Help to buy the right version the first time

[CodeBlue]

Is there some way to contact an actual human being to aid me in choosing the
right product for my needs? I have lots of little questions and would really
like to be guided in making my purchase, rather than guessing only to find
out I need something more and having to lay out more cash.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

It mostly depends on the products you want.

 

[CodeBlue]

LOL... therein lies the rub! Okay, I'll try a different approach. I currently
have MS Office 2003 (standard) and Publisher 2003. But my needs are
changing... I used to just teach & write letters, etc. Now, we've started our
own business... we have a website and have produced wonderful brochures...
but we want to do more. Like, on our website, we would like to build a
password protected area for education that would include powerpoint
presentations and test forms. Also, we want to be able to work from home
using VPN and file sharing. My irritation lies in that I would like guidance
in purchasing a comprehensive package (or upgrading to) so I don't have to
keep running out and buying more additional programs. Now, it seems I need
Access 2003... but do I just want to wait until MS Office 2007 hits the
market or do i need to upgrade to MS Office Pro?

It seems to me that I can't be the only person in the world that would
benefit from some professional guidance from MS. When my needs for a better
router came up all I had to do was pickup the phone and call Linksys. One of
their own people helped to guide me in the selection of the product that was
right for my needs. It was easy. I'd like to be able to get that level of
assistance from Microsoft.

It mostly depends on the products you want.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Is there some way to contact an actual human being to aid me in choosing
the
right product for my needs? I have lots of little questions and would
really
like to be guided in making my purchase, rather than guessing only to find
out I need something more and having to lay out more cash.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Office 2007 is a completely different interface. If you don't mind waiting
until next spring and learning where everything is all over again, wait for
that. If you need the products now and can't afford the time to re-learn
everything, get the Office 2003 upgrade.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

LOL... therein lies the rub! Okay, I'll try a different approach. I
currently
have MS Office 2003 (standard) and Publisher 2003. But my needs are
changing... I used to just teach & write letters, etc. Now, we've started
our
own business... we have a website and have produced wonderful brochures...
but we want to do more. Like, on our website, we would like to build a
password protected area for education that would include powerpoint
presentations and test forms. Also, we want to be able to work from home
using VPN and file sharing. My irritation lies in that I would like
guidance
in purchasing a comprehensive package (or upgrading to) so I don't have to
keep running out and buying more additional programs. Now, it seems I need
Access 2003... but do I just want to wait until MS Office 2007 hits the
market or do i need to upgrade to MS Office Pro?

It seems to me that I can't be the only person in the world that would
benefit from some professional guidance from MS. When my needs for a
better
router came up all I had to do was pickup the phone and call Linksys. One
of
their own people helped to guide me in the selection of the product that
was
right for my needs. It was easy. I'd like to be able to get that level of
assistance from Microsoft.

It mostly depends on the products you want.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Is there some way to contact an actual human being to aid me in
choosing
the
right product for my needs? I have lots of little questions and would
really
like to be guided in making my purchase, rather than guessing only to
find
out I need something more and having to lay out more cash.

 

[ANONYMOUS]

You should go to your nearest store and explain them what you intend to
do and what is your budget. They will most gladly spend time with you
and sell you a proper product.

Also, why not download a free MS Office Compatible product for now to
get hang of using computers and creating documents etc. The link is
here:

http://www.openoffice.org/

You could also try MS office 2003 for 60 days free of charge:

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

hth

 

[ANONYMOUS]

For your website get this free product from MS:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vwd/download/default.aspx

I suggest do one thing at a time. Don't try to do everything so soon.
You might crash your computer!

hth

LOL... therein lies the rub! Okay, I'll try a different approach. I currently
have MS Office 2003 (standard) and Publisher 2003. But my needs are
changing... I used to just teach & write letters, etc. Now, we've started our
own business... we have a website and have produced wonderful brochures...
but we want to do more. Like, on our website, we would like to build a
password protected area for education that would include powerpoint
presentations and test forms. Also, we want to be able to work from home
using VPN and file sharing. My irritation lies in that I would like guidance
in purchasing a comprehensive package (or upgrading to) so I don't have to
keep running out and buying more additional programs. Now, it seems I need
Access 2003... but do I just want to wait until MS Office 2007 hits the
market or do i need to upgrade to MS Office Pro?

It seems to me that I can't be the only person in the world that would
benefit from some professional guidance from MS. When my needs for a better
router came up all I had to do was pickup the phone and call Linksys. One of
their own people helped to guide me in the selection of the product that was
right for my needs. It was easy. I'd like to be able to get that level of
assistance from Microsoft.

It mostly depends on the products you want.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Is there some way to contact an actual human being to aid me in choosing
the
right product for my needs? I have lots of little questions and would
really
like to be guided in making my purchase, rather than guessing only to find
out I need something more and having to lay out more cash.

 

[CodeBlue]

Thank you for your help

Office 2007 is a completely different interface. If you don't mind waiting
until next spring and learning where everything is all over again, wait for
that. If you need the products now and can't afford the time to re-learn
everything, get the Office 2003 upgrade.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

LOL... therein lies the rub! Okay, I'll try a different approach. I
currently
have MS Office 2003 (standard) and Publisher 2003. But my needs are
changing... I used to just teach & write letters, etc. Now, we've started
our
own business... we have a website and have produced wonderful brochures...
but we want to do more. Like, on our website, we would like to build a
password protected area for education that would include powerpoint
presentations and test forms. Also, we want to be able to work from home
using VPN and file sharing. My irritation lies in that I would like
guidance
in purchasing a comprehensive package (or upgrading to) so I don't have to
keep running out and buying more additional programs. Now, it seems I need
Access 2003... but do I just want to wait until MS Office 2007 hits the
market or do i need to upgrade to MS Office Pro?

It seems to me that I can't be the only person in the world that would
benefit from some professional guidance from MS. When my needs for a
better
router came up all I had to do was pickup the phone and call Linksys. One
of
their own people helped to guide me in the selection of the product that
was
right for my needs. It was easy. I'd like to be able to get that level of
assistance from Microsoft.

It mostly depends on the products you want.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




Is there some way to contact an actual human being to aid me in
choosing
the
right product for my needs? I have lots of little questions and would
really
like to be guided in making my purchase, rather than guessing only to
find
out I need something more and having to lay out more cash.

 

[CodeBlue]

Thank you... I've actually been using computers for since the 1980's, and
have been using MS Office for many years through several versions... but I do
appreciate the links, I'll check it out.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

No problem - when it comes time to fork out the money, check out Amazon.com.
Best prices I've seen for software. ;-)

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Thank you for your help

Office 2007 is a completely different interface. If you don't mind
waiting
until next spring and learning where everything is all over again, wait
for
that. If you need the products now and can't afford the time to re-learn
everything, get the Office 2003 upgrade.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

LOL... therein lies the rub! Okay, I'll try a different approach. I
currently
have MS Office 2003 (standard) and Publisher 2003. But my needs are
changing... I used to just teach & write letters, etc. Now, we've
started
our
own business... we have a website and have produced wonderful
brochures...
but we want to do more. Like, on our website, we would like to build a
password protected area for education that would include powerpoint
presentations and test forms. Also, we want to be able to work from
home
using VPN and file sharing. My irritation lies in that I would like
guidance
in purchasing a comprehensive package (or upgrading to) so I don't have
to
keep running out and buying more additional programs. Now, it seems I
need
Access 2003... but do I just want to wait until MS Office 2007 hits the
market or do i need to upgrade to MS Office Pro?

It seems to me that I can't be the only person in the world that would
benefit from some professional guidance from MS. When my needs for a
better
router came up all I had to do was pickup the phone and call Linksys.
One
of
their own people helped to guide me in the selection of the product
that
was
right for my needs. It was easy. I'd like to be able to get that level
of
assistance from Microsoft.

:

It mostly depends on the products you want.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




Is there some way to contact an actual human being to aid me in
choosing
the
right product for my needs? I have lots of little questions and
would
really
like to be guided in making my purchase, rather than guessing only
to
find
out I need something more and having to lay out more cash.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Blue,

It sounds like you have definite plan on what you'd like to accomplish and takes pride in creating a good customer experience

If you want to go the MS Office 2003 route for products then the most complete package available now and the only 2003 Office
package that will recognize another 2003 edition as upgradable to another 2003 package would be the MS Office 2006 Small Business
Management Edition.

The 2006 Small Business Management Edition (different from the Small Business Edition) is the MS Office 2003 Professional Edition
plus the Office 2006 Small Business Accounting package.

For basic 'choice' matricies you may want to visit http://microsoft.com/office/howtobuy

To do everything you listed you would be using more than just products from the Office family of products and you may want to
explore, on a computer or partition or using the free MS Virtual PC download, some of the 2007 products (but not on a machine
important to your business), or with a test drive (online) to start from http://microsoft.com/office/preview
to include the MS Expression Web and graphics products (http://microsoft.com/expression) but also look at competing products as
well, including the Adobe Products

There are a number of MS 'partners' (folks that help with implementing visions with working software - for a fee as that is their
business and passion) available. Look for one in your area that specializes in small businesses or a particular discipline, but
interview them to see if you'd be comfortable with them.

MS also offers consulting expertise and will, if you call the sales line suggest products, but these aren't people who are going to
know anything more about your business than what they hear on the phone from you unless they're engaged on a consulting basis. So
they will do their best to be helpful based on limited knowledge. Keep in mind that MS is really a widely spread out company with a
lot of people and a lot of products and trying to keep up with all of them, is a large task

There are also a lot of peer help sources available including the MS newsgroups news://msnews.microsoft.com (where you'll find
Outlook Express a lot quicker to use in many cases to the MS web browser interface of the discussion groups that mirror the
newsgroups). You'll find VPN, Powerpoint, publisher and other focused groups and there are many linked or 'matching' websites as
well. Often just posting a 'how to' question in Google or in the newsgroups can be a good start.

============
LOL... therein lies the rub! Okay, I'll try a different approach. I currently
have MS Office 2003 (standard) and Publisher 2003. But my needs are
changing... I used to just teach & write letters, etc. Now, we've started our
own business... we have a website and have produced wonderful brochures...
but we want to do more. Like, on our website, we would like to build a
password protected area for education that would include powerpoint
presentations and test forms. Also, we want to be able to work from home
using VPN and file sharing. My irritation lies in that I would like guidance
in purchasing a comprehensive package (or upgrading to) so I don't have to
keep running out and buying more additional programs. Now, it seems I need
Access 2003... but do I just want to wait until MS Office 2007 hits the
market or do i need to upgrade to MS Office Pro?

It seems to me that I can't be the only person in the world that would
benefit from some professional guidance from MS. When my needs for a better
router came up all I had to do was pickup the phone and call Linksys. One of
their own people helped to guide me in the selection of the product that was
right for my needs. It was easy. I'd like to be able to get that level of
assistance from Microsoft. >>
--
I hope this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office system products MVP

LINKS to the 2007 Office System

1. Free MS Office 2007 book from MS Press, 213 pages:
http://microsoft.com/learning/office2007/default.mspx#booksfrommspress

2.. Office 2007 Beta 2 Online Test Drive, Downloadable beta,
e-learning courses, doucmentation and movies:
http://microsoft.com/office/preview

3. Send 2007 Office System Beta 2 feedback directly to the MS Office 2007 product team with this feedback tool:
http://sas.office.microsoft.com/

4. Try the 2007 OfficeOnline preview website , without Office2007

a. Install the ActiveX access control
http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?AssetID=XT101650581033

b. then visit
http://officebeta.iponet.net