Geekly Update - 24 February 2021

I would almost switch to Starlink. I am in a "DSL or Satellite" only area, Cell service iffy. The $500 receiver is off-putting though. It is tempting since I have times when there is zero bandwidth on the DSL, usually about 9am to 11am, though not straight through. It does seem to have gotten better lately.

Sooo...can correspondents who use this newest version of office read and modify files from all earlier versions? Will I be able to modify those new files created in the upcoming version by my flashy up-to-date friends?

I am sad to hear Fry's Electronics is closing.When I lived in the LA-Orange metro area (CA),going to a Fry's shop was an adventure.I often find stuff I wasn't looking for exactly and I would buy it.

Fry's always had an extensive supply of CAT5 and CAT6 ethernet cables in many different lengths.I will miss this particular shop. RIP!!

I am also a devotee of MS Office 2000. It does everything I need without complex ribbon menus and features I’ve never needed or want to stumble over. MS offers a file converter for newer docx files and I don’t need to keep paying and paying while I wonder where in the cloud my precious files are.
I think they should offer a robust but much simpler version of Office you can buy once. Then I’ll upgrade.

The FREE LibreOffice is almost indistinguishable from MS Office, so there is an extremely short learning curve.

Docs can be opened, changed (or not changed) then saved as an MS doc or a Libre doc.

Give it a try. It is free so there is nothing to lose if you do not like it.

Bob has reviewed it, search this site for his opinion.

Absolutely right about Word, my 97-03 version does most of what I want except when it makes silly mistakes. I do have a 2010 just in case, but I actually keep Libre Office around specifically to open the latest Excel or Word files.
Would love to just use Libre Office but it's just too clunky, with things in the wrong place (you have to hunt to save something) and its Track Changes for correcting documents (students, articles &c) is dreadful

I too use Word 2000 on Windows XL. Can Word 2000 be installed on Windows 10?

Have Office Professional 2000 and Office Professional 2007, both on C.D.s. Though I now only use 2007. 2007 loads onto Win 10 platform with no issues. And, not for nothin', M.S.'s yearly "subscription" fee for its newest Office software sticks in my craw. Another "hand in my wallet". This is hyperbole, but it seems like every time I turn around, someone wants to have "access" to my bank account with a yearly subscription or an "automatic" payment!! (Must be my age? Or, am I now a Born-Again Skinflint?) Ciao, people.

I use Apache Open Office and Google Sheets to keep track of all of the books I read. There are some quirks in both of them.
Sheets only prints now in PDF, which is a handicap for me. I can't edit a PDF can I?
Sheets cell formatting won't carry over to Apache.
Apache can't copy and paste from one file to another without converting the paste to an image that is hard to work with. One cell works fine but more that one doesn't. I can't edit an image can I?

When I attempted to install Office 2007 on a Windows 10 PC it dramatically reduced performance. I have often found the older, i.e. unsupported versions of Outlook are not always compatible with email servers of various companies.

As for Micro$$oft's pushing the annual subscription to Office 365, Office 2019 is available as a one time purchase; Microsoft tries to hide that fact and I've read the new 2021 version will still be available as a one time purchase.

Let me make it clear at the beginning of this note that in general I dislike subscription software.
But if you have at least 2 people in the household, the deal with Microsoft Office 365 is incredibly good. So good you wouldn't believe me if I described all the benefits. You'll have to look it up for yourself to believe it.

if you are having any trouble using Office 2000 on Windows 10 machines load it using compatibility mode. Then use the file converter to run docx etc.

While I have Office 2007, (inherited from my software professional late wife) I rarely use it. My preferred Office suite is, and has been for years, Libre Office, which is not, in my experience, clunky, as ardj would have it, nor are things in the 'wrong place' - just different ones. Microsoft's idea of the 'right' way of doing things is not the only way. I'm a great believer in open-source software, and I resent being held to ransom by a company as large and as wealthy as Microsoft. While ever people insist on kow-towing to Microsoft's demands, they'll just get richer and make us poorer by only giving us what THEY want - not what we need.
Oh, and Robert Brown? Libre Office's deal is even better value than Office 365's. $0 for unlimited personal users, apart from a completely voluntary donation.

Office - The only difference that the "upgrades" make for me is that I have to re-learn where to find the function I need. And of course I need to click more times for the stuff I do need any way!

Interesting that so many people want "something for nothing" (SFN). MS created Office to allow people an elegant (yes, I know, opinions differ) and integrated way to handle word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. within its Windows environment. They spent millions on its development, which the SFN folks believe they are entitled to receive for free. Why? Can you build on your own what MS did? Probably not, or you wouldn't be kvetching about it. MS is a corporation, and has every right to charge for its product, in whatever way it wants. It's the capitalist system. Don't like it, find something else, as some posters here suggest.

No one demands Ford or GM to give away their cars and trucks for free, or Domino's or Pizza Hut to charge nothing for their food, so why should MS for its products?

It is a sad moment to walk in history lane of Fry's Electronics. Manhattan Beach (SoCal) store, in the '80s, was the only watering hole for geeks/nerds of the era. It was a 50-mile road trip from Newport Beach but it sure beat MarVac (Costa Mesa) 'rummage' sale. In the '90s, their 8-page Friday local newspaper circular was the proverbial bible for us, and engineers would gather together for early coffee break. Each Friday, someone would be elected to take a trip (Anaheim and/or Fountain Valley store) with a laundry list of items to purchase before they were sold out. In latter part of the '00s, their newspaper ads (down to 1/2 page) started to advertise ham sandwiches.
Sad day indeed but it was NOT "changes/challenges in the retail industry" that was the last nail in their coffin. I am guessing that MicroCenter will not be able to endure the plight of the retail industry either: Thank you, Amazon!

If they are upgrading Frogger will they also upgrade the game with the birds trying to knock off those pigs?