The Microsoft tax....

[Shader]

After several years of struggling with my computer I final got talked into getting a new one. Yes this is the computer with the Btx case. So I've wiped it back to bare metal and given it a friend as thier first computer.

It was running Windows 7 Professional 32bit. As it was the OEM version it didn't include the 64bit version, but it did come with Office 2007.... which is now in my friend's hands.

The new computer is as follows:
AMD Oct-8 core
ASUS/GIGABYTE
16GB Hyper X 1600 Ram
2000 SATA HDD
2GB (Hyper) ATI 6670
Precision Gaming case
Certified 600W PSU
Supet Multi DVDRW
Windows Home 64bit

So now I have to pay the Microsoft tax at least once maybe twice.
I need office as certain parties only accept Word Docs.
And do I just upgrade to Ultimate 64, or go buy the full version and have both flavours available? Or do I just leave it as is?

Don't you just love the Microsoft tax?

[robkelk]

I need office as certain parties only accept Word Docs.

LibreOffice writes Word 2003 format just fine.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Star Ranger4]

I believe open office also does as well
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bluemage]

I need office as certain parties only accept Word Docs.And do I just upgrade to Ultimate 64, or go buy the full version and have both flavours available? Or do I just leave it as is?

First, congrats on the new machine!  Second, it depends on how picky they are about said Word docs.  Do they have to be .docx, or can they be the older .doc format?
If said parties accept .doc, then you'll do fine with LibreOffice.  If they expect .docx, you need M$ Office.  Full stop.  None of the free ones do .docx right.
As for Windows, I know of no reason to spring for Ultimate.  There are, however, a handful of reasons to spring for Professional, like you had before, and that upgrade is actually less than the Office one.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Shader]

Bluemage got it... everything and I do mean everything is in docx or another one of those Microsoft formats that the free programs don't handle real well.

Since this upgrade is on my own dime, I trying anyway to reduce the butcher's bill at the end of the day.

[Berk]

In Windows 7, the OS key doesn't care if you install 32 or 64 bit. It works for both. All it cares about is installing the correct 'trim level' of OS.
Now, this will require a reinstall, but you CAN install 64 bit with that key.
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[paladindythe]

You can download the cd media, if you like.

[Shader]

@Berk: That's news to me. Very Interesting. This has potential.

@paladindythe: You can download the cd? Legit? Where?

I was seriously eying off getting a TechNet subscription or something .... Details Here $200 and it would get me out of the hole I accidentally got myself in.

[Black Aeronaut]

About the only thing Ultimate has over Professional is BitLocker, which encrypts your entire hard drive so if it falls into someone else's hands it'll be nearly impossible for them to get at your data.

Oh. And I think Ultimate already has all language packs built into it right out of the box. Big whoop-dee-doo there.

Since you have Professional, what you can do to make your life easier is to download the Windows XP virtual machine software that operates seamlessly with the Windows 7 OS. In other words, it lets you drag and drop stuff in real time between the Windows 7 OS and the XP VM without having to use a folder as a go-between.

But that's about it, I think. Windows 7, as it is, is already backwards compatible with most software out there. The only things you'll benefit from that is if you got something that is vital to your work but is adversely affected by 64-bit systems. (A good example of this is SimCity 4 - it'll run on my 64-bit laptop with Windows 7... but crashes at random moments. Since I don't have Professional, I have to set the affinity using Task Manager so it only uses one CPU core instead of all three to keep it from crashing.)

[paladindythe]

Here you go:

http://techpp.com/2009/11...l-direct-download-links/