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For many years, Microsoft sold its productivity software Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. In 2013, the company understood where the software industry was headed and began a transition to a subscription-based model.
The suite of programs and a set of features in development continued to be called Office 365 until 2020, when they gained their current name, Microsoft 365. The company would like all Windows users to have a subscription and is doing everything it can to attract them. This is unnecessary, as the service is one of the most affordable subscriptions in the customer market. In this article, I’ll explain why this is the case, what’s included, and which subscription you should choose. .
Further reading: Outlook: How to Set Up Breaks Between Meetings
Initially consisting of three basic Office systems and a few features, Microsoft 365 has grown to include around 10 systems and several features. Some are also available in the loose edition without much difference, but most are particularly more powerful in the final version. Paid edition. Here are the systems and facilities that are included with a subscription only.
WordMicrosoft’s complex word processing program is feature-rich and can do a maximum of things with text, most likely making it look smart in print.
ExcelThe world of finance would stand still without Microsoft spreadsheet software. There are alternatives, but the Windows version of Excel is by far the most capable of working with huge amounts of numbers.
PowerPoint presentations may no longer be as common for home users or as common in businesses as they once were, but they still have a place and a tool to create them: PowerPoint.
OneDrive with 1TB of space Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage service can be used as Dropbox to sync data between other devices and the cloud, or as completely cloud-based storage for files you don’t need to download from your computer. With a subscription, the account gets 1 TB of space.
OutlookAre you tired of webmail and prefer a genuine email program?Microsoft Outlook is one of the best, even for home users. Interestingly, subscribers also get more storage space on the standalone messaging service Outlook. com – 50GB from 15GB.
OneNote If you’ve never tried OneNote, it can be difficult to understand what it’s used for, but it’s widely used in schools and elsewhere. The program is a kind of virtual bulletin board where you can collect text, images, and other elements. .
Microsoft by Clipchamp or iMovie by Apple: an undeniable video editing program that will allow you to do a little more with any video you record with your mobile phone. For example, you can edit a Christmas movie.
PublisherThis desktop publishing program is a better way than Word to produce published materials such as posters, brochures, etc. ; it is not in the same category as Adobe Indesign or Quarkxpress. Available only as a Windows program.
Access databases. You might think it’s just for businesses, but in reality, a database program like Access can be an undeniable way to build your own applications. Like Publisher, Access is only available as an old-school Windows program.
Microsoft Editor A new AI-powered tool built into Word and Outlook and available as a Chromium extension. The editor helps you write better by suggesting language innovations and spelling and grammar corrections.
Microsoft Forms helps you create and distribute surveys. Very useful for some, absolutely uninteresting for others.
SkypeSkype is rarely as popular today as it was 10 or 15 years ago, but in one domain it’s hard to beat: overseas phone calls. A Microsoft 365 subscription includes 60 minutes of calling to many countries each month.
Microsoft 365 for consumers is available in two versions: Personal and Family. Staff costs $69. 99 per year or $6. 99 per month, family circle costs $99. 99 per year or $9. 99 per month. Paying annually provides a relief of 16. 7 per month. But see below for information on how to reduce the price even further.
The difference between the two subscriptions is that Family includes up to six separate accounts, with 1 TB of OneDrive area and 60 Skype minutes. Each account can also activate Office systems on up to five devices. In other words, you get six beads worth 1. 43 beads.
For those who don’t have a family to share the subscription with, it may seem natural to choose Personal, but it’s not that simple. An additional five TB of cloud space is needed for an additional $30 per year. It’s nothing to sneeze at, requiring a little more handling than a cloud storage service that supplies all the space in a single account.
Further reading: How to Get Microsoft Office 365 on the Cheap
I can give a private example that illustrates the merit of opting for Family even for a single user. I use two of my six family accounts just to back up my computer; one count each for two 1TB SSDs. I use Arq Backup software, which is sold as a single license, and the annual fee is much lower than Backblaze, for example. It may not work for everyone, but it’s definitely worth thinking about. about.
Another option is to join a family club with friends or family members you don’t live with and share the costs. Each account is its own separate account and the “administrator” will pay for subscriptions and invitations to others. – does not have access to other members’ data. No one has to worry about being spied on.
When you subscribe to Microsoft 365, the company will allow automatic renewals that will deduct the regular monthly or annual value, but there’s another way to renew your subscription: with activation codes you buy from other stores.
Activation codes are sold at a discounted price, especially around Black Friday but also during the rest of the year. You can activate them for up to five years, so if you find a really smart price, you can get multiple codes at once. , as long as you know you’ll want the Office systems during that time.
Enterprises and other organizations have another set of Microsoft 365 subscriptions to:
In addition to the above systems and services, a number of business-oriented features not found in non-public plans are also included. It’s basically SharePoint, Exchange (email) with its own domain, the Internet edition of the rugged Visio visualization tool, and the “real” edition of Teams.
These costs do not include VAT because they are intended for companies. In practice, nothing prevents freelancers from purchasing a personal subscription and using it at work, for those who do not want to have their own domain for email or otherwise dispose of it. one, and that they don’t want any of the other exclusive features.
For those who refuse to pay for subscriptions, Microsoft still sells a standalone authorized Office suite, called Microsoft Office Home
What’s included is Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, not other systems or services. For most people, this is a worse acquisition than the subscription, as systems aren’t up to date with new features and features like OneDrive aren’t included. But there are conditions where it’s even better, for example for a PC that won’t have access to the internet and needs to be able to use basic systems indefinitely without restrictions.
Free users will have to make do with Microsoft docs and forums, but Microsoft 365 subscribers will have human access via chat or phone. This can make a big difference if something goes wrong.
This extension applies not only to parts of Microsoft 365 but also to Windows 10 and 11, so you can get help from a human if Windows updates fail, if you’re worried you’ve been attacked by malware, or whatever.
Customers who purchase a separate license for Office systems also get chat support, but also by phone.
Some of the features included in Microsoft 365 are also available to anyone with a Microsoft account. Here’s what’s included even if you don’t need to or can’t pay.
The web and mobile applications for Word, Excel and PowerPoint have all the basic functions of the three main systems of the old Office suite, but only through an Internet browser.
OneDrive with five GB, single accounts don’t have much room to move around, however, the Windows program for syncing files and folders is included and works wonders for those who, for example, have a folder of vital files they need. on all devices.
Outlook on the Internet and for mobile devices Microsoft has not made it easy to understand the jungle of other versions of Outlook, but for casual users, there are two completely separate Outlooks. The Internet mail client and email service are Outlook. com free and give you an @outlook. com takes up 15GB of space and the Outlook mobile app for Android and iOS is free and works with most emails like Gmail, Apple iCloud, and Yahoo Mail.
Skype and Teams You don’t have to pay anything to use Skype or Teams for individuals, Skype offers a bonus for subscribers.
Don’t like subscriptions or are you just tired of Microsoft programs?There are many alternatives, whether they are free or paid programs. A lot depends on what you’re looking for. There are so many things included in Microsoft 365 that you can’t upgrade the entire package with a single option from some other developer.
If you basically want to upgrade Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, the most productive features are free and open-source, such as Libreoffice and Freeoffice.
For OneDrive, there are plenty of options, from Google Drive and Apple iCloud to small drives like Shadow Drive and pCloud. You can also create your own cloud storage service that syncs folders between other devices like Syncthing and Seafile.
Further Reading: Best Cloud Backup Services
The most productive thing is to look for opportunities for the specific program you want to update and think about why you want them. If you use Word to write books, you have many other possible options besides the ones you use to write emails and you want features like direct mail.
This article was originally published in our sister publication PC för Alla and has been translated and localized from Swedish.
Anders writes news, reviews, and buying guides that address the top lead generation categories.
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