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Everyone that is looking to buy a new computer should buy the new
Microsoft Office 2007. If you have Office 2000 or Office XP and it suits your needs, then there is absolutely
no reason to upgrade. Office 2007 is not an absolute necessity, but once you get use to the benefits it
will be worth the money and learning curve.
I suggest going to Microsoft.com and downloading the trial.
This trial is good for 60 days, which is enough to get a feel for it.
Microsoft has an
Office Suite Comparison Chart that shows what software is included with each version of Office 2007 |
A boxed version is always more expensive than buying Office 2007 pre-packaged (OEM) in a new computer.
Microsoft doesn't sell the OEM or boxed version of Office 2007 directly on it's website. Instead they recommend
a variety of resellers
for the boxed version. This a good place to start because you may get
a discount that you won't get in stores.
Dell and Gateway, are no longer offering Office 2003.
They're packaging OEM versions of 2007 in new computers.
If you don't purchase the full version you'll probably get the 60-day trial pre-installed, especially in their home-lines of computers.
Computers bought in retail stores will most likely have only the trial version, so beware of what you need before you buy.
It is possible to buy an upgrade license. Microsoft Office 2007 Basic,
Home and Student, Ultimate and Enterprise
do not allow upgrades. You'll have to buy the full version if you want to purchase any of these.
The pre-packaged OEM versions often cost about 50% less than the boxed versions. Microsoft provides a list of
estimated pricing. However, it
doesn't show the OEM pricing. You'll have to find those by pulling up computer quotes at Dell, HP or Gateway's websites.
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PDF Creation: You can now create PDF's without having to buy Adobe Standard which generally costs around $170.
After you purchase office you can download the
PDF add-in and then any document, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can be saved as a PDF.
Live Preview: This allows you to view changes to
fonts, font size, table color, table size, etc. without actually making those changes permanent.
When you want to preview a font, select some text, and put your mouse over the font you want to preview. Then watch as the selected text changes to that font. If you decide not to change the font simply close out of the font
change box and the selected text goes back to the original font. No more wasting time on selecting something,
not liking it, and then changing it again – that process could go on forever.
Tab based “menus”: Microsoft is now using a new menu-less "Ribbon" which features
tabs instead of the usual drop-down options . The tabs at the top are nearly identical in Word and Excel, so once you
learn the tabs in Word you will know what is there (more or less) in Excel.
Powerpoint uses most of the same exact tabs as Word and Excel. Microsoft Outlook still
uses conventional menus and looks much like Outlook 2003, XP, and 2000.
You can see
pictures and details and or
watch a demonstration video at the Microsoft Office website.
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First, gauge whether you need a new Office system. Not everyone needs the
latest and greatest thing for what they use it for. If all you write are simple
documents and spreadsheets, then maybe 2007 is not necessarily the best choice.
A new computer will come with some level of Office 2007, and if you are willing to
take the time to struggle a little to learn it then Office 2007 is your best choice.
Because Office 2007 uses more systems resources it will
slow down older computers, especially Pentium 4s and Pentium IIIs without a lot of memory.
We're generally recommending it for Duo Core computers with at least 1GB or more of ram.
This version is a huge upgrade from any previous version – the features allow for
professional looking documents without zapping any extra time. |
- Ed Duvall, MCSA, A+, Network+, Witzend Computing -
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