Office 365 question

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it. I'm
wondering about what upsides / downsides, if any, you've noticed? For
example, since it is "cloud-based", does it always require internet
access to use it, or is enough of the application on the local computer
to permit working when internet access is not available?
--
best regards,

Neil

Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it. I'm
wondering about what upsides / downsides, if any, you've noticed? For
example, since it is "cloud-based", does it always require internet
access to use it, or is enough of the application on the local computer
to permit working when internet access is not available?

Office 365 loads the Office apps on your computer. Those apps can
connect to your online account. You get to decide where you store your
docs.

With Office 365, you get the latest version of the local apps. Those
also have web-based interfaces to Microsoft-based online accounts.
Anyone can use the Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com web-based apps but the
web-centric local apps assist in using the online stored docs but with
the far more robust features set of the local apps. The web apps don't
come near what the local apps can do but the trend has been for sync
across devices or web access to docs despite security and privacy
issues; i.e., convenience often trounces security.

Remember than docs that are not locally encrypted are stored in a format
that anyone else can read (hence the ability to share docs using the
online storage) and that the only protection you have for those online
docs is your login credentials to your online account. Well, I'm sure
even you have heard about hackers or unauthorized entry into and use of
online accounts. Not all such invasions are publicly reported so
consider what you read as only partial coverage of such invasions and
abuse. If you keep sensitive data in an online account, like docs with
credit card numbers, bank accounts, social security number, or whatever,
then make sure it is encrypted and readable by more than just your login
credentials. I use Notebook 2013 with a web-based notebook doc. Alas,
Microsoft has yet to allow encryption on an entire notebook but only on
each section within a notebook (which means I have to enter the password
to open each section that is password protected). That password is
nothing like my login credentials. Twould be stupid to protect
(encrypt) a doc using the same login credentials that a hacker managed
to obtain. I may eventually decide on a more secure encryption than
relying solely on Microsoft's choice in Notebook.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_365

http://products.office.com/en-us/bus...sked-questions

Anyone can get Office Online since that's the web apps in a free
account. Log into a free Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com account and click on
the left-end 9x9 squares toolbar icon to pick a web-based app (or use
OneDrive as the encompassing app under which to create docs using one of
the web-based apps) or use the local web-centric apps in Win8 to do the
same. My experience is the web apps are nowhere as potent as the local
apps (the Office product you install locally). You'll be sorely
disappointed if creating docs that go beyond just some of the basic
features of each local Office component. You'd be better off installing
OneDrive, use a local app even if not Office to create the document, and
then store it in your local OneDrive folder that syncs it to your
Microsoft account. Or get a version of Office (2010 or 2013) that has
sync capabilities with your online account.

https://academic.getmicrosoftkey.com/Home/SupportFAQ
Lengthens the subscription period *if* you are eligible.

http://office365.4team.biz/plans-and-pricing.aspx
http://products.office.com/en-us/bus...business-plans
Primary (prevalent) sales will be to businesses that want to lower their
overall software costs (and who mandate their employees always use the
latest version to facilitate their helpdesk supporting just 1 version).
But there is also:
http://products.office.com/en-us/com...ffice-products

With an Office 365 *subscription* (which expires after 1 year and must
be renewed to continue using the local apps), you get the latest version
of Office installed on your computer. You get a Microsoft account if
you don't already have one. You get local apps that have web-centric
features to create, delete, modify, and manage documents that are local
only or in the online account. You get software + services that are
linked together with Office 365. Of course, you could just buy Office
2013 (which is the current released version that Office 365 will offer
now) and use the local apps with a free Microsoft account you open or
already have along with the free web-based apps that a free account
gives you and keep using that Office version until Microsoft comes up
without enough bang-for-the-buck new features that you require in some
later version of Office.

That presumes that Microsoft does not discontinue availability of
stand-alone versions that can be purchased and used indefinitely.
Microsoft has long languished over the sales model of anti-virus and
other security software whose licenses expire after 1 year whereupon
customers must purchase a new license; else, they continue using an old
version which will cease support (no updates, including any non-major
version ones, like AV's that no longer get signature updates 1 year
after a license expires). Customers have become enured to renewal costs
of subscriptionware (e.g., anti-virus). Microsoft hopes the same will
become true for their products. A little smaller but recurring annual
cost makes up for all those lost sales for folks like me that buy a
version and latch onto it for many many years. Microsoft isn't
concerned about pushing out customers that will instead switch to
alternatives, like Kingsoft or FreeOffice and find an alternative e-mail
client, because those users really don't much affect revenue volume.

If I was buying the new version of Office everytime a new one came out
then the Office 365 *subscription* would be cost effective. I don't. I
used Office 2003 until Microsoft required TLS support for using their
Hotmail service which Outlook 2003 did not support. I switched to
Thunderbird to gain TLS support (only needed for Microsoft's SMTP
servers) but after 5 months of repeatedly finding new workarounds for
deficiencies and bugs (some of which are now over 12 years old but still
open) I gave up on Thunderbird once I got a legit OEM copy of Office
2010 with a used computer that I had to fix and later went to Office
2013 when I found a legit sale at $45 (that took awhile of searching and
waiting). I kept Ofc2003 until the Outlook component had to get
replaced. I kept using Windows XP after Microsoft dropped their
extended support and only moved to Windows 7 because it was an OEM
license that came with the free used broken computer that I fixed. I
don't switch because there's a new version, only when there's something
in the new version that *I* need (not what Microsoft says I need). So a
subscription model for sales will never work for me. Too expensive.
But for some folks that feel compelled to get the latest and [not that
often] greatest version of software and hardware or are mandated to
change, like by an employer that wants their support crew to manage just
one version, then it makes sense.

Do you buy a version of a product to use until YOU decide to upgrade to
a newer version (or find an alternative and cheaper or better solution)?
Or do you always want to have the latest version (and incur another
learning curve) so you aren't "left behind" on a myriad of features of
which most you may not use? Do you want to buy a license to use
indefinitely or do you want to lock into subscriptionware that must be
renewed annually at more cost? If you're buying every new release of
Office (and Windows) when it becomes available then subscriptionware
will probably save you money (but not the learning curve).

I buy used cars that are 2 years old. I let the original owners take
the big hit in depreciation. I let them fix all the major repairs. I
get them, fix any problems within a budget, and drive that car for
another 20+ years. Saves me a lot of money on purchase, insurance, and
tabs. I buy [licenses to] software and keep using it until *I* decide
that new features or an alternate solution is what *I* want. The sales
mantra "newer and better" is a lie. Newer only guarantees different. I
don't buy just to ensure the sales folk can eat or a company survives.
"I know engineers. They love to change things" ("Star Trek: The Movie",
Dr. McCoy, ).

You see I have a strong bias against subscriptionware. In some types of
software, it's the only type of licensing available (but if there is a
free version that isn't overt adware then I use that, like Avast Free).
You need to consider how you use software and when you pay to upgrade it
(and probably should review WHY you THINK you need to upgrade). There
are lots of users that will upgrade the drivers to the video card simply
because a monitor process running on their computer tells them there is
a newer version. They don't know anything about the fixes or bugs in
the new or changed code but, gee, it's new and they must have it. Newer
must be better. It's been drilled into them for so long that "suddenly"
their games or some program doesn't work and it surely can't be the
newer software.

Sounds complex but the choices are simplified once you consider your
past or preferred purchase, learning, and use of software. Which sales
model do you prefer? Buy once and use indefinitely or subscriptioware?
What do you need versus what you think you need? Can what you think you
need be accomplished via other methods that may be cheaper?

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it.

Why? I use LibreOffice; it can do (almost) everything that M$ Office
can and it's free.

https://www.libreoffice.org/

--
s|b

Neil wrote:
I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it. I'm
wondering about what upsides / downsides, if any, you've noticed? For
example, since it is "cloud-based", does it always require internet
access to use it, or is enough of the application on the local computer
to permit working when internet access is not available?

Different versions of 365 provide fully installed local versions of
included Office products. Imo, choose one of those the incremental price
difference is not that much different.

Thus not all versions of Office 365 are solely cloud based and no 365
version requires an active internet connection for use.



--
....winston
msft mvp consumer apps

VanguardLH wrote:
Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it. I'm
wondering about what upsides / downsides, if any, you've noticed? For
example, since it is "cloud-based", does it always require internet
access to use it, or is enough of the application on the local
computer to permit working when internet access is not available?


Hi VanguardLH,

Thanks for your in-depth discussion of these packages. I think I still have
a couple of questions, and it may help to give some perspective if I say a
bit more about what I need. Like you, I'm not the kind of guy that thinks
"side-grades" are a good idea. Although I posted my question from a Win 8.1
notebook, I'm in the office now using one of my Win 2000 Pro machines which
has met my needs since it was new (I use it mainly for programming web
apps).

I'm a board member of an MG car club, and up until now we've depended on
each board member to manage their duties on their own personal computers.
Being a car club, these folks are not computer techies, and when one of
their systems crashed, we had a heck of a time recovering the parts of the
club's data that they manage. Most of us use Office apps for at least some
of our work, but at this point they're of several vintages so it's only a
matter of time before this kind of problem becomes a regular occurance. To
get ahead of the game, we're considering club-owned computers running
current software. My attraction to Office 365 is that it can standardize our
operations and be "constantly current" without requiring board members to
know a lot about managing upgrades.

Office 365 loads the Office apps on your computer. Those apps can
connect to your online account. You get to decide where you store
your docs.

With Office 365, you get the latest version of the local apps. Those
also have web-based interfaces to Microsoft-based online accounts.

How does the web-based interface to on-line data differ from local data? For
instance, if I were working on a Word document in a One-Drive account, how
does that change Word's UI (I'd ask "why", but that's one for MS).

Anyone can use the Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com web-based apps but the
web-centric local apps assist in using the online stored docs but with
the far more robust features set of the local apps. The web apps
don't come near what the local apps can do but the trend has been for
sync across devices or web access to docs despite security and privacy
issues; i.e., convenience often trounces security.

I can understand that w/r/t Outlook, but how does Excel's capability change
(not specifically, of course)?

[...]
With an Office 365 *subscription* (which expires after 1 year and must
be renewed to continue using the local apps), you get the latest
version of Office installed on your computer.

OK... so the full Office app is local, and can be used whether or not one
has access to the web, right?

[...]
Sounds complex but the choices are simplified once you consider your
past or preferred purchase, learning, and use of software. Which
sales model do you prefer? Buy once and use indefinitely or
subscriptioware? What do you need versus what you think you need?
Can what you think you need be accomplished via other methods that
may be cheaper?

Well, these are the issues, and if it were for my own use, I already know
the answers! Again, thanks for your thoughts on this, it's a big help!
--
best regards,

Neil

s|b wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it.

Why? I use LibreOffice; it can do (almost) everything that M$ Office
can and it's free.

Well, I've used OpenOffice (same song, different verse) for years for some
tasks, and I can tell you that it's no equivalent alternative to MS-Office
for serious users.
--
best regards,

Neil

On 1/12/2015 5:12 PM, Neil Gould wrote:
s|b wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it.

Why? I use LibreOffice; it can do (almost) everything that M$ Office
can and it's free.

Well, I've used OpenOffice (same song, different verse) for years for some
tasks, and I can tell you that it's no equivalent alternative to MS-Office
for serious users.

That is why many law firms use Wordperfect

Neil Gould wrote:

I'm a board member of an MG car club, and up until now we've depended
on each board member to manage their duties on their own personal
computers. Being a car club, these folks are not computer techies,
and when one of their systems crashed, we had a heck of a time
recovering the parts of the club's data that they manage. Most of us
use Office apps for at least some of our work, but at this point
they're of several vintages so it's only a matter of time before this
kind of problem becomes a regular occurance. To get ahead of the
game, we're considering club-owned computers running current
software. My attraction to Office 365 is that it can standardize our
operations and be "constantly current" without requiring board
members to know a lot about managing upgrades.

Office Online is free. Have each member create or use a Microsoft
(Hotmail, Live, or Outlook.com) account to have access to the web apps.
After logging in, use the 9-square left-end icon on the toolbar to
select a web app or go to OneDrive (aka SkyDrive) to manage all the docs
under there. Each user can share a folder or doc file with other users.
The others don't need a Microsoft account to download the file but it
might be handier to have them all using the same web apps to manage what
creates, deletes, and modifies those shared files. File sharing is
possible via links to the docs but having everyone operate on the same
platform may facilitate sharing and prevent doc formats that some may
not be able to read or write. If any have Office 2007 (partial OneDrive
integration) or 2010 or 2013 then they can use their local copy of Word,
Excel, etc, to edit and sync those docs to their account or to the
shared docs.

I've never used the sharing feature of OneDrive much. I primarily use
it mostly via the local OneDrive client on my computer to keep online
copies of encrypted data files (because I don't trust only on the login
credentials to protect my docs). There's some info at:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/o...re-file-folder

Although they mention it as a method for sharing, I'd disrecommend using
Facebook for anything. I only mention each having a Microsoft account
because /maybe/ the sharing with specific users with their own Microsoft
account might show the shared files in their web UI of OneDrive.
Someone that has used OneDrive sharing might know how Microsoft
facilitates shared files other than sending out hyperlinks to the files.

My buddy and I who write code for private projects to individual
customers use Dropbox to share the code. We still use code versioning
to ensure we don't step atop each other's editing session but Dropbox is
where the files are stored. Each of use has a Dropbox account and each
runs the Dropbox client on our computer. The free account only comes
with a 2GB disk quota (and I refuse to spam for them to lure others into
using their service via their "referral" program). More space costs
money. I created a folder that I share ONLY with him (or whomever we
might add later). His Dropbox folder (on his computer that syncs with
the files in his Dropbox account in a shared folder he sees from my
Dropbox account) shows what I see in the same shared folder. We might
be able to do that with OneDrive, too, but haven't bothered to check it
out. You might find more focused help on using OneDrive from their
web-based Microsoft forum at:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/forum

I don't know of any OneDrive-specific newsgroups where you could ask
about setting up sharing of docs and include a handy web-based UI to
manage them along with using the OneDrive client on each user's computer
so they stay in sync (by the way, from what I've read in replies in
newsgroups, the OneDrive client is less featured in Win8 than Win7).

A new OneDrive account comes with, I think, a 7 GB disk quota which
apparently gets increased to 15 GB after some non-disclosed trust period
within which you haven't abused the free personal-use account.
Previously Microsoft upped all SkyDrive (aka OneDrive) accounts to 25 GB
but then inside of about a week's notice dropped that to 7 GB unless you
used their webmail client to access your account. I did that with one
account but missed the expiration by a day on the other accounts. So
the default storage at OneDrive is greater than at Dropbox, and at both
you can buy more (i.e., they're into the subscription model for selling
online services).

How does the web-based interface to on-line data differ from local
data?

You can save your docs in your online account or save them locally to
your computer. It's up to you where the doc is located. I don't
remember the limitations in Office 2007 but Office 2010 and 2013 are
supposed to have full web access to your OneDrive account. You elect to
create the doc in your OneDrive account or locally. So when you go to
open the doc, you open it from your account (web) or the local copy.

In Word 2013, for example, after opening a blank doc and entering
something to save, I use the File - Save menu and it shows the
following options for store location:

OneDrive
Computer
Add a Place (creates shortcuts in that menu)
Recent locations

If I select the OneDrive destination, and if not signed in, I'm shown a
"Sign In" button. After signed in, it shows a default folder (don't
know if it's always the same folder but could test that). I click on
Browse and I'm shown the local OneDrive client's view of the files and
folders in my OneDrive account (so it's really still a local navigation
to a destination). When I save the file, it goes into a local file
assigned for use by OneDrive. In the background, OneDrive then syncs a
copy of that file to my online OneDrive account (where I could visit
using a web browser on another host, edit using Office 2013 on another
host, or someone else could access after sharing it with them).

While you can use the web client to your OneDrive account to setup
sharing of folders and files, the local OneDrive client running on your
computer can do that, too. Open the OneDrive folder, right-click on a
folder or file, and decide how to share it. Right now, and under Win7,
the right-click OneDrive context menu lets me create a link to give
someone else to share the file. The More OneDrive Options context menu
entry opens the web browser to the sharing options web page.

In fact, with the OneDrive client (or Dropbox client or whatever online
file storage provider's local client) running on your computer, all your
OneDrive folders and files appear as a local file. The file is actually
in 2 places: on your computer and on the server. The client
synchronizes any file changes between the two endpoints (and with other
client endpoints for OneDrive clients sharing the same account (or
sharing folders, in the case of Dropbox). I can even open a document
using Notepad by pointing to a file in the local OneDrive folder, edit
it, and then save it which modifies the file in the local OneDrive
folder. Then the OneDrive client, in the background, synchronizes the
local copy with the server copy of the file.

I (and others for a shared file) can use either the web apps at OneDrive
to create, edit, move, or delete files or I (and the shared users) can
use the far more robust local Office apps to create, edit, move, or
delete the shared files. Because the local Office apps are far more
powerful, there are problems with rendering and editing the docs using
the web apps. In other words, there is not 100% document fidelity when
using the web apps because they don't support every feature in the local
apps. I don't know that the web apps remove content it cannot support
but have read that not all content created in the local apps can be
displayed in the web apps. I don't dig that deep into the bowels of
Word or Excel (I have with Outlook but obviously that doesn't have a web
app since Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com is the web app for e-mail). For
example, do the web apps run macros embedded in Word or Excel docs? I
doubt it but someone who actually uses macros (not me) in their Word
docs and then tries to use them in a Word doc using the web app might be
able to testify as to usability. You'll also find the web apps clumsier
to use. I don't remember what I was trying to do but it was a far lot
slower using AJAX at the OneDrive site with a web app than using a local
Office component.

I can understand that w/r/t Outlook, but how does Excel's capability
change (not specifically, of course)?

The web apps in OneDrive are very basic. I would probably find more
limitations with them if I used them regularly to edit my Word and Excel
docs. Instead I use the local apps to create, edit, and save them to my
OneDrive account. Everytime I've tried using the web apps they have
been disappointing or barely meet my needs. Okay for probably most docs
produced by most home and even business users but fall short of the
expectations a company might have for many of the "deeper" features or
functions available only in the local apps. That's why Office 365 is
both local apps and the free web apps.

If you (and the others) are robust users of the Office components,
you'll want to continue using those to edit your documents. Don't
bother with the web apps. Just use the OneDrive storage quota to save
your docs online and to share them from there.

OK... so the full Office app is local, and can be used whether or not
one has access to the web, right?

Yep, but the web account is free so it's up to you whether you save
documents there, if you use the limited features set of the web apps,
and allows you to share the docs. Of course, other online file
services, like Dropbox, can do that, too. OneDrive uses their local
client to sync a local folder to those in your OneDrive account.
Dropbox creates a local folder to sync files saved there to those in
your online Dropbox account. And so on. So you can get Office 365 and
just use the local apps. You can optionally save or upload those files
to your OneDrive account to share them from there.

The only difference in buying Office 2013 and Office 365 is whether you
want a license you can purchase and use indefinitely and incorporate web
services within that product (or add them to that product via 3rd party
products) or you want a license you have renew every month or every year
that gives you the latest version, whatever it is, of the product.

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:28:38 -0500, Keith Nuttle
wrote:

On 1/12/2015 5:12 PM, Neil Gould wrote:
s|b wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it.

Why? I use LibreOffice; it can do (almost) everything that M$ Office
can and it's free.

Well, I've used OpenOffice (same song, different verse) for years for some
tasks, and I can tell you that it's no equivalent alternative to MS-Office
for serious users.

That is why many law firms use Wordperfect


Far fewer than used to use it, unfortunately.

I'm not a law firm, but I still use, and greatly prefer, WordPerfect
to all its alternatives.

That's for a word processor. For all other Office components, I prefer
Microsoft's programs to Corel's.

s|b wrote on 1/12/2015 3:51 PM:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil wrote:

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it.

Why? I use LibreOffice; it can do (almost) everything that M$ Office
can and it's free.

https://www.libreoffice.org/


I used to use LO, buy now I use WPS (wps.com):

About Kingsoft Office Software

Established in 1989, Kingsoft Office is a leading global developer of
office software solutions, developing productivity applications for the
consumer and enterprise markets. With over 750 million registered users
worldwide, its flagship product WPS Office (called “the best free office
suite…” by CNET) is one of the world’s most popular cross-platform
office suites supporting iOS, Android, as well as Windows and Linux PCs.

Keith Nuttle wrote:

Neil Gould wrote:

Well, I've used OpenOffice (same song, different verse) for years for some
tasks, and I can tell you that it's no equivalent alternative to MS-Office
for serious users.

That is why many law firms use Wordperfect

Reminds of a similar vein of thought: Products that were good in quality
and support end up dead because of losing that edge.

We had competitors to our enterprise software. Customers had their
reasons to move away from their current software supplier and went to
Oracle where they couldn't get reliable and consistent support. There
was a lot of dodging at Oracle. In the past and when working at
software development houses that produced software, we had lunch parties
when we found out a customer of a competitor product went with Oracle
because we knew that in a few months they would be our customer. They
wouldn't tolerate the crappy and evasive tech support they got from
Oracle, a competitor, they had a reason for leaving their prior software
supplier, a competitor, so we had a very good chance of making them our
customer. Yay, they went to Oracle. They'll soon be ours!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gQbM5lUU_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCZrTAIa9r0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9PJImi0Vn0

Oracle dumped (on Apache Software Foundation) their OpenOffice after
acquiring it from Sun. I'm wondering how long before they dump
VirtualBox.

Then there's WordPerfect's history. Remember when WordPerfect, the
company, was getting rave reviews on their quality technical support to
customers whether they be corporations or individuals? The product
moved from WordPerfect to Novell to Corel who is a software publisher,
not a software developer. Guess what happened to support?

Just because a product had its hey day of accolades in quality of
product and quality of service is still often relied upon in continued
marketing and sales of a product that has long since lost those
qualities. Remember what happened to WinFax after it bounced from
Delrina to Symantec where it languished and died? Good enough is not
enough to survive.

As to the claim that lawyers are still advocates of WordPerfect, see:

http://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/blog/...boldly-forward
http://lsntap.org/Word_versus_WordPerfect

Back in the hey day of WordPerfect when flame wars were the rage between
MS Word and WordPerfect advocates (not always educated much even on
their preferred choice of word process but rather defending their ego on
their choice of software), I found the heated discource rather comical.
I used both because each had some advantages of the other. WordPerfect
gave me the reveal codes mode which let me further tweak the formatting
of a document that was not possible with MS Word, but MS Word was faster
and easier to use due to its inclination as a wannabe simpleton's
desktop publishing editor. Reveal codes but was it a killer feature for
WordPerfect? Of course not. A miniscule number of users were and still
are interested in delving that low into the bowels of a word processor.
How many users (not contractors or MS certified employees at a company
building a vertical app out of Office components) code VBA macros in
Word?

WordPerfect tried to outdo Microsoft in the arena of tech support and
there they won. That wasn't carried forward with the subsequent
acquisitions of WordPerfect so it languished and is pretty much now
dead. There do remain its devotees. Works for them. Unfortunately
they amount to little marketshare.

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil
wrote in

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it. I'm
wondering about what upsides / downsides, if any, you've noticed? For
example, since it is "cloud-based", does it always require internet
access to use it, or is enough of the application on the local computer
to permit working when internet access is not available?

Try this free MSOffice substitute instead:

http://www.freeoffice.com/
SoftMaker FreeOffice is a complete office suite with a word processor,
a spreadsheet application, and a presentation-graphics program:

It's MSOffice compatible. If you like it, there is a payware version
with enhanced features. I've been using it for several years.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On 1/12/2015 11:31 PM, CRNG wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:18:12 -0500, Neil
wrote in

I'm not currently an Office 365 user, but am considering it. I'm
wondering about what upsides / downsides, if any, you've noticed? For
example, since it is "cloud-based", does it always require internet
access to use it, or is enough of the application on the local computer
to permit working when internet access is not available?

Try this free MSOffice substitute instead:

Thanks for your thoughts, but I'm not looking for an alternative
application to MS-Office.
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best regards,

Neil

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:12:47 -0500, Neil Gould wrote:

Well, I've used OpenOffice (same song, different verse) for years for some
tasks, and I can tell you that it's no equivalent alternative to MS-Office
for serious users.

In what way? Can you give some examples?

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s|b

s|b wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:12:47 -0500, Neil Gould wrote:

Well, I've used OpenOffice (same song, different verse) for years for some
tasks, and I can tell you that it's no equivalent alternative to MS-Office
for serious users.

In what way? Can you give some examples?


No Outlook.

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A