So I've been doing some online window shopping, and while MSWord2003 will set me back a couple hundred bucks, if I buy Word2002, I can find a bunch of different places that'll sell it to me for under $50.

Now, I don't need anything extra fancy. I just wanna be able to have Word software on my home computer so I can e-mail my writing and open Word docs that are sent to me. Nothing more.

Is there a reason I should hold out for Word2003? Heck, I'd even buy Word97 if I could get it for dirt cheap, sheesh.

I'll sell you a copy of Word86.

Comes with a free pair of:

doctormcmeekle said:

throw in a cassette-recorder data drive and a copy of 'combat' on 2600 cartridge...and you got yourself a deal!!!

AsianBomb777 said:

I'd rather use WP 5.0

animal said:

awww.

Can't u just get a copy from someone?

NoodleSoup said:

yeah, but either i have problems with the registration/certification stuff, or someone can't find their software and i gotta wait, or blah blah woof woof etc.

i just wanna buy something and get it and install the damn stuff and be done with it.

Anxiety said:

Don't they usually come with the registration, the codes? Or often there's a 'CRACK' file. I guess Bangkok has corrupted me. Further, that is.

NoodleSoup said:

oh, heck, i don't know. see, i don't know enough about how to do any of this stuff. i know how to take something out of a box that i just bought from a store, and install it on my computer. that i can do. otherwise, my expertise is limited to me bringing someone in, pointing to my computer, and screaming "FIX IT!!!" at this point, i gotta do whatever's gonna get Word on my computer fastest, and if that means paying for something instead of borrowing, sharing, pirating, whatevs, then that's what i'm gonna have to do. which is why i'm eyeballing the cheepo Word2002 software.

Anxiety said:

dont waste your money honey. try it first

heybaby said:

Anxiety is my sexy hall monitor

hes raunchy

I've never heard of a computer that doesn't already have Word installed on it when you buy it.

catharsis said:

i seem to be able to find 'em.

i bought my last computer brand new, and all it had was microsoft works, with that el cheepo word processing software.

Get Word 2002. It will happily do anything you need, unless you want features like native XML support, style locking and reading layout mode. Which begs the question, who does?
[Edited 3/21/05 22:11pm]

Yeah:

Word sucks.

Get a decent word processor instead.

tackam said:

unfortunately, doing freelance work, i gotta send my writing as word files. so i don't have the luxury of choosing.

and i hate wordperfect.

Anxiety said:

Word 2003 has a nice feature called "reading layout view." But I wouldn't spend hundreds of dollars for it. Word 2002 should meet your needs just fine. In fact, the Word file format hasn't changed since Word 97, so as long as you're not using a version older than Word 97, you should be able to read any Word file.

matt said:

Sometimes you make my heart sing, matt.

Usually there's something I can take for that.

tackam said:

Any suggestions for those of us running Mac OS X?

If you don't want to handle your text files with Notepad or DOSEDIT like the rest of us computer geeks, you should try openoffice (/staroffice), or Abiword. Seriously mate, before rushing into forking over cash for any commercial program try the free alternative first.

matt said:

yes. switch

Colleges and Universities usually sell Office to their students dirt cheap. I paid like 15 bucks for Office when I was in school. So if you are currently enrolled somewhere, or have a friend who is, it would be worth checking out.

Whatever you choose, make sure you choose bit-torrent.

matt said:

Not really, I was just being a mac bitch. I use TextEdit most of the time, but if I have to send the document to anybody else, I use Word.


Oh, and you make my heart sing too.
[Edited 3/31/05 12:06pm]

matt said:

Abiword I think is ported to Mac as well (you should be at least able to compile it yourself if all else fails). Free download, has most of Word's features. And the ones it doesn't have you aren't going to need much anyway.