Getting a New MS Office

InsideTheParker

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 My husband's new computer came with a 30-day trial Office 360, which he isn't interested in. All he wants is the Home and Student version.   Should he delete the trial 360 version before he downloads either the 2010 or the 2013?(We have read bad things about the latter.) Any recommendations on 2010 vs. 2013?
 
What's the best way to purchase Office?  Apparently you can fairly cheaply get the keycode from Amazon for an internet download, but some of the commenters found that to be a nightmare. A number of them asserted that unless you have a preloaded copy on your computer, the keycode is useless. Any truth to that? Any advice regarding the keycode or the download version?
 
TIA.
 

Couperin47

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The big change was between Office 2003 and 2007: switching from the 'traditional' drop-down menu interface to the Ribbon interface. Changes between 2007, 2010 and 2013 are, by comparison, subtle and the improvements and functions added are mostly esoteric, 95% of Office users barely used 50% of the features in the 2003 version. The odds 2013 adds anything you will need or use are pretty small.
 

bowiac

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canderson said:
Save the money and use LibreOffice.
Depending on your needs, LibreOffice/OpenOffice are not suitable replacements. If you're doing much excel work for instance, there's a lot of functionality left out.
 

Nick Kaufman

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I wouldn't use Office 365 because I hate that you don't own it, but that you pay a subscription instead.

A couple of years ago, I bought Office 2010 which at the time - I don't know if this offer is still valid- gave a free upgrade to Office 2013.

I like it fine and as was said earlier, more users barely use 50% of Office 2003 features. I still haven't upgraded to 2013 although it looked ok to me.
 

Foulkey Reese

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InsideTheParker said:
 My husband's new computer came with a 30-day trial Office 360, which he isn't interested in. All he wants is the Home and Student version.   Should he delete the trial 360 version before he downloads either the 2010 or the 2013?(We have read bad things about the latter.) Any recommendations on 2010 vs. 2013?
 
What's the best way to purchase Office?  Apparently you can fairly cheaply get the keycode from Amazon for an internet download, but some of the commenters found that to be a nightmare. A number of them asserted that unless you have a preloaded copy on your computer, the keycode is useless. Any truth to that? Any advice regarding the keycode or the download version?
 
TIA.
I was able to get MS Office Premium for $10 through my employer. Might be something to check out on the MS website. 
 
http://www.microsofthup.com/hupus/faq.aspx
 

Couperin47

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Nick Kaufman said:
I wouldn't use Office 365 because I hate that you don't own it, but that you pay a subscription instead.
A couple of years ago, I bought Office 2010 which at the time - I don't know if this offer is still valid- gave a free upgrade to Office 2013.
I like it fine and as was said earlier, more users barely use 50% of Office 2003 features. I still haven't upgraded to 2013 although it looked ok to me.
 
There is a VERY conscious effort being made to lure everyone (well except the 1%) into the equivalent of the denizens of a typical West Virgina mining town in 1920: you own nothing, you rent everything or pay for it at the company store and we will decide if there's anything left at the end of the month. A very large portion of 'Murica is buying into this too...
 
Every day now we prove that nobody ever understood this nation as well as Mencken...btw the most famous quote was not anywhere near what he really said, it's just the easy paraphrase...what he actually wrote is
 
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.” 
 

Orange Julia

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Does the new computer have Windows 8? If it does you might make sure those other versions are compatible.  I bought a new computer for my interns and it had Windows 8 and I am pretty sure my only option was to get that stupid Office 360 which has been fine. But I will never buy a computer with windows 8 on it. I have already stockpiled laptops that have 7 on them, just in case.
 

Couperin47

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Orange Julia said:
Does the new computer have Windows 8? If it does you might make sure those other versions are compatible.  I bought a new computer for my interns and it had Windows 8 and I am pretty sure my only option was to get that stupid Office 360 which has been fine. But I will never buy a computer with windows 8 on it. I have already stockpiled laptops that have 7 on them, just in case.
 
Your fears are unfounded, Win 8 runs EVERYTHING that has ever been written for XP, Vista, or 7 and for the upteenth time, Classic Shell which is free, open source and being actively developed, easily eliminates anything about 8 or 8.1 you dislike: makes the Metro interface disappear, can mimic Vista or 7 interface perfectly and almost perfectly do the same for XP (minor differences as the exact XP themes are not built into 8).
 

InsideTheParker

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Well, he probably made a mistake, but he read so many negative things about Win8 that he got Win7. Couperin, does that effect your recommendation? He can get MS2010 about 25 bucks cheaper, but of course the other one will be supported longer. We completely agree with your comments above regarding Office 365.
 
 His only hesitation now is whether or not he should  remove the trial 365 from his computer before he downloads Office 2010 or 2013. (He uses Excel daily, so he's wedded to MS office; Also, FR, that great offer wouldn't be available to him, as he's retired.)
 
Thanks, everyone.
 

Foulkey Reese

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I helped my mom set up her new laptop this weekend and it had Windows 8. My next purchase may have to be a Mac because I will never, ever use that god awful operating system. 
 

AlNipper49

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Foulkey Reese said:
I helped my mom set up her new laptop this weekend and it had Windows 8. My next purchase may have to be a Mac because I will never, ever use that god awful operating system. 
Why? If you can use 7 you can use 8.1 in like 4 steps.
 

Couperin47

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Lol 7 isn't a 'mistake" I still only use 7 here on every computer I have (and btw I run Classic Shell on them all, it lets me have all sorts of things I dislike about 7 to be reverted). He's like everyone: your focus is on one or 2 main programs. His decision is easy: read the MS blurbs about the "improvements" to Excel 2013 ...is there a single thing in there he might have the slightest need or use for ?  But it seems the price differential between 2010 and 2013 is trivial..so....
 
AlNipper49 said:
Why? If you can use 7 you can use 8.1 in like 4 steps.
 
MS shot themselves in the groin with this, deliberately obfuscating how to get past Metro to the desktop and implying that your only options are Metro software at their benighted Store... the fear and hatred this has engendered is visceral.
 

InsideTheParker

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By the way, lots of searching turned up the answer re removing the trial version of Office 365: if you don't get rid of it before downloading any other form of Office, it seems that there is hell to pay. 
If you actually use the trial version, MS removes the option to load the other versions on that account. You have to set up another account. This may not be insuperable, but it's a pain the ass, especially if you don't know that and it takes a lot of effort to find that out.
 

Couperin47

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InsideTheParker said:
By the way, lots of searching turned up the answer re removing the trial version of Office 365: if you don't get rid of it before downloading any other form of Office, it seems that there is hell to pay. 
If you actually use the trial version, MS removes the option to load the other versions on that account. You have to set up another account. This may not be insuperable, but it's a pain the ass, especially if you don't know that and it takes a lot of effort to find that out.
 
It's like they are going out of their way to encourage you to pirate the software... :whistling: