After 12 years, my old XP Pro Toshiba laptop which still runs- can no longer keep. If I go to, say, the Foxnews site, the machine bogs down on any page where people are actively posting in coments. That's just an example. It's been a lot of fun lately . Anyhoo, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a WIN10 Pro laptop. Somehow, I don't see my copy of Office 2003 working all that well on it.

I don't think I want Office 365. I have no interest in this "cloud" shit for Office files. I guess, then, I'll be looking to get Office 2013, or does it have all that cloud shit as well?

I'm still running Office 2010, probably need to upgrade to a newer version, on Win10 machine.

There are quite a few non MSFT based suites out there, some free options as well. My big issue with running MS OFfice is the database in Access that has been heavily modified so I'm stuck with it or spend a ton converting it.

So 2010 Office works for me, wife uses 365 and it's a PIA but it's her work requirement.

Heres a link to some Options

https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/...e-best-office-suites

https://www.digitaltrends.com/...office-alternatives/

And what is all this "subscription" crap? Used to be, you'd buy software and you owned that license, and everything that went with it. But, now, these software companies want a steady stream of revenue for such software?? WTF? I am NOT paying for a freaking subscription.

What's the most recent MS Office suite that has no freaking cloud and no freaking subscriptions?

I've moved most of my stuff to Google Docs and Sheets and rarely use MS Office anymore. It comes as part of my Google Drive account.

Is that an option?

That's a cloud. I hate clouds.

Office 2013 is the last Microsoft version that is not at least half in the cloud.

Of course, there are a number of open-source office suites that meet a cloudless criteria, most notably OpenOffice.

Office 365 is subscription based with cloud. It's what they push and they bury the other options on their website.

Office 2019 "Home and Student" is the classic no-cloud one-time-purchase Office suite.

Here's a comparison:
https://products.office.com/en...ffice-products?tab=1

My work's licensing agreement with MS allows employees to have a personal copy. It's Office 365, but I keep all my stuff locally - I'm not even "logged in" with my Office apps.

If I were paying for it myself, I wouldn't do Office 365, as I generally don't like subscription-based products. My exception is Adobe Lightroom/ Photoshop.

If you still have the installation media, before you buy anything, at least try to load Office 2003 on the new laptop. I bet it will still work.

If you don't have your old license key, Belarc Advisor can retrieve them.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
That's a cloud. I hate clouds.

MS Office current version is 2019.
Currently you can get the O365 version where you pay by the year and will always have the latest version.
Or you can get the boxed product that is a one time price at approx. 2.5ys of O365 pricing.
Either version you will have to have a Microsoft account to activate.
Register once and you can get you product working.
If you have an old copy of 2010 (would NOT use anything prior) it can activate without a MS Account with just the CD Key.
On the versions 2013,2016,2019 you have the MS account to get the actual digital/license cd key.
The key that comes in the box with the product is not the final registered license (confusing - yes > sorry).

Bottom line if you want the current product you need a MS account, versions 2010 and prior you do not.

I use an Office 2007 upgrade version. So i must first load my old Office 2003 and then "upgrade" to 2007. Worked on my lenovo with windows 10.

Try yours first. Cant hurt.

Before spending even one thin dime with Microsoft, I urge you to take a look at LibreOffice.

It is a Microsoft office work-alike, and the price is right: FREE!

Documents, spreadsheets, etc. can be saved in Microsoft Office format, so exchange with Office users is no problem.

To date, I have not found any incompatibilities.

Everything is saved on your own drive, no cloud unless you want to use a cloud drive like DropBox.

Did I mention that it's FREE?

Tou can download it at the link that I gave you above. Give it a try, if you don't like it, nothing lost, just delete it from your system.

One more thing -- there are versions for Mac as well, and I think also for Linux (not positive about that last).

It's Open Source and well supported.

I've been using Libreoffice. This is a free office suite and can save documents in MS Office compatible format.

Bill

Yes, LibreOffice is a great alternative to the Microsoft universe. And yes, it is free and runs on Wintel, Mac, and Linux.

I have been running it on my Linux boxes since it's inception with no problems.

At least give it a look-see, Boss.

H&K-Guy

Luckily for me, I have been able to get the last 3 versions of Office thru the Microsoft Home Use Program for $10 each because my employer uses it. The new version just came out and they raised the price this year. I'll have to pay $15 for Office 2019 this time. I think I can safely put off using Office 365 for another decade or so.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Before spending even one thin dime with Microsoft, I urge you to take a look at LibreOffice.

It is a Microsoft office work-alike, and the price is right: FREE!

Documents, spreadsheets, etc. can be saved in Microsoft Office format, so exchange with Office users is no problem.

To date, I have not found any incompatibilities.

Everything is saved on your own drive, no cloud unless you want to use a cloud drive like DropBox.

Did I mention that it's FREE?

Tou can download it at the link that I gave you above. Give it a try, if you don't like it, nothing lost, just delete it from your system.

One more thing -- there are versions for Mac as well, and I think also for Linux (not positive about that last).

It's Open Source and well supported.

When I recently upgraded Xubuntu Linux on my knock around computer to the latest LTS version, Libre Office was automatically installed as its default office suite.

Apache office is also another freeware office suite that is comparible with microsoft office documents. I believe it is an offshoot of the Libreoffice group and the used the same core open source code.

There is also a portable apps version of it that can be run off a usb drive.

Ken.

quote:

Originally posted by KenS:

Apache office is also another freeware office suite that is comparible with microsoft office documents. I believe it is an offshoot of the Libreoffice group and the used the same core open source code.

True. I would go with LibreOffice though, as I believe it is the most popular version and therefore likely to be the best supported, current updates, etc.