Surface costing $300-$800" and he was (obviously) right on the money as the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation introduced Microsoft Surface with Windows RT for pre-order today with delivery on October 26. No, it doesn't start at $199, nor at $300 either, but it's close. HOWEVER, while I wrote this post, the pricing page disappeared from the Microsoft Store and now redirects to its home page.

The base 32GB model without the Black Touch Cover, which is Microsoft's name for the OEM keyboard, comes in at $499 and at the time of writing this post is the only model available for pre-order (whenever it resumes). The keyboard can be purchased separately for an additional $119.99 or $129.99 for the white or black model, respectively. The 32GB model with the Black Touch Cover included runs $599, while the larger 64GB Surface with the same add-on will set you back $699. Again, like Steve Ballmer hinted, price range is $300-$800, though it comes closer to the upper end.

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There is no appropriate way to express how aggressive will be Microsoft's retail blitz to support the launches of Surface, Windows 8 and Windows RT (on October 26) and Windows Phone 8 (on October 29). In 18 days, the software giant will have retail shops open in 27 states and three Canadian provinces. Many of the locations will be what Microsoft calls "holiday stores", which are more kiosks than shops but retail presence nevertheless. The company announced the pop-up shops about a month ago, but as important product launches approach the sudden retail blitz takes on looming significance.

The stores' importance cannot be understated, and their value is much bigger than selling new products. The shops will create big brand presence during the holidays and give many shoppers reasons to buy something with a Microsoft logo rather than the bitten fruit. (Say, if there's a bite out of the Apple, shouldn't that make it forbidden fruit in the classical biblical/literature sense or used goods from a purely commerce perspective. I certainly wouldn't pick a bitten apple from the grocery store. Funny that Apple's partially eaten logo doesn't put off more people.)

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Last week, we heard rumors that Microsoft would be releasing a Xbox 360 console with Kinect for $99, subsidized by a two-year Gold subscription commitment to the Xbox Live service, in a fashion similar to mobile phone subsidies.

Monday, the offer went live on the Microsoft Store site, and the plan, which got us excited here in the BetaNews news room, turns out to be no deal at all.

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It's grand opening weekend for Microsoft's 14th retail store, and first on the East Coast, at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. The company pulled back the curtain yesterday at 9:30 am ET, just down the way from Apple's first-ever retail shop.

I was there when Apple Store opened in May 2001 and regret missing Microsoft Store's debut there. I lived in the Washington, DC area for 23 years before moving to San Diego in October 2007. Tysons Corner is my favorite of the Beltway malls.

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