[Plankton]

After reading the phone topic and how easy it is to do something with a photo on an iPhone!!! It's reminding me how much of a pita my lack of software is. My Office 365 expired along with the ability to use publisher and somehow ended up losing files as they wouldn't open and I think I then deleted them.
So do you pay for an annual subscription to use windows or have you got something else setup. I'm currently using Onedrive for files and invoices but it's an inconvenience not being able to work straight from the laptop. 

[Steve Newres]

After reading the phone topic and how easy it is to do something with a photo on an iPhone!!! It's reminding me how much of a pita my lack of software is. My Office 365 expired along with the ability to use publisher and somehow ended up losing files as they wouldn't open and I think I then deleted them.
So do you pay for an annual subscription to use windows or have you got something else setup. I'm currently using Onedrive for files and invoices but it's an inconvenience not being able to work straight from the laptop.

Office 365 is annual. Windows is a one off.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Just buy a lifetime licence of office rather than buying annual licence. 

Will save you a fortune.  Had my office 2010 since that date and still going strong having installed it on a new machine since then too.

Buy it from amazon or eBay.

[Plankton]

I had looked at this before https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Office-Professional-DOWNLOAD-WIndows/dp/B072R63CH7/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517175219&sr=8-3&keywords=microsoft+office But I'd end up with the one that doesn't work!

[Stoots]

I use open office

[Plankton]

I use open office

Is this the download and is it safe http://ccm.net/download/download-56-openoffice

[andyM]

I use open office

Me too.

[Stoots]

I use open office

Is this the download and is it safe http://ccm.net/download/download-56-openoffice

Probably

But just go to the official site

https://www.openoffice.org

[Marc Stock]

I absolutely hate windows 10. Rolled back to windows 7 and the computer works properly.

I have a stand alone windows 2003 XP machine as factory, no updates that i run the database software on. Its faster and more reliable than modern windows 10 machines.

Im upgrading all my computers to Linux and chrome this year, binning windows all together.

[dazmond]

I absolutely hate windows 10. Rolled back to windows 7 and the computer works properly.

I have a stand alone windows 2003 XP machine as factory, no updates that i run the database software on. Its faster and more reliable than modern windows 10 machines.

Im upgrading all my computers to Linux and chrome this year, binning windows all together.

why?sounds like a ballache to me....

whats wrong with windows 10?i never have a problem....i use a cheap acer aspire laptop.great little computer,a canon printer which cost me £40 and cleaner planner...job done....

[Steve Newres]

Just buy a lifetime licence of office rather than buying annual licence. 

Will save you a fortune.  Had my office 2010 since that date and still going strong having installed it on a new machine since then too.

Buy it from amazon or eBay.

I’m not sure you still can. I’ve always had a full licence but when I looked about three years ago I couldn’t find an option to buy outright other than a student version. We use it (family and business) on 5 or 6 pcs.

[Walter Mitty]

For Windows, I would be happiest with Windows98 SE (second edition).  It was the last version of Windows before Microsoft started messing around with stuff like hidden partitions.  Reinstalling from a boot floppy was a cinch. and then you could re-install all your software and  the folder(s) with your files.
But then Microsoft decided to make too many things automatic and I found it harder to use.  I don't want the operating system making decisions for me.  I want to make them for myself.
I suppose it's what comes from tinkering with old computers like a Commodore 64.  You learn how to do certain things and it can be a PITA when that is taken away.  Honestly, I used to keep my work records on a spreadsheet called Rocket (ha ha) and a database called Locofile - all running (separately) on an expanded Amstrad PCW and printed out on some single-colour bubblejet printer where you had to alter the DIP switches to change functions.  Loading and saving were slow but everything else was fine.  Everything was done on floppy discs and half a megabyte of RAM.  And it worked just fine.  You had to ensure thorough backing up though because floppies could be unreliable.

[Slacky]

Windows is 5hite.

[andyM]

Windows is 5hite.

Nah it's not that bad.
About a year ago i was thinking of buying a 4k iMac.
Went down to pc world and had a look, the mac was very good and looked the business, but to be honest i just couldn't justify splashing out 2 grand on one.

[Slacky]

2K for any computer is a lot of money.

Ive had my Mac for 5 years now, its pretty much just as fast as it was when I bought it. I bought a windows laptop a few weeks back, it was slow from the word go. Freezing within minutes of starting it up. Crap. Utter 5hite!

I started off with a windows machine in the late 90s and have had probably 3 or 4 windows machines in total. They all slow to a grinding painful existence that is nothing but a pain in the ass to use.


Apple is just reliable, windows isn't. There are members on here who shoot Apple down, like Soupy, but he's a sweaty sock, its to be expected.

[Plankton]

That's exactly it with windows they grind to a halt and you feel like smashing the fecking thing of the wall. Or at least I do.
The geeks I know have mac books and iPhones but I couldn't justify the money for the phones. Maybe a mac book when compared with the the Surface which costs an arm and a leg.

[andyM]

2K for any computer is a lot of money.

Ive had my Mac for 5 years now, its pretty much just as fast as it was when I bought it. I bought a windows laptop a few weeks back, it was slow from the word go. Freezing within minutes of starting it up. Crap. Utter 5hite!

I started off with a windows machine in the late 90s and have had probably 3 or 4 windows machines in total. They all slow to a grinding painful existence that is nothing but a pain in the ass to use.


Apple is just reliable, windows isn't. There are members on here who shoot Apple down, like Soupy, but he's a sweaty sock, its to be expected.

If you're happy Slacky then it's money well spent.
When I bought my current desktop pc back in 2015 running windows 10 I made sure I got one with a decent processor (AMD 10).
I don't disagree with you're experience with the windows laptop, I've had a few over the years with similar experience.
But this desktop im on runs as fast as the day i got it, so maybe having a decent processor in it helps?

[Arnold Palmer]

My wife has a imac hingmy, It's fine. Cost her a grand and a half. If I spent a grand and a half on a proper pc it'd be a damn sight better than "fine".

What she's done is; she's bought a £500 laptop with a £1000 badge on it.

[Walter Mitty]

That's exactly it with windows they grind to a halt and you feel like smashing the fecking thing of the wall. Or at least I do.
The geeks I know have mac books and iPhones but I couldn't justify the money for the phones. Maybe a mac book when compared with the the Surface which costs an arm and a leg.

That's precisely why I prefer the 1998SE style of Windows O/S, because you would get the Windows CD and could start from scratch every year or two.  It's no problem if you keep everything backed up properly.  Just a couple of hours out of your life every year or two.

[Arnold Palmer]

That's exactly it with windows they grind to a halt and you feel like smashing the fecking thing of the wall. Or at least I do.
The geeks I know have mac books and iPhones but I couldn't justify the money for the phones. Maybe a mac book when compared with the the Surface which costs an arm and a leg.

That's precisely why I prefer the 1998SE style of Windows O/S, because you would get the Windows CD and could start from scratch every year or two.  It's no problem if you keep everything backed up properly.  Just a couple of hours out of your life every year or two.

You could do that with XP, (probably not vista), 7, 8 and 10.

Although, stay away from those dodgy websites and you won't need to.