Getting closer to buying a new computer...

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Rozmataz

Rozmataz

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I don't want to :bdh:...

I wonder if I should buy the software (most likely buying a Dell) from the manufacturer? Or to buy it after and load it on myself? I am talking about:

Microsoft Suite (Publisher, Excel, Access, Frontpage, Word, etc)
Quickbooks
Photoshop (not the high end version)

Which is going to be 1) the best price and 2) the most effective way?

Thanks,

Roz
 
For the suite, its often cheapest to get these with the pc. (a special OEM version which is about 1/2 price of the retail version)

The best way to find out is to visit the dell website and price up a system, then compare the prices.

For the office suite, OPENOFFICE.ORG is a viable and FREE alternative. It opens and saves files in the familiar word, excel, access etc formats. Frontpage was discontinued a couple years ago.

Mike
 
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Have you looked at Open Office?

My computer engineer to be (he is at Mich Tech) kept telling me to look at open office - it is part of the open software that is on the net free for the downloading - and it is great! The PC mags gave it thumbs up reviews one even going as far as to say that it equaled MS office for most applications Some really techie types may need the codes in office but for most of us Open Office has what we need...and I am finding that I am really impressed. Word processing, spread sheet, a special math program, data base, drawing editor and presentation software.

Recently my system died and I did not want to go by a new computer - we have sooo many parts lying around this house (between three computer enthusiasts ie geeks) that said son built me a new computer from their cast offs. Since it did not come preloaded - I had to go buy an operating system - I resisted paying MS for office - again - so I downloaded Open Office and am really impressed - did I already say that???

Anyway you might want to give it a try :beer:

Microsoft has enough of my money - been grudgingly buying their products since 1984 - don't get me started

Try Open Office....
 
The answer to your question is that the OEM version from Dell is the most economical way to buy MS Office. I'd be wary of free imitations if you have files that use (or if you anticipate using) ANY of the more complex features of the MS products. Once you bypass the OEM offer you can't cheaply recover if you need the product. Who is going to stand behind any "guarantee" that the free product will work the way you want?
 
Open Office is a good product..... developed by Sun Micro - nothing shabby about it.

Yes it might not have ALL the features of a MS product. But not many of us use all of those features anyway.
 
Never said it wasn't a good product. I merely raise the issue of who is going to guarantee that it will work with all features used in previous or future MS files. AND, that once you bypass the OEM offer there is no going back economically.
 
The main feature of the Microsoft Office suite I use ALL THE TIME is PUBLISHER. And I love it love it love it. So that is my main concern. Guess I will bite the bullet and can always use the popular Open Office.

I still don't know HOW much power I want/need on my new computer. Want to stay as current with what is the cutting edge today even though I will get left in the dust tomorrow.

Operating system ?: vista? xp? (leaning towards xp)


getting closer.... (thanks for all your input)

Roz
 
Oh, the other question: will my older versions of Quickbooks and Microsoft possibly work on a newer system?

...
 
RozR said:
I still don't know HOW much power I want/need on my new computer. Want to stay as current with what is the cutting edge today even though I will get left in the dust tomorrow.
Operating system ?: vista? xp? (leaning towards xp)
getting closer.... (thanks for all your input)
Roz
Click to expand...

Go with as much memory as you can afford. Also, I talked my girlfriend into getting Vista, and she has had nothing but problems with it. If you are a tech person, get Vista, if not get XP.
 
JBergelin said:
Since it did not come preloaded - I had to go buy an operating system...

Microsoft has enough of my money - been grudgingly buying their products since 1984 - don't get me started
Click to expand...


There are alternative Operating Systems as well. Some of them are even free.
 
Dell is telling me VISTA is better and not to put an older os (XP) on a new computer...

Makes sense. what do you think?
 
Roz, my four computers are still running on XP, so I haven't paid a lot of attention to the Vista hype out there. I do remember numerous discussion here on the G however, that a lot of the programs (POS / Viz, etc. ) don't work / or very well on Vista.

You might want to check that out. And if I am wrong our beloved resident computer geeks will correct me.
 
XP is pretty good, although near the end of its life. The plan is that it will only be sold with new pc's for 5 more months, then dropped completely at the end of January 2009 (only a year from next week) They plan to support XP until 2014, long after any 2008 pc's useful life.

Vista is also extremely stable and was in the news yesterday as having fewer issues than XP or OSX. I have been using it for nearly a year myself, and love it.

As long as the programs you are buying for it were designed for Vista, it will be fine. Anything from 2007 or 2008 should be great.

If it is being used in the shop, with Visualization, XP is the way to go. Canon has not (and may not) released Vista drivers to work with the PowerShot line of cameras.

Our new shop pc's from September were XP.
 
Unless you have a specific program, i.e. POS, that requires XP, why would you want the old operating system on a new computer that is designed from the ground up to run on the new one - especially since you are considering OEM MS Office (which would be the new one - designed for Vista)
 
It will run on almost any version of Windows.

XP is the recommended minimum. It runs fine on my Vista laptop.

Mike
 
Okay... I am nearly there... ready to make the commitment.

What exactly are the major differences between the 2 operating systems?

Do they work "differently"??

I know that my Dell with W98 was much more user friendly than when I upgraded to W2000 - a few years ago!

Is that what it is about?

How would I "test drive" one versus the other? So I would "know" for sure??!

I am still leaning towards XP!!!

Thanks,

Roz
 
I JUST bought a new Dell last week for Visualization and POS.

When I went thru dell.com, and chose all the things I needed, I added it to my cart.

The base price was $599 (plus the extras that I wanted)

Then I thought to go to Google and type in "dell coupon". I did, and a few websites offering Dell discounts came up. It showed the same computer I was ordering but for only $499. Savings of $100!

I went thru the whole selection process again and added it to my cart (which then showed 2 computers), and it did save me $100, but it added $109 to the shipping! ...on EACH of the 2 listed computers which I saved.


I figured out that your CART needs to be empty, but you can still have your order saved outside of the cart.... and that made the difference. Once I cleared my Cart, I went back to that link for the discounted dell, and did it all again - Sure enough, base price was $499, and free shipping was honored. Then I called into one of their associates to complete the order, and had them add some other things, and asked them for free shipping on that too, which they did.

So - when buying a Dell - go to Google and type in Dell Coupon and look at the various deals... and those pages will bring you to Dell.com with the discounted price.

(of course, I upgraded a couple things, but it did save me $100+ versus going directly to dell.com)


...and PS - my laptop I got in 2007 is Vista, and I still like XP for getting around files and such. Make sure any programs you need will work with Vista!
 
cjmst3k said:
I still like XP for getting around files and such.
Click to expand...

Ditto. Although the way Search works is awesome compared to XP, the Windows Explorer is a big step backwards in my opinion.

The other thing I really don't like about Vista is importing pictures from a camera/card. XP allows you to select which ones you want. Vista makes you take all of them, unless I've missed something somewhere:shrug:
 
Thanks for all the input... but I still need help!!

How can I get a "laundry list" of all the things I need to accomplish the following:

New computer and/or laptop needs wireless connections (home and store).

What do I need for that? Just a wireless router?

Then how does one "connect" to the internet in a secure way?

What other gadgets/devices do I need to get?

I am really almost there!!

Roz
 
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