Re: [PLUG] Perpetual license for MS Office, limited time

["N. Albert via plug" <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

On 12/26/2022 11:21 AM, Walt Mankowski via plug wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 25, 2022 at 06:08:23PM -0500, N. Albert via plug wrote:
> > On 12/25/2022 2:08 PM, Greg Helledy via plug wrote:
> > > I feel kind of dirty posting this on a linux board, but apparently MS
> > > is, for a few days, offering Office Professional licenses on a permanent
> > > basis for $30. The alternative is having to rent it for $70/year.
> > >
> > > The Mac offer expires at midnight tonight (12/25), the Windows offer
> > > expires 12/28.
> > >
> > > https://www.cnet.com/deals/microsoft-office-is-91-percent-off-and-youd-be-nuts-to-miss-out-today/
> > Interesting... I wonder if Office 2021 licenses aren't selling that well.
> I'm guessing most people who need to use Office either already have
> it, have a 365 subscription through work or school (like I do) or are
> running a really old version like you are. It sounds like they were
> trying to make it so cheap that they'd pick up a few stragglers. I
> might have seriously considered it if I didn't already have access to
> 365 through work.

Yup, I have O365 access through multiple sources as well... I have that 
on one machine but put 2010 on my own stuff out of preference.

> > There was a time where I would have gone for this immediately, but now I
> > neither rent nor buy; I still use Office 2010, and Windows 7, so even if the
> > 2021 version were "free", I'd pass on it. I prefer the older version, and it
> > doesn't look like Microsoft will change my mind anytime soon.
> Keep in mind that Windows 7 has been out of support for nearly 3 years
> now, so this is a risky strategy if you care about things like
> security updates.

Well, that's not quite true, the ESU program is still ongoing, which 
people don't seem to remember. Microsoft is keeping it up to date, even 
if most users aren't.
I'm a pretty savvy person with computers (as are many on a list like 
this, I suspect), so I'm not especially worried about security 
personally. Obviously, I wouldn't recommend it for the average person, 
but for me the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Fundamentally, I've always believed in software choice, so if Microsoft 
wants to bully users to moving towards O365 and W10/11, fine, but it's 
just as much my right to resist that for whatever reason. People are 
sticking with older Microsoft software for many of the same reasons that 
people have switched to Linux for workstation use.

As for the "free" stuff, Google Docs, Open Office, online Office, etc. 
are not competitive with MS Office for me. For the 90% of users that use 
10% of the features in Word and Excel, they may suffice, but for that 
10%, nothing else suffices, and there are also Office programs that 
don't have counterparts in the other stuff, like OneNote, Publisher, 
Visio, etc.

NA
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