Software for Laptop

[Cypress]

I finally found a quality priced laptop/tablet from HP I bought from a popular box store. I had very good service as I am a customer that doesn't quite know what they want, on a budget and not all that swift with technology. I have an HP Split x2 13-R010DX

I do not have a wifi or internet connection at home. I mostly rely on the library for service. My cellular phone with Verizon Wireless is on a budget plan and works pretty good. I don't have great cellular service. I am fairly rural and rely on ? to get my signals. Sometimes connectivity is a problem.

I could not set up the new device at home because of a lack of connectivity. I am taking the device in for support with that this afternoon at the box store. I am pretty confident I'll get the help I want.

How do you know what software to acquire and how to acquire it? It was suggested I buy the MS Office Suite. I am a writer, but I don't particularly like MS word. Nor, will I use the other programs very much. Is there any alternative for MS. It's in the devices operating system, but do I have to buy expensive software? Can I buy older version of Word say 2002 and just work with that? I write, enjoy creating visually with photographs and creating poetry.

[ApatheticNoMore]

To edit documents WordPad may be all you need. You should already have it without having to do anything (it came with the Windows operating system. I think it's still on Windows 8). It's usually under accessories.

There are free alternatives to MS Office apparently the latest are LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice, you'd need internet connectivity to download these. I don't think the free alternatives are better than MS Office but well they're free ...

But I think most likely the free WordPad that's already on your machine might be ALL you need to create documents unless you need spreadsheets or to do much more sophisticated things with documents. Then you might want to look at programs like LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice above or buy MS office products. Apparently even WordPad will save in an MS Word compatible format.

[Alan]

There are several free alternatives for the MS Office Suite, two I'd recommend are OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org) and LibreOffice (http://www.libreoffice.org). They are both capable of handling MS Office's file formats.

[Cypress]

I thought I would experiment with Word Pad and see if that is enough for me. I do have many doc's saved on a thumb drive in MS Word format. My guess is that won't transfer over. But, I will try. I'll also try the other programs mentioned. I sometimes use the MS Publisher for framing pictures or adding text to pictures. Especially if I want to copyright an image. I wish it was ala carte not buy an entire suite. Plus, that takes up a lot of space on the hard drive. I know Picasso used to be a free photo manager program. Not sure if that allows you to play with photo images.

I am traveling soon to Italy for a vacation. I hope to blog about it while there. Whatever I have for software, has to support the trip coming up in May.

[Cypress]

I use Wordpress.com for my blog. Pictures, I typically manipulate with my iPhone and send to my gmail for including in my pictures library. I have to check if this new laptop has that feature. I'll be at the store awhile tonight sorting this all out.

[jp1]

I realize I'm too late for your trip to the store, but I also recommend OpenOffice. It's perfectly suitable for basic office software functionality and similar enough to the MS products that it's easy to use if you already know how to use MS. It's also able to convert MS files and open them without a problem.

If wordpad doesn't end up being enough for you (and it may be. I've never used it so don't know how functional it is or not) then perhaps on your next visit to the library you could use their wifi to download it.

[SteveinMN]

I'll also try the other programs mentioned. I sometimes use the MS Publisher for framing pictures or adding text to pictures. Especially if I want to copyright an image. I wish it was ala carte not buy an entire suite. Plus, that takes up a lot of space on the hard drive. I know Picasso used to be a free photo manager program. Not sure if that allows you to play with photo images.
Microsoft Word AFAIK still is available as an independent application. However, the way Microsoft prices it, it usually is cheaper to buy it as part of a bundle. Buy Word, and, say, Powerpoint as separate apps and you might as well buy the entire Office suite...

I will third the recommendation for OpenOffice/LibreOffice(/NeoOffice for Mac users). It does a fine job for me in opening and editing Word files, even in current formats. It also includes a spreadsheet module, presentation module, and a database module. It's free but I donate money to the NeoOffice guys (who ported OpenOffice to the Mac) because I know one of them and I know a lot of work goes into keeping up with the app.

There also are (usually free) templates for xOffice documents (sometimes you can even use Microsoft Office templates if they're not too full of macro code) which can save you time/effort in creating documents. I definitely would try WordPad and a version of OpenOffice before I shelled out for Microsoft Word or Office. I also would try using OpenOffice/Word to "watermark" your pictures. I'm 99% this is possible; you might not even need Publisher if it does not come with the laptop.

If you're thinking of Picasa, you will need an internet connection to download that one, too, but it should mostly work without a persistent connection (unless, of course, you want to email/blog photos). I can't help you much on this score because we have an Apple-only house. But Picasa should get the job done; your phone also may let you modify enough of an image to create a JPEG you then could place and play with in OpenOffice or Word.

[Cypress]

Because I don't have connectivity at home, I took the laptop into the box store for set up and service. They installed anti-bad software. I will pick this up later today. In talking to the customer rep, he recommended a cable service for connectivity and not a device that creates a wifi hot spot in the home. That would be too expensive.

Trying to avoid another monthly bill, he also recommended cancelling the TV part of the cable bill and going only with the internet to keep costs minimal. Since I only watch a few shows, I am strongly considering this option. I watch a public affairs 1/2 program weeknights on PBS, This Old House and Masterpiece Theater. Two of these programs advertise watching from their webpage episodes at any time. Not sure about Masterpiece Theater. But, since I want to write and TV is not that important, maybe it's time to make another change.

I can go to the library and try that out. I like my public library. But, it's way more convenient to stay home and write. I do need to do research and fact check with my writing so web access is important.

There are options and I appreciate your input.

[SteveinMN]

Trying to avoid another monthly bill, he also recommended cancelling the TV part of the cable bill and going only with the internet to keep costs minimal.
I would urge you to do the math on this one. Here in the Twin Cities, Comcast offers a tier called "Limited Basic" that carries the local broadcast channels (and subchannels), open-access/public affairs channels, shopping channels (>8)), and a few others. It's about $8 a month. Comcast won't volunteer that this tier exists, but they are required to offer it through their agreement for carriage. Anyway, our tier of cable internet is around $55 a month but having any cable TV lowers that by $15 a month. So we got "Limited Basic" and ended up $7 or 8 a month to the good. Comcast also offers lower-performing levels of Internet access for less money. Those don't work for us (since I'm often uploading GB of image files and the net price differential was not that great) but it might work for you. Again, don't expect them to volunteer it. And there may be some restrictions -- income, minor student at home, etc. But worth looking into.