Hands-up: how many small business owners have picked up a discounted copy of Microsoft Office for Teachers and Students to use in the office?

You're not alone. The suite gives you most of what you need and you don't *really* need to fit the profile to buy it -- you can't pick it up in a store like Costco without much fuss.

If you like your software packaged, Microsoft may soon have another alternative for you -- and one that doesn't force you to pretend you're still a student.

InfoWorld tells the story:

Facing pressure from hosted productivity suites like Google Docs and Google Apps, Microsoft is planning a new package of low-end productivity software and hosted services through a secretive project code-named Albany.

Project Albany puts together a combination of Office, Office Live Workspaces, Windows Live OneCare and the Windows Live suite of services in one package that eventually is expected to be available in retail outlets such as Best Buy.

Pricing for the Albany bundle is expected to fall somewhere between the student/teacher price point of $149.95 and the price for the full Office Suite, about $400.