The People's Hero Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 Hi All, Bit of assistance required. I have a new laptop coming - nothing flash, just a replacement for one damaged recently and insurance has finally come to the rescue. 1) I know about openoffice, but I have real office on the previous laptop. Since that is now kaput, is there anyway I can get the license 'transferred' so I can activate office on the new computer? Or not? If not, is OpenOffice still the best free alternative? Office was the main thing I used the computer for, so it may be worth me paying for. I've not used OpenOffice recently, is it pretty much as good? 2) Is there any other free software anyone would recommend? I use skype, so that's one to grab... but what is the best free anti-virus (AVG?)... etc etc? Appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 Best free antivirus is Avast. In terms of getting your key for Office, sometimes Microsoft are actually quite reasonable about handing keys out. My dad has called them up in the past saying he lost his key and they gave him a new one. Worth a go. Alternatively if you can still use the old computer, check the registry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The People's Hero Posted 14 January 2014 Author Share Posted 14 January 2014 Best free antivirus is Avast. In terms of getting your key for Office, sometimes Microsoft are actually quite reasonable about handing keys out. My dad has called them up in the past saying he lost his key and they gave him a new one. Worth a go. Alternatively if you can still use the old computer, check the registry. Not an option, it ended up with a surprising amount of rain water inside it and refused to turn on thereafter. I had to send it off to be fixed, but it was beyond economic repair, which is a result in some ways (betterment & I regularly back up) but a pain in others (software/registration keys etc). I'll contact Microsoft anyway, thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xHamzah Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 I prefer Avira over Avast although the ads do tend to get quite annoying. I recommend CCleaner as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 With office it depends - if it's registered to a Microsoft account then it's easy - after me last laptop was knicked in October I transferred it to this'un. It's a simple job - log into Microsoft office (office.microsoft.com/en-gb) then go to install office in the top right. You've got install information.- you can deactivate installs from there and install it on the computer you're on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleronnie Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 I use AVG but pay for it. Good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The People's Hero Posted 14 January 2014 Author Share Posted 14 January 2014 I've sorted the Office thing out - thanks on that front! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The People's Hero Posted 14 January 2014 Author Share Posted 14 January 2014 Is there any decent software, preferably free, just for making logos? I'm rubbish with design software? Google shows up plenty of paid services... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 I use ESet anti virus it's brilliant. Always the full version too check NOD.32 on Facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadt Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 Is there any decent software, preferably free, just for making logos? I'm rubbish with design software? Google shows up plenty of paid services... GIMP (seriously) is decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xen Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 GIMP (seriously) is decent. It really is. Great piece of kit for free. Microsoft Security Essentials is - as far as I'm concerned - the best free antivirus out there, if you're on a Windows machine. Combine it with MalwareBytes AntiMalware (free version) and you're laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haydos Posted 14 January 2014 Share Posted 14 January 2014 Hi All, Bit of assistance required. I have a new laptop coming - nothing flash, just a replacement for one damaged recently and insurance has finally come to the rescue. 1) I know about openoffice, but I have real office on the previous laptop. Since that is now kaput, is there anyway I can get the license 'transferred' so I can activate office on the new computer? Or not? If not, is OpenOffice still the best free alternative? Office was the main thing I used the computer for, so it may be worth me paying for. I've not used OpenOffice recently, is it pretty much as good? 2) Is there any other free software anyone would recommend? I use skype, so that's one to grab... but what is the best free anti-virus (AVG?)... etc etc? Appreciate it. If you're using the pc a lot in the evening I'd highly recommend f.lux. It warms up the colour balance and it's a lot nicer on your eyes. Takes a little while to get used to as it's a bit orangey but you can set it on a slow transition and after a week you won't notice it. http://justgetflux.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozleicester Posted 15 January 2014 Share Posted 15 January 2014 It really is. Great piece of kit for free. Microsoft Security Essentials is - as far as I'm concerned - the best free antivirus out there, if you're on a Windows machine. Combine it with MalwareBytes AntiMalware (free version) and you're laughing. this and add Spybot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The People's Hero Posted 15 January 2014 Author Share Posted 15 January 2014 The laptop I'm getting had a 16gb ssd I've noted What sort of stuff should I put on there rather than the usual Hard drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain... Posted 15 January 2014 Share Posted 15 January 2014 GIMP (seriously) is decent. GIMP is very good, but you have to persevere with it, it is not very intuitative, especially if you are used to Photoshop, but there are plenty of good free tutorials so help is always at hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 15 January 2014 Share Posted 15 January 2014 Www.ninite.com is brilliant for free software, installs it all automatically aswell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haydos Posted 15 January 2014 Share Posted 15 January 2014 The laptop I'm getting had a 16gb ssd I've noted What sort of stuff should I put on there rather than the usual Hard drive? You won't even get windows on there I don't think Put all your regular programs on there. Itunes, VLC, photo/video editing. Whatever you use most basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 21 January 2014 Share Posted 21 January 2014 The laptop I'm getting had a 16gb ssd I've noted What sort of stuff should I put on there rather than the usual Hard drive? SSD drive should hold your Operating System and programs you use the most, because it is very quick. Your secondary drive should hold files, such as music. Eg. Install iTunes on your SSD drive but have the music folder in your normal drive and have iTunes point to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.