PDA

View Full Version : Microsoft Office 2007



Roisin
September 10th, 2009, 05:09 AM
Is there any way to install Microsoft Office 2007? We need it for classroom use and compatibility w/ other computers.

QIII
September 10th, 2009, 05:30 AM
Install? No. It only works in the "other" OS.

Kludge?

You have a couple of choices short of a dual boot setup (preferred, but maybe not something to tackle if you are new.)

1. Install the "other" operating system in a virtual machine (VirtualBox, etc) and install Office there. This is your best bet, but don't do it unless you have a proper license and DON'T already have it on another machine. You'd be violating the EULA.

2. Use Wine (which I doubt will work well with Office 2007) or another similar product like Crossover Linux from CodeWeavers.

Before you use either, each has ratings for how well each Windows application works.

Crossover Linux does not look promising for Office 2007 components.


Sláinte!

ukreech
September 10th, 2009, 06:43 AM
nice find! thanks QIII.. Ubuntu is great but there are a lot of things to learn first :)

staf0048
September 10th, 2009, 06:49 AM
Install PlayonLinux (search google). It's a wine wrapper that has a special script which will download the propper drivers to get Office 07 working perfectly on Ubuntu. I have it running now on my Ubuntu desktop - no virtual machine or dual boot needed.

As a point of contention - you should really work with your school to get them to stop forcing expensive software and proprietary file formats on their students. And this is the perfect example. We're not all Window's users and our schools shouldn't pander to one company. Just my 2 cents.

QIII
September 10th, 2009, 07:32 AM
Many Institutions of Higher Education don't even allow products from the "other" OS to be used.

Try finding a University where you can get a graduate degree in CS using the evil tools of Redmond.

staf0048
September 10th, 2009, 07:40 PM
Well I'm not a CS major, but I find it hard to believe that not a single university allows students to use MS programming tools. But that's a slightly seperate issue. If it's a course focused on a specific software tool, then that software tool must be used. For example, if Roisin's class is "MS Office 101" then yeah, you need to have a copy of MS Office. Just like if the class is "Linux 101", well then you need a copy of Linux. But if it's English, Economics, etc, then in my opinion, the school needs to ensure every student has access to the same information, regardless of their computer's operating system.

And contrary to other's points of view, I do not think Microsoft is evil. I think they've made a lot of really smart business decisions and have built a really strong and profitable company. It's up to the competition to come up with a better system that consumers value to unseat the dominant player.

rifak
September 10th, 2009, 07:45 PM
yes, office 2007 does work with the newer versions of wine, although there are some quirks...word, excel, publisher works, but powerpoint, and maybe outlook does not. i installed it on my grandparents computer because they were deathly afraid that OpenOffice wouldn't do the job. so to make them happy, i installed office 2007 through wine, also installed OpenOffice3 and gave them the choice as to what they wanted.

QIII
September 10th, 2009, 11:29 PM
Well I'm not a CS major, but I find it hard to believe that not a single university allows students to use MS programming tools.

I just said to try and find one. And I was talking about CS graduate programs. I couldn't (not that I had any desire to...) use them.

Your undergrad programs and Community Colleges probably all allow some Microsoft tools.

Is Microsoft "evil"? While many of their products are good, many are bad. The same is true in the open source world.

Using your weight and market share to build hegemony and monopoly, thereby throttling competition and forcing users and everyone else (including hardware OEMs, who are forced to seek Redmond's certifications for drivers or to install Windows on virtually every machine sold) to bow to your whim and think in terms that make them believe that "computer = Windows" is great business. And forcing people to pay to play as new versions and hardware becomes available helps out their cronies. (Did I tell you we have several Intel fabs around here?)

For many, "I know a lot about computers" translates as "I know a lot about the way Wintel stuff works."

Teddy Roosevelt hated that sort of thing and spent a lot of effort "trust busting". Ah. What has become of the Party of my youth?

I would say those sorts of market practices, while profitable, are in some sense "evil". But I'm not an open source or Linux evangelist. I have told people on this forum to stick with Windows if that works for them. Choice is the thing.

Microsoft has built an environment where "computer = Windows".

I'm putting my soap box away now...

staf0048
September 11th, 2009, 12:38 AM
I would say those sorts of market practices, while profitable, are in some sense "evil". But I'm not an open source or Linux evangelist. I have told people on this forum to stick with Windows if that works for them. Choice is the thing.


I hear what you're saying, though I disagree that Anti-trust practices are evil. Bad for a competitive market for sure, but not evil. Though people also say they "hate" the Bee Gee's, using strong words to make a simple point. I think we're in agreement for the most part - and obviously since we're on this forum we've chosen a different path than the standard MS stuff. Choice is a wonderful thing.