The requirement isn't new, analysts said, and is consistent with current Microsoft policies related to Office versions designed for consumers.
Windows RT comes with four touch-enabled apps -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote -- that combined to form Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview. The scaled-down suite is included with each copy of Windows RT, the touch-first spinoff of Windows 8.
Microsoft plans to update the preview to final code via Windows Update, but has not set a date. Steven Sinofsky, who leads the Windows division, has only said that it would be "soon."
Because the RT version of Office is not designed for businesses -- the name gives that away -- it, like its cousin, Office Home & Student 2010, is not licensed for "commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities," according to Microsoft.
In other words, legally it cannot be used for work purposes.