Microsoft Office Pro - $30

[Car_Guy]

You might get a "lifetime" licence but it's not going to be much use when Microsoft pull the plug on support in 2026 as they move to a subscription based service. And MS 365 seems to be on the out and out, certainly in Europe.
https://office-watch.com/2022/microsoft-office-support-end-dates-checklist/

Libre Office is a much better option, longer term and has no initial cost.

Just for fun I set up a virtual machine which has Word for Windows 2. Have some others with XP and Office 2000. All completely isolated from the internet, of course.

That just means they will not offer updates for it anymore, if you have it installed (and/or save the installer) you can still use it. no different than your Windows XP and Office 2000

 

[NFT5]

True, but I'm running those old OSs and programs in virtual machines, isolated from the internet and therefore safe. Most of the people here will be running on primary systems so not getting updates, especially security updates, means they could be exposed to malware. Their choice, of course, but better to be aware.

 

[turnthewrench 2.0]

Best deal I've seen in MS Office! This is a testament to how good Libre Office is these days (I don't use it).
I pay for the Office 365 Home, as it comes with the 1TB OneDrive goodie...for 5 accounts.

 

[mike93lx]

Be careful in both cases if you are transfering complicated spreadsheets - there are a few minor bugs in how they handle various features (ie the implementation varies slightly into the newer versions)
Nothing substantial, but need to check if you do anything complicated

Anyone still rocking 2000 is almost certainly not using complicated spreadsheets

 

[ATC]

I kinda want MS Office, but I've never needed it in the past. I use it at work all day long, but never at home.

 

[B T C]

This is back down to 30 bucks. I just picked up a "new" laptop and I'm tempted.

 

[dogdog]

Best deal I've seen in MS Office! This is a testament to how good Libre Office is these days (I don't use it).
I pay for the Office 365 Home, as it comes with the 1TB OneDrive goodie...for 5 accounts.

wait till your subscription expires, they hold you by the balls...

 

[MarcSeattle]

I'll be picking this up for the home office for sure. A bit confusing about the licensing, though; if I buy a copy and install it on one of my computers and then have to reformat or replace that computer, do I lose that license?

As in, is the license only as good as long as the Windows installation?

The last time I read the license agreement for one of these deals, the license is for installation on a particular machine. Get a new computer and you would have to pay again for a new license.

I don't know whether a person can re-install on the same machine without paying again.

 

[Dh3256]

Are people seriously paying a subscription fee to use Office? You can find these same keys on eBay for $12 and yes they are genuine keys not associated with any organization and are legit and legal as per the license's TOS/TOC. In addition, virtually any corporate entity you work for provides you free access to the entire office suite provided you remain as a student or employee of that organization.

Those licenses are actually NOT "legit and legal". Some vendors are selling OEM codes from equipment, others are generating codes. They will usually initially register as valid, but they will most often be inactivated at some point when the legitimate owner uses them or they are caught in an audit.

 

[Dh3256]

I started using Open Office about 15 years ago. Switched to Libre Office when it got bought. Never looked back.

It does everything I need to do. I have even convinced longtime MS users to switch. Yes, the icons look different and are in different places, but they are adapting !

I tried LibreOffice, it was OK and may be sufficient for home uses and small documents and spreadsheets.

I found that it took literally minutes to open a spreadsheet with more than a couple of tabs. It also doesn't support some of the advanced features, and crashes from time to time.

It's probably OK for basic needs but not suitable for business or advanced users.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I tried LibreOffice, it was OK and may be sufficient for home uses and small documents and spreadsheets.

I found that it took literally minutes to open a spreadsheet with more than a couple of tabs. It also doesn't support some of the advanced features, and crashes from time to time.

It's probably OK for basic needs but not suitable for business or advanced users.

Yes, it takes several SECONDS to open documents on my 15+ year old Windows 7 machine.

As for "advanced features" I do not know what you are referring to.

I have been using LibreOffice for over 10 (admittedly low frequency and not complex documents) but I have NEVER had it crash. I also know the head of IT for a medium size (250+ employees) that installs it on all of their computers.

 

[MattGarage]

Libre and free office online for me. License not transferrable to new pooter? No thanks

 

[Dh3256]

Yes, it takes several SECONDS to open documents on my 15+ year old Windows 7 machine.

As for "advanced features" I do not know what you are referring to.

I have been using LibreOffice for over 10 (admittedly low frequency and not complex documents) but I have NEVER had it crash. I also know the head of IT for a medium size (250+ employees) that installs it on all of their computers.

It takes about 2.5 MINUTES to open a spreadsheet with more than a few tabs on a fast Window 11 box. My suspicion is that it doesn't handle larger files well, there is a lot of discussion about the issue on the Libre dev forums but no solutions unfortunately, it is a known issue.

The random crashes are also a known issue, lots of discussion and work but no complete solutions yet, unfortunately.

Advanced features like macros, pivot tables, etc. Saving to different formats doesn't work well either. For example, office can save a libre office file and it works fine in libre office, but an office file saved from Libre office will need some work to function correctly in office. The inability to go back to office after using libre is a big deterrent to trying it.

Kind of scary a business would trust it, it's definitely not stable or supportable in a business environment. Maybe they bought the commercial version that is supposed to be more stable.

 

[justtools]

Showoff, lol. I'm still running Office 2000!

I think my home computer is older than 2000. It doenst take much of a computer to be on a few forums