I will likely turn one of my Sky/Kaby Lake systems into a Linux, or figure out a way to create a dual-boot.
Jumping the track just a little bit.
I have always looked for bargain choices to expensive software. With the OS for instance, I would abjure retail box for white box, which may have saved me $100 each time. Then, there’s MS Office.
AND! Like Mikeymikec, I don’t like subscription software. We been in dis bidnis for decades, right? I long since gave up the foolish idea of outright pirating the software you wanted or needed, and if you needed it, you should certainly pay for it. But I avoid subscription software like the plague.
So — NO OFFICE 365, despite my relatives’ sense of contentment for being lazy through prosperity or even brainless. It’s true — we’re a special breed here.
The tech-friend in No. Virginia who tipped me to this OS subscription rumor is a long-time advocate of keeping old systems with old OS versions — even Vista or XP. He seems to think you could keep your old systems alive, but limit their web-access, switch to Linux, or find compensation for the MS security features and updates.
About Office. I try to find 3-PC or 5-PC licenses with digital download. I’ve been doing it successfully for years. I think it began when I was replacing Office 2010 on three systems, and I moved up to Office 2016. I HAVE to have it with Outlook, but then I might have got the Home and Student version and used Thurderbird. This is a belated understanding of how I missed the boat to some small degree. Access, however, is a plus, because I was once a database expert.
I finally got my last Win 11 Pro installation on my one and only remaining Win 10 system completed, and it is totally integrated with my network or otherwise does peer-to-peer sharing.
But then, I find out that it no longer recognizes the activation on my Office Pro Plus 2021. I tried to reload what I THOUGHT was the appropriate license key, but no luck. Yet the other system using that Office version was just fine.
So I started hunting — shopping — for bargain versions. I found an outfit in New York named G**e C**d Shop, and I did the research to see if there were complaints or negative reviews. Didn’t find any of that.
But you have to ask anyway: What gives? A 3-PC Office 2024 Pro Plus LTSC version for $30? DID I SAY THIRTY BUCKS?! Yes I did.
So far, so good. And why so coy about the name of the New York outfit? Maybe they’d appreciate the business from more online promotion. But I’m inclined to just put my finger to the lips and say “SHHHH!”
They are supposedly MS partners and are touted by TrustPilot. If you play “Call of Duty” or go to the Poker or BlackJack tables at the casino — you can figure it out.