Microsoft Equipt now available

[Scottish Business Owner]

You can now get access to Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as security protection on a subscription basis.

PC World stores are now stocking Microsoft Equipt, which gives you Microsoft Office, Windows Live OneCare security software and several Windows Live tools for £59.99 per year.

Each subscription can be used on up to three home PCs.

Microsoft Equipt now available - Web User News

This has peaked my interest as Microsoft Office is very expensive. I think it's the way most software will go but I see it in a positive way. I know all about office but has anyone had any experience of the security products they mention and are they any good. This seems like a really good deal.

 

[Former Member 1]

You can now get access to Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as security protection on a subscription basis.

PC World stores are now stocking Microsoft Equipt, which gives you Microsoft Office, Windows Live OneCare security software and several Windows Live tools for £59.99 per year.

Each subscription can be used on up to three home PCs.

Microsoft Equipt now available - Web User News

This has peaked my interest as Microsoft Office is very expensive. I think it's the way most software will go but I see it in a positive way. I know all about office but has anyone had any experience of the security products they mention and are they any good. This seems like a really good deal.

Well first of all office is as office was 11 years ago. Were it not for the college and a handful of clients forcing me to upgrade from Office 97 I wouldn't have. Because it's provided NOTHING by way of advantage to me. And I hear the same from the admin people at the college, from clients, from their office staff.... In fact, Power Point aside, there's absolutely nothing I achieve now with Office 2007 that I wasn't achieving 20 years ago with my old Amstrad XT class PC!

If anything the new version of office is far less intuitive and less logical. which, I suppose, sells manuals, training courses and other things that would otherwise not be necessary.

Microsoft Office would STILL be expensive at £60 outright in my opinion. And I'm absolutely not prepared to get sucked into a system where these people can regularly 'dip' my wallet for what is, at the end of the day, grossly inefficient and overpriced bloatware.

The other thing is I just don't trust Microsoft. They have a long history of foisting half-baked semi-functional rubbish on the public who are effectively duped into paying for the privilege of completing their product testing for them! Right now we have the choice to reject their attempts to fleece us. The much-hated Vista being a case in point. Given their track record it's likely subscribers could be caught on a hamster wheel where they're constantly shelling out for software that's never finished, never-quite ready and never really does what it says on the tin...

As for SECURITY software from Microsoft?? :lol: You might as well drag a couple of Buckie swiggin' neds off the street to look after your house while you pop out to work!

 

[Gordon N]

Oh not - yet another thread that forces me into installing OpenOffice for a comparison - again!!

I use office myself, but only because I can. I have a licence and it seems a shame not to utilise it. I have to say though I would rather spend £60/year for constantly updated software than a few hundered only to find out a new version is due within a year!

I have recently started to use MS Office Accounting Express which I really like, and it integrates well with Word and Outlook.

Nice to see an affordable product from Microsoft, although I have a funny feeling that Matt will not be first in the queue at the checkout!

Regards,

Gordon

 

[Former Member 1]

Nice to see an affordable product from Microsoft, although I have a funny feeling that Matt will not be first in the queue at the checkout!

Nope: I was forced to visit the checkout last year and will be back in another decade or so...:lol: Or maybe not even then.... :001_tt2:

Honestly; I can't see how this is affordable.... That's a HOME licence for £60 a year.... Dig a little and you learn.....

Are there license restrictions for Microsoft Equipt?

Yes. Microsoft Equipt is licensed only for noncommercial use by households. It cannot be used in commercial (business) situations.

And that's from the Frog's mouth....

And I repeat that there's every possibility that the 'latest' version, which you'll be forced to use, will be riddled with Microsoft's usual collection of bugs and bloats....

And here's the rub. I had to go to Office 2007 simply so as I could access documents that were being sent to me by clients and the college. But around 80% of the time I send '2007' documents to folk they bounce them back saying they're only running office 97 or 2000 or something!

 

[Terry]

that's not a bad deal considering onecare itself is around £50 per year

 

[computer storm]

The best way for buisnesses to go it to take out the software assurance and this will allow you to up grade your packages when the new products are released.

regards

Darren

 

[computer storm]

Hello

If you want to learn a bit more about onecare then take a look at my site under microsoft solutions, then click on the image saying turn small business into big business, there will be a link and a presentation on onecare.

regards

Darren

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Darren what's your honest appraisal of onecare then? I have to be honest and say many of the products in this area are very process hungry so I tend to stay away from them. What are the good and bad points to look out for when planning to purchase such software?

 

[computer storm]

Hello ,

I have used onecare and it seems to be ok, does not use a lot of processes and is very stable.
As you have stated the good point is that you can install the software onto 3machines.
The other good point is that you know it will intergrate ok with any microsoft platform as it is written by microsoft. So really there is no bad points as it allows you to do central backups to one location from all of the other machines that are running onecare.

The other good point is the cost it is cheaper than most other security software and the look and feel is as we would expect it to be from microsoft, so anyone that uses windows will be able to navigate around the software easily.

So good for home networks but would not recommend using it on a business network.

Regards

Darren

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Well! That was a short lived project. Apparently One Care will be discontinued by Microsoft early next year and Equipt will stop being available soon. Typical Microsoft!

Microsoft ditches OneCare - Web User News