Tag: office

How should an individual person buy Microsoft Office?

I updated my MacBook Pro, and now Excel and Word are locked up, telling me I need to subscribe for $100/year. I can’t remember when I bought Microsoft Office. What are my options? Buy the suite, or switch to Google Docs, or what? Are there other options? I tend to feel averse to subscription-model software.

If you can’t remember when you got it and/or your updated computer can’t run the version you have — and if you indeed need to run Office rather than use Google Docs or the excellent open-source OpenOffice — you should prepare to pay Microsoft something.

And if you really don’t need anything but the basics, no extra storage on OneDrive or any new feature Microsoft rolls out, then what you pay should probably be $140 for this one-time license.

I don’t perceive you need any of the more business-y or organizational tools like OneDrive, but if you do, that’s when you pay the subscription. I understand anyone’s reluctance to do so, but truly it is the appropriate model for to keep software that we value in existence.

New Office for Mac, and “should I ditch my MacBook Air”?

H. writes:

I’ve been using a 13” MacBook Air for about 3 years, running Bootcamp/Windows/Office. I’ve been happy with it, other than continually confusing the shortcut keys (e.g., moving the cursor to the end of the line or jumping over a word) with those on my work PC. I wonder if it’s a good time to consider an upgrade and maybe switch to a PC. Do you have a recommendation for a replacement with the same size/form factor on the Windows platform?

This is funny: when I started googling “pc alter…” it filled in “pc alternative to macbook air.” You ain’t the only one, H.! 

I can’t claim any experience with these, but just running with the top article — http://blog.laptopmag.com/best-ultrabooks — I’ve heard that the Asus and Acer models are really great. You really can’t go wrong with Dell or Lenovo either, but I think Asus and Acer tend to have better design.

But of course you know what I’m gonna say: Why not go with the best and see how little you need Windows? The Mac OS accommodates Exchange just fine, and it looks like there’s finally a new Office for Mac on its way. (“Excel…now recognizes most Windows keyboard shortcuts.”) You can download a preview if you’re curious. 

Also, that new MacBook should be quite fantastic. Some reports suggest it may have performance issues, so I’m not going to recommend one unequivocally, but depending on your use, it could be the sleekest piece of kit you’ve ever owned.

Finally, if you need a current copy of Office for Mac, you can purchase a downloadable license from Amazon for $199: http://astore.amazon.com/j2cons-20/detail/B0064PF4ZQ

I hope that helps!