MS Office 2003 Pro

[chipy]

i'm wanting to buy MS Office 2003 Pro (vice 2007). i looked online and see there is a retail version and an OEM version. What's the difference? THe OEM one is a lot cheaper. I'm guessing it is a legit version but unsure of the material difference. Any insight would be great.

thanks!

 

[lxskllr]

I think it works like oem Windows. No documentation, and it's married to the computer it was "built" with. I don't know about 2k3, but earlier versions didn't do any hardware checking on install.

 

[chipy]

thanks lxskllr - what do you mean by "married" to the computer?

 

[lxskllr]

With oem Windows, the O/S is tied to the MB. When the computer dies, Windows goes with it. There's a million ways around this, but that's the strict interpretation of the EULA. I imagine oem Office is the same way. You buy your Dell, and it comes with Office preinstalled(as well as the installation discs). You can legally install it on a laptop in addition to the original Dell(according to the EULA), but when the Dell dies, your license dies with it. Oem from Newegg is for system builders, so replace your name with Dell in the above, and it still applies.

 

[chipy]

thanks for that explanation. i think i'll go with it since it's so much more affordable.

 

[lxskllr]

Have you ever tried OpenOffice? It's not quite as good as MS imo, but it's what I use, and for my limited needs it works very well. I agree with your choice of oem if you go the MS route.

 

[chipy]

i have used Open Office, but it was a long time ago...back in my linux/unix days. Maybe i'll give it a shot again. I've been using Gimp since Photoshop is so expensive. I like Photoshop better but you can't beat free. I guess the same goes with Open Office. thanks bro.

 

[dguy6789]

I suggest trying Open Office as well. Don't bother buying Microsoft Office unless you have some kind of problem with OO.

 

[corkyg]

Another endorsemnent of openOffice. The newest version is excellent.