Question:
I'm almost completely useless when it comes to computers so I thought I'd turn to the experts. Please be gentle with me.
Only got a home pc in July and didn't bother buying the microsoft office package from Dell as brother-in-law said he would sort it out (he works in IT and said he could get it cheaper). However, he's one of these people who is all talk and no action so consequently we still don't have Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc and it's really hindering my formal letter-writing activities (and I can't open all those funnies that come in the form of powerpoint presentations - bummer).
So, could someone please advise me on where to go to buy "Office", and how much it should cost. I don't need anything too fancy - just the basics I think. Also, please don't use any technical language - I'm a girl.
Thanks very much.
Answers:
What you are basically wanted is Microsoft Office - and it is not too cheap a product. There are other products available cheaper that do the same thing but unfortunately Microsoft hs the market share.
You could get it off ebay but you never know what uyou are getting until you get it if you know what I mean
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I have sent you a Private Message.
Also Open Office its a free alternative
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I have sent you a Private Message.
i bet you did
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i bet you did
Im not allowed to discuss giving a genuine CD away, that I looked at again
and is poorly scratched so it doesnt work so im not discussing that.
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Have you got school age kids? If so, then you can purchase it on an educational license. and get it much cheaper - my sister got it for about £90 last year from PC world.
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Open Office is highly recommended. Similar features to Microsoft Office but free! Have a look at this review:
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I recommend OpenOffice if you can't use the advice in post 4 above.
If you really want Office, you could risk it and purchase it from eBay, or you could take a look over at eBuyer. They have a basic version of Office 2003 for just under £125 inc. VAT Note that this doesn't include Powerpoint. They have a Small Business Edition of Office XP: £128.07 inc. VAT
These are OEM so you'll need to purchase a piece of hardware with the product otherwise you are required to purchase the product at retail prices. (Much more expensive)
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PC Pro magazine also recommends open office for home use due to the cost of MS Office.
I personally use MS Office on my main machine as we got it cheap on the NHS home use scheme.
My laptop has to use open office due to only having 1 MS Office licence.
Ben
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lottie$ is right.
If you are or know anyone who could in any way be described as a student or a teacher, you can get the Student & Teacher Edition of Microsoft Office. The definition of who qualifies is very broad – if you can grab a four-year-old off the street, you qualify.
It consists of a box containing a form and a prepaid envelope. Fill in the form, and get the relevant school/college to rubber stamp it. Put the completed form in the envelope and send it to some obscure PO box address in Amsterdam, and about three weeks later you should receive the CDs.
are showing it at £84.54 inc VAT
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ooops... me and my mucky mind as usual..
or is it just me that sends that kind of pm's?
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ooops... me and my mucky mind as usual..
or is it just me that sends that kind of pm's?
Just you I think......
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Do you or anyone who lives with you work for the NHS by any chance??
The NHS has a licensing deal with Microsoft where employess can have office for free, you just need to pay £17.50 postage or something?? I am googling trying to find the correct info but I can't find owt at the mo but basically the way I thought it worked was that as an employee I have a license for the software, as I can only use it in one place at one time, either at work or at home, I am covered either place....
Anyone who doesn't work for the NHS wont get to benefit from this deal tho, as you need to get authority from your NHS employer IT department....
I will keep googling for the correct info....
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My Sister-in-Law works for the NHS so Im gonna ask her to look into this aswell.
Thanks for kicking my brain into gear....
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Look here for a rather long winded article for the agreement that Microsoft have with the NHS....
and here () to find out how people benefit of MS products as part of their 'Home Use' program... as far as I know this is the scheme that i am talking about that the NHS is part of....??
I have more info at work (NHS) but will not be back there until next week so PM me or post on here if you get stuck and need more info!
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Additional Info:
The Home Use Program helps to increase employee productivity and maximize the value of your Microsoft Office System investment by enabling your employees to work at home. The Home Use Program enables eligible employees to get a licensed copy of most Microsoft Office desktop applications to install and use on a home computer.
Eligible employees for each application include users of licensed copies of that
application with active Software Assurance under the enrolment. Eligible employees can order online at the Microsoft HUP web site. In order to access this web site, your employees must use the unique program code provided for your organization.
In relation to employee liability for the software - it rests entirely with the user - so should they leave the NHS then they are required as per the terms and conditions on the web site to uninstall and return to their Trust.
Subject to your understanding of the details of the programme Microsoft, on behalf of PASA will give you details of how to communicate, obtain and manage this benefit within your organisation, and send you your programme code.
If you are responding as (or on behalf of) an individual within an organisation, such as a GP Practice you may wish to forward this to your IM&T or procurement department at PCT level for actioning. These sorts of requests can create a duplication of effort on both parts - and you may already be on the system, as PCTs register GP domains within their regions.
You will need to ensure you have an appropriate level of control to ensure that this is communicated appropriately and you have the facility to respond to questions and where necessary advise on support options. Due to the nature of the offer, issues regarding returns, payment and shipping need to be handled via the online tool, and Microsoft cannot respond to these queries.
If you have any questions about the nature of the programme, or anything not covered here – please email
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Like a lot of other people I have to recommend Open Office - a fantastic peice of free software (I know the sound of free software can scare people off, but the latest release is very good).
It can open all the latest 'Office' version of files (so you can open the powerpoint presentations etc.), and should give you all the functionality required to do any letters or posters you want to do. If you want to share fiels with other people you will need to save the file in a suitable format (ie Microsoft word) if the receiver doesnt also have Open Office, but this isnt complicated at all (honest!), and if you do need help with that, their is always lots of us to help you out!
It is a large file to download, but the easiest way to get it is to buy one of the computer mags such as PC Pro or Computer Shopper, which should have it on the cover disc (the DVD version of Computer Shopper Feb 06 edition def had verision 2 which you would want).
If you are used to Microsoft Office it is a bit different, but don't worry it is easy to get used to, and like I said earlier if you do need help, their is plenty of help available on here!
I have to admit though I am very biased toward using the free Open Office instead of paying Microsoft!
b.t.w thanks to everyone who posted about the NHS discount - not any help to me but I know somebody at work who is married to a doctor, and that could be very useful to him!
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You can buy an OpenOffice CD from a company called 8daysaweek ( ) It will cost £8.99 including postage, but the CD does come with plenty of other programs , including clip-art and (to quote their web-site) " Mozilla Firefox (Internet browser), Mozilla Thunderbird (Email client), The GIMP (for image manipulation) and much more high quality Open Source Software"
I have bought this CD from them and am very pleased with the result. You get the disk in a couple of days and once you have bought something from them you will get a discount on other items. The CD avoids a very long download.
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You can buy an OpenOffice CD from a company called 8daysaweek ( ) It will cost £8.99 including postage, but the CD does come with plenty of other programs , including clip-art and (to quote their web-site) " Mozilla Firefox (Internet browser), Mozilla Thunderbird (Email client), The GIMP (for image manipulation) and much more high quality Open Source Software"
I have bought this CD from them and am very pleased with the result. You get the disk in a couple of days and once you have bought something from them you will get a discount on other items. The CD avoids a very long download.
Mmmm all thats free anyway so that site is a bit of a rip off just download
all of the above and plenty more then burn a CD.... Much Cheaper as its Free.
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I have bought this CD from them and am very pleased with the result. You get the disk in a couple of days and once you have bought something from them you will get a discount on other items. The CD avoids a very long download.
It's quite a quick download if you have broadband and you are guaranteed to get the most up-to-date version. The CD is only a good idea if you only have dial-up and cannot ask a friend with broadband to download it for you.