Which Version Of Office XP?
 

So, I have received my eBay'd Thinkpad X41 Tablet - sweet little machine - and I need to put MS Office on it. OpenOffice/Thunderbird won't do, I need to be able to use VB Excel, have all my spreadsheets' Bloomberg/Factset/etc data links work, and use Outlook.

So, what version of Excel?

The choices are: Pro, Small Business, Standard, and Developers. They all have the apps I use (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Is there any difference in the capabilities of those apps, between versions?

Also I can buy a boxed retail version for $500 or go on eBay and buy a OEM version for $150. Is there any difference there?

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Check out this link. It's a comparison of all the office versions. I think the only difference are the additional programs like Powerpoint and Publisher etc. The capabilities of Excel etc should be same.

The only difference in the "versions" is the included applications. I use the "Pro" version for MSAccess and MSPowerpoint. For most people, MS Office Standard is all they ever need.

The only difference in the "versions" is the included applications. I use the "Pro" version for MSAccess and MSPowerpoint. For most people, MS Office Standard is all they ever need. I always buy the retail versions, shrink-wrapped in the box, not the OEM version.

Why not the OEM version?

I would never pay for that crapware that you have to reinstall everytime windows crashes. I would never pay for windows either, which I have never been able to keep working correctly more than 2 years in a row. I give my money to Apple instead. However, I am typing in XP right now. Don`t ask me how...

Aurel

I just went through this for a client that was way out of compliance. The OEM stuff is ILLEGAL. It is a package designed to be sold preinstalled on a PC by a manufacturer. I am not sure if it will pass a "validation test" when you try to run upgrades, but I do know that it would not be considered legal if you were to somehow be audited by the software police.

Aurel, you must have some idiot doing your installs. My clients and I routinely run XP and Office (all flavors) for years without either a crash or reinstall. Find someone that knows what they are doing!!!

Well, the greatest evidence that MS software is crap is that you have to HIRE someone to install it. Granted I did it myself (and wasted countless hours that MS will never reimburse me doing it)...and maybe I did not do it as well as a pro, and ok it crashed because I got viruses...BUT, I use a Mac at home, never needed to hire someone to install software or set up a wireless network. And it always worked seemlessly.

I understand that MS software and OS being crap and exposed to viruses creates A LOT of business, and my brother in law who runs a `GEEKSQUAD` and does very well with that would certainly confirm it.

But right now, I am running a good little experiment: I have XP and mac OX 10.4 running on two separate partitions on my MacBook pro, so I will really be able to compare apples to apples so to speak...

Aurel

Having you been taking logic lessons from Mull, Rodeo, or Techweenie? :D

Thanks for the compliment :cool:

Aurel