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Choosing the right copy of Microsoft Office | |
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Updated 8 December 2007 The single most important piece
of software on most computers is the office suite they run. For
most computer users, the basic task of their computer for writing letters and
sending emails. For most people, this means using Microsoft Office.
Sadly Microsoft have made it very
difficult to choose the right versions, they have confused the market with way
too many versions.
So, in conjunction with our buying
a new computer page, here's our guide to making sense
of the Office mess.
OEM software was once the cheapest
and best way to buy Office, but now the price and the attached conditions don't
make it as appealing. It's best to check retail prices as you may get a better
deal as, for instance, the box version of Office Home and Student is valid for
three computers while the OEM version is only good for the computer it comes
on.
One of the bizarre policies of Microsoft
is to exclude Outlook from Home and Student edition. This is an important change
at up until the latest release, all the versions of Office had included Outlook
or it's predecessors.
Outlook is definitely the best of
Microsoft's email programs and we'd suggest this is important in many households
and offices.
However it should be pointed out
that families aren't using the ISP provided email but take advantage of web
based mail or messaging programs. So it may be you don't need Outlook, if so
the Student and Home edition may be adequate.
Like many other software companies,
Microsoft also make available academic editions. These are intended for students
and teachers with licence expressly prohibiting commercial use. These are full
features products that are the same as the full priced editions in every respect
except the licence.
If you are a home user with an eligible
student or academic in the house then you are entitled to buy and use the
academic editions. Retails are supposed to check for relevant ID but few do
in practice.
Keep in mind that a
business using these editions risks substantial fines should they be caught.
Technically a household where the kids have left school could also be in breach
of an academic licence.
Publisher is a weird beast that
Microsoft
seem to have grown bored with. These days Word seems to do most of Publisher's
basic tasks and Microsoft have conceded the mid and higher end ground to companies
like Adobe.
Unfortunately there is no Publisher
viewer available and Microsoft have no intention of releasing one. Their reasons
are interesting and explained at the Microsoft
Developer Network website. We'd argue the lack of a Publisher viewer is
one of the reasons Publisher is dying.
If you must use Publisher, make
sure you send out documents created in it as a .PDF attachment. We like and
recommend CutePDF as a
way to create these attachment.
If you have to use an in house database
for your business. We recommend you use Filemaker or hire someone who knows
how to develop MS SQL or MySQL databases.
Suckers for punishment that want
to persist with Access in their business can use any of the business versions
EXCEPT for Small Business.
If you do want or need any of these
functions, consult
Microsoft's chart. We certainly wouldn't recommend basing your decisions
on these features.
The problem with ditching office
is sharing documents and presentations becomes tricky. For most students and
many business, this is too risky. But for home users an alternative like Open
Office might be worth trying.
Choosing the right copy of Microsoft
Office
OEM versus boxed product
This is a big topic. If you get Microsoft
Office supplied with the new computer you may get it at a discount to the retail
price. This is called OEM software and we discuss
it in detail on a separate page.
Home use versus business use
One popular package is the home and
student edition. It's important to note that this edition is explicitly for home
use. If you are running a home business then this is legally not for you.
Academic editions
Choosing the right features
The bewildering array of feature across
the eight
different versions makes it difficult to select which product is right. It
depends upon your needs.
Microsoft Word
Standard across all versions.
Microsoft Excel
Standard across all versions.
Outlook
Not included in the Home and Student
edition. The business editions include the Business Contact Manager with Outlook.
We've found Business Contact Manager to be a pain we'd recommend you uninstall
it before using Outlook.
Powerpoint
This is a must have in many homes and
offices. It is included in all editions except Office Basic. If you only want
to look at Powerpoint presentations then you can do without it and just download
the Powerpoint Viewer.
Publisher
If you still want publisher then you
should get any of the business versions.
Access
Like Publisher, Access is another program
that Microsoft seem to be letting die on the vine. The only thing we suspect that
keeps MS Access alive is it is a useful way of easing people into the industrial
strength SQL server.
OneNote, Grove, InfoPath, Accounting
Express and other stuff
All the other options in Office are
irrelevant noise. The number of people who actually use any of these functions
can be counted on one hand.
Our recommendations
It's difficult to recommend any one
product as there are such a bewildering array of features. If you are an existing
Office user, then you should make sure the new version includes the features you
currently use. Powerpoint and Outlook are the two obvious candidates for upgrading
users to be caught out.
Home users
Microsoft Office Home & Student
is our choice. The three most important apps for students; Word, Excel and Powerpoint
are there and it's difficult to go past it on price, particularly for the three
user edition. If you need Outlook, then MS Office Standard is the way to go.
Business users
For the basic business user, Outlook
is a must have. So we'd go with MS Office Standard. If you have need to
use Publisher or Access, then MS Office Professional is the way to go, but at
$850 per copy, it's an expensive luxury.
Office Alternatives
Another aspect to consider is ditching
Office altogether. There are a number of alternatives which we've discussed previously.
It's important to remember there is a learning curve in going to another Office
suite and there are some differences between the versions.
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