Why not try LibreOffice?

😒

Jorpho wrote:

Of course I know there are many better alternatives out there

Generally my preferred alternative is Softmaker Office. I haven't looked at OpenOffice (or its various derivatives) in a while; I might consider it if they get rid of the Java dependency once and for all.

Java is optional for Libreoffice at least. Yes, some features depend on it, and here's a list (not up to date, it seems): https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Development/Java
I don't know if you require any of those features.

I liked Office 2000 and 2003 more, but 97 isn't so bad.... 2003 is what I considered "best" of the classic office UI.... if you can get used to the ribbon UI, Office 2010 rocks, but you need to run it on a modern system though 😒

I've almost always used 97 and 2000. I have 2000 at home and did some VBA coding for 97 at an old job. They're both about the same, actually I can't think of anything that 2000 does better than 97. I would say Office 97 was when Office reached it's peak. From there they had nothing more to accomplish, except try to find some way to burn the luxury of modern CPU cycles.

I hate the ribbon. 😀
Open/Libre/whatever is an option, but I never felt a need and I'm sure it wouldn't be compatible with my Access stuff so I never bothered.
I do sometimes get frustrated with bugginess in Excel 2000 - large spreadsheets crash sometimes, especially if array formulas are used. Access has bugs in how it handles images, but I can work around that. That's about all the complaints I can come up with. I think I might be using Office 97/2000 until I die.

the ribbon actually improved my productivity and results... no, this isn't bullshit from MS... I don't work for them!
one time I was making some elaborate document, and I forced myself to use word 2010, within 20 minutes, I was clicking away at the various functions in the ribbon bar and found myself getting stuff done like a pro!

I loved the classic no frills UI of office, but by the time office 2007 came out, they added so many features, it was impossible to fit it all onto the old style toolbar... office 2007 was a clawsterfawk, and I hated it, and still do.... 2010 is a major improvement.... too bad they ditched the design for something different again for 2013

the ribbon really does makes things easier and more efficient to use... it really does work, unlike the bullshit metro UI of Windows 8 which is an epic fail

shamino wrote:

I do sometimes get frustrated with bugginess in Excel 2000 - large spreadsheets crash sometimes, especially if array formulas are used.

Yup, I made a few spreadsheets back in the day that could reliably crash Excel 97. I thought they fixed that in 2000.

I also don't like the way that each version of Office seems to insist on using its own file dialogs; they might have been superior back in the day, but XP beats them handily now. Then there's the Tahoma thing.

I used a few computers with Office 2000. I did not like how it insisted on putting its own unnecessary, special shortcuts on the desktop.

As for the Ribbon, the last time I had to deal with it I used the official Ribbon Search.

I don't mind the ribbon, though I just use keyboard shortcuts wherever possible.
The main issue with Office is bloat, which seems to pile up higher with each new version. Doing even simple stuff with VBA can be excruciatingly slow and inefficient these days - never done that with 97 but I can only assume it would be much leaner and meaner... because with 1996 hardware it had to be.

Jorpho wrote:

I used a few computers with Office 2000. I did not like how it insisted on putting its own unnecessary, special shortcuts on the desktop.

Indeed, that Shortcut Bar.. or whatever it's called, is dumb and completely redundant with the Windows UI. But it can be left out of the install, along with Clippy. 😀

go ahead and keep using the old versions guys... it works great as long as you don't try to open other people's files because you'll either a) not be able to open them properly b) get infected by whatever virus or exploit

the newer office maybe more bloated, but it's more compatible as it's the current formats, but besides that they are more secure because they're getting regular patch updates... old ones are not supported

I have less issues running office 2010 than I had running 2003, it's just much better
97, XP, and 2000 were just buggy... I don't care how lightweight it is, I'm not using it if I don't have to because I don't want to deal with the bugs and vulnerabilities

Also Office 2013 is a drm worse than securom, binding to one physical computer

😜

In speaking of office, where's StarOffice 5.1?

There's an update to let Office 2000 open the newer format. I don't know about 97.
I don't often keep up with the update chase on anything, even if it's still supported. That neverending routine just annoys me. Viruses are not a problem I have with my computer.
Imagine how frustrated a mechanic would be if he had to trade in his tools every 2 years. That's how I feel about software.
On the rare occasion I need to mess with an untrusted file, I just send it to one of those online scanners or send it through my email, which scans all attachments.

don't want to mess with it? that's fine... there's a feature called "automatic updates", it works!

I'm an Open/LibreOffice guy myself. It's handles every doc/xls file I've needed it to and has a small footprint. My only gripes so far are setting a default typeface is oddly finicky, and I have not been able to figure out how to surround a block of text with a box like you can in Office. Nice prog though.

I stuck with Office 97 for a long time, and only recently switched to 2000 because it can open the newest formats - it does everything I need, loads quickly, and is broadly compatible. I can't stand the ribbon bar (or any of Microsoft's other 21st century UI "innovations") so I'll probably switch to Open/LibreOffice if 2000 becomes unusable.

shamino wrote:

There's an update to let Office 2000 open the newer format. I don't know about 97.

That's one thing that would definitely be pretty sweet.

I remember the panic about macro viruses. What heady times those were! I wonder if virus checkers still bother scanning every single .doc or .xls file for viruses that probably haven't been in active circulation for ten years?

By the way, while we're on the subject, does anyone know of a program that can open a Microsoft Outlook PST without actually requiring Microsoft Outlook to be present?

TheMAN wrote:

don't want to mess with it? that's fine... there's a feature called "automatic updates", it works!

Automatic updates means I have some company messing with my computer on a daily basis. I'm very much an "it's my computer" type of person.

I guess I'd argue that there's more than one way to avoid any trouble with viruses. One is to use the latest version of everything and keep it updated, along with maybe some antivirus software for good measure. The downside with this is it puts a person at the cutting edge of new problems, but as long as they keep up with updates they should be safe.

The other strategy is to be highly reserved about what one runs on their computer. But after so many years I'm convinced that my hesitation and scrutiny serve to avoid the malware problems many people seem to have.

Some like upgrading to the newest thing, some find it disruptive. Either approach is fine, it just depends on your personality. 😀

I'm not a "newer is better" person either
I test everything under scrutiny before I even accept or reject them
I review all updates before installing them

when Office 2007 came out, I was using 2003. My work got 2007 installed and I HATED IT.
When Vista came out, I HATED IT.

So when Office 2010 came out, I read of improvements to it, so I gave it a try.... I was thrilled that it was what it was said to be and it wasn't a clawsterfawk like 2007 was. The ribbon was better but still took a little time to get used to it, but the time it took getting used to was VERY VERY short, to my surprise... the reason for using 2010 was newer/improved format support, better features, better stability, and 64-bit capability

Same thing with Windows 7 when it came out... I was skeptical... but my friend said, it's great, give it a try... it's not dog shit like Vista... so I did... I was sold!

now looking back at older Windows and Office after being used to the great improvements Windows 7 and Office 2010 brought, I dislike using any of the older shit

and I did try 8 and Office 2013.... hated it!

Were there big differences from Office 2003 for Windows and 2004 for Mac?