No Longer Wanted: Microsoft Office

goldtop

I'm ditching the bloatware that is the Office 365 subscription, and want to install just Word and Excel 2010/2013. So if you've decommissioned a PC and happen to have the original CD/DVD and product key cards, let me know your price.

ETA: PC/business version

TTony

I'm pretty sure that you can still buy (genuine) MS software/keys for £50 ish.  I'd avoid eBay though.

goldtop

Yes, but in future, that depends on MS not killing off the download (as they do fairly regularly - no Win7 ISO any more, etc).

So an original CD + legit product key is what I'm after.

TTony

Understood.  I wasn't specifically suggesting you buy the download since many places have a DVD option too.  Once you've got the download, you're fine since you can create as many backup DVDs as you want/need.  All legal.

It's the product key that you're paying for - that's effectively your access to be able to use the software.  The DVD (or download) is just the delivery medium.

Jaycee

I just googled "microsoft office 2013" and plenty of results came up around £30 mark. Have you tried "Apache Open Office" ? I have used it for years. Unless you're tied to ms for some reason.

moz91

Second apache open office.

Failing that; just download an iso and burn a disk?

goldtop

OK, I'll have a look at Apache Open Office, and will see how it handles my Word/Excel documents.

My download ambivalence (vs having a disk) is because online software always eventually disappears, leading at best to forced upgrades (=slower).

vasselmeyer

I use Libre Office for virtually everything. It handles every Word, Excel and PowerPoint file I've thrown at it. Free and Open Source. 

darthed1981

Yes agreed Libre Office / Open Office (they used to be the same and forked a few years ago) provide a good basic word processor and spreadsheet that are surprisingly capable and totally free.  It even has a nifty drawing program and very basic database program as well.

If you don't want Outlook, Access, Publisher etc. a Home license would probably suffice if you want proper MS.

goldtop

OK, after a couple of days experimenting I'm 80% happy with OpenOffice. I've just got a lot of hard-learned MSOffice keyboard shortcuts to recreate/transfer. OO is also way faster than MS Office. Thanks for the suggestion. Au revoir, Microsoft!

Heartfeltdawn

Libre Office and Google Docs has worked for me for the last few years. Recently built a new PC for my freshly retired father and he asked for me to put on a copy of Office 2016 Professional that he'd bought through work. So much bloat compared to the stuff I use. 

Phil_aka_Pip

I have Libre Office on my Linux PC at work. It's crap.
I have Open Office on my XP PC at home. It's crap squared.
I have Office 97 on mt Windoze 2000 PC at home and it does everything I want it to.

Strangefan

Phil_aka_Pip said:

I have Libre Office on my Linux PC at work. It's crap.
I have Open Office on my XP PC at home. It's crap squared.
I have Office 97 on mt Windoze 2000 PC at home and it does everything I want it to.

Thankyou for an upto date opinion circa 1999.

goldtop

Phil_aka_Pip said:

I have Office 97 on mt Windoze 2000 PC at home and it does everything I want it to.

I sort of appreciate that, and good for you, but there's no way I'm rolling back 20 years!

Funkfingers

goldtop said:

Au revoir, Microsoft!

That was what I thought until I needed to submit some work-related form in electronic form. 

In the interests of maximising cross-platform compatibility, Apple Pages and Numbers can open/preview MS Office text documents and spreadsheets. 

Microsoft does not extend the same courtesy in the opposite direction. 

I had to transfer my Pages document into MS Office For Mac, save it in Word format then, resend it as an e-mail attachment. 

Danny1969

The shop I do repairs for use this site to basically give the customer everything they pretty much need to use a PC in modern life .... I always  include Open Office if I do it, it's a superb office suite 

https://ninite.com/

Basically on a clean load go to Ninite, put a tick against the browser, office prog, Paint program, free anti virus and PDF reader etc, go have a cup of tea and when you come back it's all installed with no toolbars or adware etc .... fecking great site 

Oddly enough there are situations where Open Office will open a file that's been corrupted and MS Office won't. That alone can be a useful tool even if you have MS Office installed ... it's made me look a hero a couple of times