Posted on 10/19/2023 6:07:35 PM PDT by SisterK
The Office 365 at one of my work computers will soon expire.
Office 365 Family for 6 devices is about $99
Office 365 Business for 1 device is about $150
It is tempting to get Office Family (less money and works with more computers) but if I do, will Microsoft bust me and send me to the gulag?
The other temptation is to work with Open Office. Any experience with that?
Control, Alt, Shift, Windows key
Press this combination and microsoft365 will open in a browser window and you will be able to register a FREE account. You will have to use the online versions of the programs. You should use a new email address to setup an account.
Office Suite 2023 CD/DVD
https://www.amazon.com/Premium-compatible-Microsoft%C2%AE-Windows-10-8-7-Vista-XP/dp/B01N557K0I/
Whatever you do, please please please do NOT share how to do that with other Freepers who could benefit from a bargain. /sarc
Sheesh!
You became the official “THAT guy” of the thread with just one post.
OpenOffice
Free
Same commands
Been using Open Office for very long time...
Maybe since it arrived on the scene...
Never missed Microsoft Office after decades of use and abuse...
.
I purchase my Office DVDs on eBay. One license for Office Professional @ just under $58. I’ll keep your other sources in mind, thank you. Am hoping that I won’t need to buy another. The very idea of paying a rental fee for software goes against my grain.
Your Mac came with Apple Numbers and Apple Pages. These are not Microsoft programs. Microsoft Word and Excel will run on your Mac -- you just have to pay for them.
I’ve used a pirated version on a personal laptop for awhile. Until the lappy died. RIP.
Its death was unrelated. They won’t bother.
I can’t believe that I didn’t notice that! Thanks!!
I hate Numbers!!
They have a 2-pack for $60. Pretty decent deal.
I find my old Word 2000 easier for tables and such, than Libre Office, but maybe that’s just me... I use both.
Well, might be dodgy as others have mentioned, tho’ that seems to revolve around the “Plus” variant?
To each their own I bought a new laptop about a year ago and I paid for the MS Office family license for 6 machines, I’ve installed it on 3 machines so far with no issues
I’ve always had a thing about paying for the real product and staying away from bootleg copies, special deals, or EBay licenses, etc. I don’t want to deal with the likely issues that come up
To me looking around for some angle or deal is a waste of time, go with the real deal and don’t worry about it but if people want to do something different I don’t have an issue with it but it’s not for me
A couple of questions. Are you employed by a company, a freelancer, or a business owner? I note you mention “co-workers”.
If employed by a company, I think they would and should supply Office 365 for your work computer. Or are they such a small company that they do not have the resources or an IT department and expect employees to provide their own computer and software?
Keep in mind that there are risks in sharing files - sending and receiving files if there are not good virus protections in place on both ends. And FWIW, I’m not a big fan of using a personal computer for work as an employee. Your personal computer and files IMO should be separate from your work computer if employed by a company.
While technically Office 365 Family is licensed for personal use, if you are a freelancer who shares spreadsheets with others, it’s doubtful Microsoft is going to “raid” you and send you to a gulag. Not to say they couldn’t but from my understanding they are more concerned with larger commercial businesses who circumvent licensing agreements to install copies on more computers (seats) than they are paying for or are using pirated copies.
If you are a business owner managing your employees’ computers and software on a network, you would want Office 365 Business because of the enhanced security and management tools. But that doesn’t sound like your case.
But if you are thinking of purchasing Office 365 Family for 6 devices and sharing that with “co-workers” and or employees of your business or the business you work for, this would likely be violation of the licensing agreement. Don’t recommend.
There is also the question of whether you are just sending “co-workers” spreadsheets or want open collaboration, i.e. allow others to update a shared spreadsheet in real time via MS Teams or One Drive on a shared network. If you need that type of collaboration, you need Office 365 as it, unlike Open Source or Libre, is in the “Cloud”.
Also, it depends on the complexity of your spreadsheets. If your spreadsheets are relatively simple, other than the hassle of saving or opening using the correct file extension, you should be fine. But if your spreadsheets are more complex, you could run into issues as not all features in Excel are supported in Open Source and you could lose some formatting and functionality.
Differences between the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format and the Excel for Windows (.xlsx) format
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/differences-between-the-opendocument-spreadsheet-ods-format-and-the-excel-for-windows-xlsx-format-3db958c8-e0ac-49a5-9965-2c2f8afbd960
Microsoft 365 Family vs Microsoft 365 Business: which is better for work?
https://www.techradar.com/features/microsoft-365-family-vs-microsoft-365-business
What’s the difference between Microsoft 365 plans for home or business?
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-s-the-difference-between-microsoft-365-plans-for-home-or-business-31c36a5d-a13d-4b7d-9b1f-2076accbeeab
I have 2003 at home
unfortunately the Office2003 is unable to open or read the 365 files
thank you for a most thorough reply
much appreciated
“others have suggested Libre
I will check it out”
It is great. But be patient with it, it will take some getting used to. Mainly what buttons do what. Hovering over them and playing with a test document will help. And it comes with a great manual, some time reading the manual will be priceless.
Open Office and Libre are fine, as are the older and supposedly "forever" MS Office suites. More recent MS Office are available in a number of editions for "peanuts." I'd go with one of them, it you want Outlook.
On a parallel theme, some of my other software which I use regularly has had their manufacturers try to push the subscription model for updates. Personally I resent the notion of subscriptions, but can see why some software companies have been pushing it. They need the revenue. But that's not our problem, is it?
#7 is correct. I bought the Full version of Office 2021 at $35 last Dec 2022. You have to have Windows 10 or 11.
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