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Old 21st Feb 2012, 17:42
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A used top-end Lenovo is the best. I have bought loads of them for the firm and family etc. Zero failures.

£600 should get you a good one.

Google for "refurbished Lenovo" etc.
I'll consider this

If I do buy new and it comes with windows 7 home, will my office 2007 (genuine) operate, or will I need 2010? I don't really need all the functions of windows professional.

Lenovo certainly looks great online, like the customise option to choose setup. Never really heard that much of them before, thanks all for enlightening me
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 17:48
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will my office 2007 (genuine) operate
Is it an OEM or boxed license ?
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 17:54
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Waiting for my better half to come tell me where it is will check once I dig it out

Not sure what OEM means?
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 18:48
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Did it come bundled with your computer ? (Another easy way to identify it is the price.... did you pay a pretty cheap price for it ?).

Basically, OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and Microsoft licenses do not permit transfer of OEM licenses between devices. They live and die with the device they were provided with.
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 18:51
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Virtually all Win7 machines from the big manufacturers come with a copy of Office 2010 preisntalled. This can be used in three ways: as a trial, or it can be upgraded by puchasing a licence for one of the full versions, or it can be activated as an "Office Lite" version for free - this give cut down version of Word and Excel, but good enough for most home users
As for your copy of Office 2007, this will install OK on Win7, though for the sake of stopping confusion I would suggest you uninstall the Office 2010 trial first
If you are one of those who didn't get an Office setup disk, just the product key, you can download the Office 2007 installers from Digital River. This page links to them
Direct Download Links for Microsoft Office 2007 Suites and Applications « My Digital Life
These are real genuine downloads from Microsoft's online reseller. They are not warez or hacks

if any of these don't work, post there are alternatives from Digital River. Also the full set of Windows Vista and 7 are also available from them. Not however XP or 2003
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 21:17
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I set up a new W7 PC for my parents last month. Checking what they really needed, I deleted the trial version of MS Office, and simply installed a current version of Open Office. They remain delighted with it.

I couldn't use it myself - I've tried, but I use too much of the high end functionality of Word and Excel doing engineering work, but for the vast majority of users, it's more than adequate - and in many ways a bit more user friendly.

G
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 21:31
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Milo,

Preinstalled equals OEM.
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 21:45
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I bought it separate from my old laptop (stupid Sony viao), which also came with a trial version per-installed. I uninstalled that as mentioned above before installing the full version. I guess doing the same will work on w7.
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 22:13
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"Preinstalled equals OEM."
Not quite as black or white as that nowadays. It depends on what the keycard you use to activate it says - and some of the "higher" versions of Office don't come as OEM: only retail or VLK - but the key still works with the preload created by the Office preinstallation kit.
Even if what you have IS an OEM key, then M$ typically refresh the registration database every 120 days anyway, so theres a good chance you can reactivate it online, And even if you can't do it online, then use the phone option and answer the questions "correctly". I face this problem all the time when rebuilding machines with blown motherboards.
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 22:15
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Tasslehof
Should be OK, though you may have to activate using the phone. Thing to remember is that if the system asks how many machines the software is installed on, the answer is ALWAYS "one"
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Old 21st Feb 2012, 23:42
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Milo,

The fact remains, only VLK/FPP licenses are transferrable. Discounted licenses (MLK,OEM, PKC etc.) are not.

From this Microsoft page :

How many licenses /installations do Office Product Key Cards allow?

Each Product Key Card allows one user to activate one Office 2010 suite on one preloaded PC.

Can I install an Office Product Key Card on more than one PC?

No. The Office Product Key Card can only be installed on one PC. If you ever need to reinstall Office you can do so on the same PC on which Office was originally installed.

Reinforced on this microsoft page :

Product Key Cards:
1 user/ 1 PC (must meet system requirements)
No disc; software download available
Not transferable to another PC
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Old 22nd Feb 2012, 05:45
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Damn near everything is glossy.
Exactly. . Glad there's anyone more who doesn't like this. I've been told they are of sooo much better, pixels and all... the only ones who do not seem to value true quality are my eyes.
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Old 22nd Feb 2012, 08:38
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Damn near everything is glossy
Yeah, hate it too.

Welcome to the Apple world. Style and "great movie experience" over usability.

My son has the £1800 Imac. Great for media playback but there is no way you can use it for any "work" if there are windows anywhere behind you.

Most laptops have gone that way too.

But Thinkpads are still mostly matt. Very usable. The downside of that is you don't get very good colours for image editing, playing movies, etc.
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Old 22nd Feb 2012, 09:35
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the trouble with matte screens is they damage more easily when customers try to clean them with polish, so they end up being sent back for warranty repairs when its not the manufacturers fault. Gloss screens are more resistant

If you want a matte screen, take a look at some of the Samsungs
Heres one that has a matte screen, though I'd be worried about longevity due to the nVidia graphics chip. nVidia still have not sorted the problem of low-lead alloys and melting points....
Series 7 CHRONOS - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG
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Old 22nd Feb 2012, 15:04
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You can often get matte screens as an option from ODM resellers such as Eurocom, Sager et al. Those guys buy barebones machines or parts from Clevo & others and then fit them to order. Jayne's 17" monster is one of those. It came with a glossy screen but they would have put a matte one in if asked. A few years ago while idly considering replacing my laptop I inquired about that and they were quite happy to do it.

Alternatively you can always buy a matte screen & install it yourself. I did that to Jayne's machine when the screen died. It's so much nicer to use her laptop now that we're not also watching the window behind us.
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Old 22nd Feb 2012, 16:07
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If you can find someone building Clevo chassis then thats a good idea. Build quality on those is usually bullet-proof.. Only problem is getting spares if the plastic parts do actually break
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Old 23rd Feb 2012, 06:42
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As for bullet-proof, we were told the flat screens actually are bullet proof and can be used for personal protection if a gunman enters your building.
A reputable lecturer, didn't just banter, I guess.
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