I have been asked so many times over the years, why has Office changed so much each time they update it. Well … it all started back in 2003. By that time, Microsoft had released Office for DOS, Office 95, Office 97, Office 98, Office 2000, Office XP (2002), and finally Office 2003. Whew! That’s a lot of versions of expensive software (up to $450 per license). Needless to say, the later versions didn’t sell as well. When they asked the public why, they heard “It looks just like the last version”. Now you know why Office (as well as Windows) must look different than the previous version. It’s because they have the mindset that if it doesn’t look different, the public won’t buy it. Unfortunately, that was the ONLY thing that Microsoft heard … and they live by that rule of thumb today in everything they do. That is why every version of their software looks different. Honestly, they could have done the same thing using ‘skins’ to make it look different without royally screwing up the way we all have worked over the years.

Now you know the rest of the story…

Most companies have a single version of a software program for you to buy. Not Microsoft! No, they have so many versions of the same program, it will blow your mind. Did you know there are over 10 different variations of Windows operating systems? I’ll bet you didn’t know there are almost a dozen versions of Office! No wonder no one is really sure of what they have, any why the public is confused.

Microsoft quickly jumped on the ‘subscription’ bandwagon just like many other companies have done. It’s a sure fire way to ensure reoccurring income for a business. But … which version is better ?

Both programs are Microsoft Office. They both will open Word and Excel files as well as others. But there is a difference.

Office 2019 (Student or Home and Business) $159 and up.

Essentially, it’s the same as Office 365, but with a few differences. This is a version of Office that does not get the latest features automatically installed. You’ll get security updates and such, but you buy this version, you’ll be using this version. It only comes with some of the Office apps, not all of them.

The STUDENT version has Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote

The HOME AND BUSINESS version comes with those, plus Outlook. Guess Microsoft thinks students don’t need email.

The over drawback to this version of Office is you can only install it on one computer. One license per PC. This is the version that I use. It’s stable. I never have a problem with it. I’ve also never had to do a repair installation either. I can’t say the same for Office 365.

Now … Office 365 is a subscription service. This means you pay for it each year. It also means you can install it on up to 5 (or is it 6 now) computers. We really aren’t sure because Microsoft has changed it over the years. Let’s assume you get multiple copies so you can install it on ALL YOUR COMPUTERS.

You’ll get ALL THE OFFICE APPS, including Access and Publisher. What you’ll also get is the VERY LATEST UPDATE from Microsoft. Now, keep in mind that Microsoft pushes these updates as often as every 30 days. So… this means your version of Office will CHANGE FREQUENTLY! They call it updates. I call it ‘introducing new bugs’.

If you are a user that DOES NOT LIKE CHANGE, this version may not be for you. The latest feature update may break something you’ve been working on with one of your files. We have seen it. We’ve seen a lot of issues with 365 version of Office. Most people will muddle through, but if you have mission critical work that must not be delayed, I recommend a different version of Office.

One other thing that Microsoft doesn’t tell you. If you do install this on several machines, you’ll need to sign in with your Microsoft account. This will also sign you into your One Drive account (Cloud storage). Let’s say you install this on your home PC, your work PC, and your kid’s PC, because he needs Office too! Well… he’ll get access to your One Drive files and could possibly delete all your files, or corrupt them, or drop files in and fill up the cloud space!

Don’t tell me it can’t happen. I’ve already seen it happen. Not long ago, a customer had a five year old delete all of Daddy’s work. Dad was out of town, but the kid was at home playing on the computer. All of his cloud files disappeared on his work laptop. Thankfully he did have a backup with him and was able to restore the files.

If you just need the basics of word processing or working on a spreadsheet, you might want to consider LibreOffice. It will open the newer XLSX and DOCX files, while OpenOffice has trouble with those formats. The good thing, it’s free.