Heya Guys!

NO! not a tech problem. hehehe Just an opinion from the techy group ;)

What would you do?

I have upgraded my system to Vista 64 bit (as you've found out through my tirbulations :lol: ) so I'm now in the process of installing the "big boys" of programs. So here's the scenario...

I have Office 2003 Corporate License version.. which by all accounts should work with my 64 bit system.

However, I'm wondering should I install MS Office 2003.. OR should I go a route with Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)?)

I've never used it extensively, so I'm not up-to-par on it's pros/cons however I don't use MS Office extensively either.. but I do need the functions every now and then. Especially .doc writing and .xml spreadsheets. (Word & Excel). I also need the capability of opening my already created docs and spreadsheets made with MS Office 2003 (this is a must).

I know I could go buy Office 2007 and have no worries, but I've spent enough as is ;) Plus I have access to a program that will (hopefully) work in Vista 64 (Office 2003) and have an option to download a program for free (Open Office).

If I have to, since these progs will be necessary, I can buy Office 2007.. but I'm looking to not have to dish out any more funds unless absolutely necessary.

Just curious as to what you guys n gals think? Anyone here use Open Office (likes / dislikes), anyone hear of any problems using MSO 2003 on Vista (or 64bit for that matter)?

I was pretty much threatened with death if I installed MS Office instead of Open Office on my new 64 bit Vista system. Open office has been great to me so far and I've even switched my sister over from MS Office. She's unbelievably happy that she did.

I've never tried to put 2003 Office on a new system so I have no impressions of how it would react.

I was pretty much threatened with death if I installed MS Office instead of Open Office on my new 64 bit Vista system. Open office has been great to me so far and I've even switched my sister over from MS Office. She's unbelievably happy that she did.

I've never tried to put 2003 Office on a new system so I have no impressions of how it would react.

hehehe.. yes, well death is definitely not an option on my part either :lol:

However, thank you for confirming one of my other issues I forgot to ask "will OO work on Vista 64"?

Obviously it does *whew* thanks Rhett :D

I have to admit, the more I read on it, the more I'm impressed.. can it actually publish .pdf files too? If so, that would be almost a guaranteed deal. While I have Acrobat.. having it in another prog would be nothing short of a superior bonus ;)

Yup, it can export files as PDFs. :)

Yup, it can export files as PDFs. :)
oh wow.. that function alone would be worth a download. I think I may have to download and install it no matter what.

Guess there's no real harm in having both... should it come to that. However if OO can handle everything... even better ;)

Will definitely give it a try :D

Anyone else have any experiences with either OO or the other mentionables I posted about? The more the merrier.. hehehe

Open Office is a very good alternative to MS Office.

Are you just curious or do you want to be productive? I've never used Open Office and since I also have access to an Office 2003 corporate license I don't have much reason to do so at this time. You probably have lots of other things to do (at work esp.) rather than spending time learning how to use what would otherwise be a familiar set of applications.

I use Excel more than any other Office application and can write fairly complex Excel macros with Office 2003 if I need to. These macros aren't compatible with Open Office however as I found out after making the Excel 2DA Read/Write Add-In a couple years back. In the same vein, I wouldn't shell out any money for Office 2007 which is quite a bit different in its layout (ribbon interface) and processes macros more slowly in many cases. Both of us could probably wait a couple more years and have access to a corporate license for Office 2007 when it becomes forced upon us. (Btw, I guess if you do a custom install Office 2007, you can preserve earlier editions of Office applications.)

But hey if you've got time to spare and the inclination to go open source, go for it. Any reason you can't install Office 2003 and Open Office?

But hey if you've got time to spare and the inclination to go open source, go for it. Any reason you can't install Office 2003 and Open Office?
Nope. and I believe I'm going to go that route.. :D

Mainly because of the reasons you stated. I use Excel (moreso than Word) a bit and the deliminated text features, and a few more things, of Open Office aren't 'quite' what I need. Opens fine.. but I can forget about saving it in the formats I need.

I have to say though OO runs really smooth... and it's fast! I'll definitely keep it installed so I can learn more about it :)

OO does it job well and is a great alternative ;) It of course has certain limits, which may(or may not ) apply to you.

I myself use Office 2007, chiefly outlook, the lady of the manor loves publisher ;)

I love getting and sending SMS via outlook on my tablet pc (3rd party addon reqd). The volume of what I get makes looking them on my pda(in pocket outlook) tiresome..even worse if I had a standard phone :p

mtfbwya