Microsoft Boosts Office 2019 Price by 10%

[N4CR]

The ribbon has been in Office for over a decade in coming up on five major versions with Office 2019. I remember the angst over the ribbon with its introduction in Office 2007 and all the cries about how it was going to kill productivity and push people to other Office suites. That simply didn't happen.

Good point, that all blew over pretty quick but I still hate it each time I go to do something and I have to make three clicks or more, to get what used to be right there in one or two clicks.
I wonder if there are any mods to remove it. In some ways for some users, it's just like the headphone jack courage, with the difference that apple marketing just began to make users validate their choice of inferior technology.
>charging and not using stuff is fine
>BT is courageous
>I don't use it on crowded busses/trains/areas where it drops out (sure you don't)
>wiresh are sthoooo ugleey
>they get in the way
>it doesn't matter if they only last a few years
etc

 

[heatlesssun]

Good point, that all blew over pretty quick but I still hate it each time I go to do something and I have to make three clicks or more, to get what used to be right there in one or two clicks.
I wonder if there are any mods to remove it. In some ways for some users, it's just like the headphone jack courage, with the difference that apple marketing just began to make users validate their choice of inferior technology.

I bet if you go through a list of commands that the gap you think is there isn't really there. Trying to find if, but when the ribbon was introduced one of the reasons Microsoft gave for it was to make things more discoverable. Something like 90% of the requests they were getting were for features already in the product.

 

[darckhart]

I bet if you go through a list of commands that the gap you think is there isn't really there. Trying to find if, but when the ribbon was introduced one of the reasons Microsoft gave for it was to make things more discoverable. Something like 90% of the requests they were getting were for features already in the product.

Unfortunately, the majority of help requests I used to get was when the ribbon didn't show the option because..... the laptop screen was too small and they had shrunk the app window and dynamic resizing conveniently made the icon disappear!

 

[katanaD]

Is there an alternative to Outlook that has rules? I just couldn't live without the way they automatically organize everything. MS has me by the balls on that one, it seems.

and thats one of the core apps for office, especially if you use exchange for email. But outlook is central to the office suite. yet.. there isnt any viable replacement.

 

[acidrain97]

My KMS server was free. All my Win 10/8/7/Server 2012 machine licences were free. My Office license was free. Might want to look into this. Free is good.

 

[Dekoth-E-]

Many years ago, I received an awful looking resume. The formatting was terrible. I ignored it and looked at the content and we interviewed AND hired the guy. This was for a global technical role and the guy was awesome.

Can't say I care. I deal with far too many to try and fix peoples resumes because they couldn't be bothered to get access to Word once a year. I mean look, I get it. Not everyone wants to pay $400 for a copy of office for something they at most use a few times a year. However for something as important as Office, take the time to run a free trial or go to the library and use their computers. It isn't hard to get access to Word for a day here and there to have a good looking properly formatted resume that Everyone in the business world can read without jumping through stupid hoops. The way I see it, I have 100 good candidates sitting in my inbox. Those who can't be bothered to stick to industry standards are a fast way for me to cull the pile.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Still rocking Office 95 because why do I need to upgrade a word processor or spreadsheet? Then again I am hardly their target demographic

 

[Burticus]

My place of work allows me to snag Office for $10. The standalone, that is, not that subscription bullshit.

Yeah my old employer had the HUP (home use program) and office was $10. Current employer has never heard of it. But that's OK, still rocking the Office 2013 I bought 5 years ago for $10. And if I ever do want a newer version for cheap, I have a pretty good idea where to get one . Or there is always Google Docs, I don't care if Big Brother Google is reading my resume or cover letters.

Work moved Outlook to the 365 cloud thing. I learned really quick that you better make local archives of emails you want to keep and be able to find. Trying to find older emails that are cloud archived is like pulling hair. Keep hitting that "more" button... and wait, and again, and wait (for eternity)

 

[c3k]

Office 365: because I think MS should be able to look at, copy, sample, and disseminate, all my documents. "Cloud": yay!

/s

 

[Bowman15]

My KMS server was free. All my Win 10/8/7/Server 2012 machine licences were free. My Office license was free. Might want to look into this. Free is good.

 

[OregonLAN]

Can't say I care. I deal with far too many to try and fix peoples resumes because they couldn't be bothered to get access to Word once a year. I mean look, I get it. Not everyone wants to pay $400 for a copy of office for something they at most use a few times a year. However for something as important as Office, take the time to run a free trial or go to the library and use their computers. It isn't hard to get access to Word for a day here and there to have a good looking properly formatted resume that Everyone in the business world can read without jumping through stupid hoops. The way I see it, I have 100 good candidates sitting in my inbox. Those who can't be bothered to stick to industry standards are a fast way for me to cull the pile.

Does your company require the use of Microsoft Word? Have you thought about switching?

I agree, if you're looking for a workers that are competent with Microsoft Office, then the resume should reflect a certain amount of competency in Microsoft Word.

Our company is partial to the Google ecosystem, so we typically ask them for a .pdf or a link to their resume in Google Drive.

 

[Dekoth-E-]

Does your company require the use of Microsoft Word? Have you thought about switching?

I agree, if you're looking for a workers that are competent with Microsoft Office, then the resume should reflect a certain amount of competency in Microsoft Word.

Our company is partial to the Google ecosystem, so we typically ask them for a .pdf or a link to their resume in Google Drive.

Why would we switch? There isn't a real alternative for a large enterprise environment. Office simply does far too much. Google is fine for small business type stuff, it isn't an enterprise application though.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Can't say I care. I deal with far too many to try and fix peoples resumes because they couldn't be bothered to get access to Word once a year. I mean look, I get it. Not everyone wants to pay $400 for a copy of office for something they at most use a few times a year. However for something as important as Office, take the time to run a free trial or go to the library and use their computers. It isn't hard to get access to Word for a day here and there to have a good looking properly formatted resume that Everyone in the business world can read without jumping through stupid hoops. The way I see it, I have 100 good candidates sitting in my inbox. Those who can't be bothered to stick to industry standards are a fast way for me to cull the pile.

Cool, I can’t say I care what you do either but I was sharing a story. I don’t know what industry you’re in, but I can tell you this: if I had a dime for every time I interviewed a candidate with an awesome-looking resume who turned out to be a complete dud, I probably would not need to work. The most recent example was about a month ago and reading this guy’s resume and LinkedIN would have you believe he was an awesome technical talent with tons of incredible experience, only to find he struggled with basic questions. Yes, I may have a reputation as a brutal interviewer, but if it is on your resume, it’s fair game.

 

[OregonLAN]

Why would we switch? There isn't a real alternative for a large enterprise environment. Office simply does far too much. Google is fine for small business type stuff, it isn't an enterprise application though.

It's called humor, try it sometime...

And Google probably does a lot more than you realize once you start using their APIs.

 

[Domingo]

My firm has recently begun migrating from Office 365 to the Google Suite after an acquisition. For something free it's pretty nice, but I swear they always intentionally format MS Office documents slightly different just to mess with me. Nearly every Wod doc I have with graphics or specialized formatting = jacked up and difficult to fix.
Things are a lot more streamlined, but not as fully featured. At least on the Word and PPT side of things. I can't speak for Excel as I consider it my nemesis.
It rarely gets much attention, but I kinda like the free web versions of the MS Office apps available via Hotmail. I prefer those to Google's, personally.

 

[c3k]

It's called humor, try it sometime...

And Google probably does a lot more than you realize once you start using their APIs.

And that's the problem with Google...

 

[sadsteve]

Why would we switch? There isn't a real alternative for a large enterprise environment. Office simply does far too much. Google is fine for small business type stuff, it isn't an enterprise application though.

Hm, a small business like Motorola? My company was purchased this year by Motorola and Motorola is in the Google world. We still have the Office suite on our machines but it's just for the 'legacy' documents/spreadsheets, all new stuff is via the G suite.

 

[jedijeb13]

Can't say I care. I deal with far too many to try and fix peoples resumes because they couldn't be bothered to get access to Word once a year. I mean look, I get it. Not everyone wants to pay $400 for a copy of office for something they at most use a few times a year. However for something as important as Office, take the time to run a free trial or go to the library and use their computers. It isn't hard to get access to Word for a day here and there to have a good looking properly formatted resume that Everyone in the business world can read without jumping through stupid hoops. The way I see it, I have 100 good candidates sitting in my inbox. Those who can't be bothered to stick to industry standards are a fast way for me to cull the pile.

If I was sending a resume I would send it in .pdf since that is an industry standard and regardless of which word processor you use, the formatting should remain the same to all end users. Sending something in Word format just means a much larger document to send and who knows if the receiver can read it or not.

I don't know anyone who uses all the "features" in MSOffice. $400 for being able to add or plot a few columns of data in a spreadsheet or send a memo just seems stupid to me. Our IT guy is talking about moving to O365 to avoid the licensing costs, but we have several days each year where the internet is down for whatever problem, I can just imagine what will happen when we can't use Office on a day we really need it. Add in the fact we are stuck with computers on some equipment that are 10-15 years old and can't be upgraded without purchasing a new $200k piece of equipment, I doubt O365 is going to be compatible across the entire laboratory which will cause even more headaches.

 

[Vader1975]

Actually, I've been paying full price for far TOO long. I've got 7 licensed versions currently running on 7 different machines. I'm about to build another, making it 8. The upgrade cost from a deprecated version to the most recent is the same as full price.

I certainly don't think an upgrade should be free. I'm getting something "better" (debatable), so it should cost. Got it. However, the current pricing scheme MS uses actually penalizes me for having purchased licenses in the past.

If rig 8 and Libre works well, I'll never look back. (And, yes, I do contribute to "free" software if I use it and I like it.)

I abandoned Microsoft Office with StarOffice 5. Haven't paid for Microsofts office in 18 years. Used Open office and now LibreOffice. I laugh when people say dumb things like "Honestly still worth it. I dislike it, but subscription services are garbage and free versions aren't office no matter what the defenders try to argue." I am thrilled that the "free" versions aren't office as I have watched the buggy horror of my friends and co-workers living in Microsoft's hell for all these years. The early days of Star Office were paid products and if I was to pay for an office product today I would buy Corel Wordperfect Office X9. I have actually paid for X8 but it was for my wife who enjoys the Wordperfect interface. Every time I am forced to use office somewhere I am disheartened that is is even worse than the last time I was forced to use it. It gets harder and harder to do simple things in it. I can teach a person to use Office 97 and get the basic things done they need in minutes next to Office 2016... I think they lost the idea of it being as easy as opening a Window. They make it worse almost every release. I am really hoping Vulkan takes off and ends directx so we can abandon Microsoft entirely.

 

[heatlesssun]

It gets harder and harder to do simple things in it.

Can you name something specific? Basic and simple operations in MS Office simply haven't changed that much over the years. There are a lot more features in the product now however.

 

[jardows]

Office 365: because I think MS should be able to look at, copy, sample, and disseminate, all my documents. "Cloud": yay!

/s

Sarcasm fail by truth. I use Office 365, and nothing is cloud based. It is only my license for the locally installed Office suite, and all my files stay on my local computer. I could use the cloud features if I wanted to, but I don't want to, and don't have to. I can use Office 365 without issue without being continually connected to the Internet, though I do have to connect to the Internet at least once a month to verify my subscription. Office 365 != cloud services.

 

[Bawjaws]

I wish I'd kept 2010. Went to 2013 and fuck that slow ass, productivity killing ribbon. Jesus christ it's a shit design and the 'muh ribbon is good' crowd obviously don't do anything beyond simple formatting.

But 2010 had the Ribbon too? There are minimal differences between the 2010 and 2013 Ribbons, really, although I do prefer 2010 in general.

 

[VoloxitySF]

I have all legit copies of these that I bought years ago. I'm not signing up for a subscription service for software. I'm slowly moving to Linux Mint away from MS software. I may also move to Libre Office. Just need to play with it more. At work we use 365.

I believe he was talking about the security vulnerabilities that have since been patched in newer versions of office, not so much the validity of your license.

I trash resumes every single day because of that "Almost there" part because they came through as a giant mess. If they can't even get word processing right there is no way in hell I would trust them for something as complex as a spreadsheet where vastly more variables are at play. So keep encouraging people to use that dogshit so they can keep wondering why they never get called back on their job applications.

Agreed. I used to use OpenOffice to create resumes and had to ditch it and buy Office because the formatting would go to hell between the original and docx conversion.

 

[TheCommander]

OpenOffice and Libre Office are not that great but it depends what you use them for. MS Office is a nice product.

 

[rudy]

Fuck subscribing for Office. They'll get my subscription for it when they make it free for having Xbox Live.

I get Amazon Prime Video for free for having a Prime account. Granted not every movie/show is free with my subscription, but I also don't plan on binge-watching the entire archive either. Microsoft CAN do similar. It's whether or not they will.

haha I was thinking that MS should do something actually more like amazon prime maybe call it MS ultimate or something and for $100 / year you get office, whatever the latest windows is, Xbox live etc.... But they really don't really need to because their are so many different factors in the money. IE office is often a product that is purchased by someones work, so a lot of families don't want to pay for it.

If I was sending a resume I would send it in .pdf since that is an industry standard and regardless of which word processor you use, the formatting should remain the same to all end users. Sending something in Word format just means a much larger document to send and who knows if the receiver can read it or not.

I don't know anyone who uses all the "features" in MSOffice. $400 for being able to add or plot a few columns of data in a spreadsheet or send a memo just seems stupid to me. Our IT guy is talking about moving to O365 to avoid the licensing costs, but we have several days each year where the internet is down for whatever problem, I can just imagine what will happen when we can't use Office on a day we really need it. Add in the fact we are stuck with computers on some equipment that are 10-15 years old and can't be upgraded without purchasing a new $200k piece of equipment, I doubt O365 is going to be compatible across the entire laboratory which will cause even more headaches.

With O365 your stuff still works if your internet is down so long as you have a local copy stored in one drive. Now if you internet stayed down for a long time like weeks it might start barking at you.

 

[c3k]

I set up my laptops and desktops with the same software. Yeah, I've found what I like and what I'm most comfortable with, and I run with it.

I just built a Ryzen rig. (Sig: number 4.) Instead of my usual "I'll just pay for MS Office", I've downloaded Libre Office. I'm a convert. I'll give them a donation as a way of saying "thanks", and also to keep them in business.

Thanks to MS for pushing me to this alternative.

From now on, all my builds will use Libre...and they'll get a donation for each one.

(Hey, I'd come from Wordperfect, which I still think was awesome with the control of formatting they gave you by showing that window at the bottom with all your hidden attributes. Shrug.)