Microsoft said goodbye to its little friend, Office Genuine Advantage (OGA), and quietly shut down the program last Thursday.

What that means for Office users is they're now able to download add-ins and templates without having to jump through any validation hoops to confirm that their copy is legit and not some black-market version or BitTorrent download.

"The Office Genuine Advantage ("OGA") program has been retired. For more information about the benefits of genuine Office, please visit the following website: Benefits of genuine Office," Microsoft wrote in Support Knowledge Base article 917999.

Anyone going to miss this? Anyone?

According to Microsoft, Office 2011 for the Mac platform will land on store shelves at the end of October, and while that's a good two months away, Mac users will save a bundle over Office for Mac 2008.

The new version will come in two main flavors, including Office for Mac Home & Student Edition ($119 for a single install, $149 for a three-installation family pack), and Office for Mac Home & Business Edition 2011 ($199 for a single install, $249 for a two-installation multi-pack). By comparison, the latest version for Mac -- Office for Mac 2008 -- runs $149 for the Home Edition and $399 for the Business Edition.

All new versions will include Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Messenger for Mac, while the Home & Business and Academic editions will also include Outlook.

For those who just can't wait, Microsoft said that those who purchase a qualifying Office 2008 suite between now and November 30, 2010 will be eligible to download the new version at no cost. See here for terms and conditions.