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NEWSLETTER
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Microsoft Office 2007
When ordering a new
desktop or notebook computer, one should
consider which version of Office 2007 is
needed. If unsure, opting for the more
complete suite is best since adding Office
software components individually after the
fact is very expensive.
Office 2007 Suites
that are available in the least expensive
"OEM" version (which comes pre-installed on
a new workstation) include the following:
Office 2007 Basic
Edition - includes Word, Excel, Outlook
Office 2007 Small
Business Edition - includes Word, Excel,
Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher
Office 2007
Professional Edition - includes Word, Excel,
Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access
Office 2007 Home &
Student Edition - includes Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, OneNote
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Windows
XP Phase Out
According to a Microsoft Life-Cycle Policy
Web page, Microsoft plans to discontinue
shipments of Windows XP to resellers on Jan.
31, 2008. The company also said retail
licenses will be discontinued at that time.
Editions affected include the Professional,
Tablet PC, Professional x64, Home and Media
Center editions of XP.
According to Microsoft, "Windows Vista is
safer, easier to use, better connected and
more entertaining that any operating system
we've ever released, and we're encouraged by
the positive customer response we've seen to
date."
For customers of BSC Solutions Group,
purchases of desktop workstations running
Windows XP Professional past Jan. 31, 2008
will still be possible. It will be more
expensive, however, as customers will have
to purchase a full license (rather than OEM
license) of Windows Vista, which has
downgrade rights. BSC can then legally
install Windows XP Professional. Note that
a workstation licensed this way will also
have upgrade rights to move to Vista at some
point down the road. One warning here,
however, is that if an upgrade to Vista is
planned in the future, this should be
discussed with your BSC representative to
ensure the workstation hardware will be
sufficient to support Vista.
Notebooks are a different issue. If
Microsoft stops shipments of Windows XP on
Jan. 31, 2008, it may be expected that new
notebook computers running the Windows XP
operating system will not be available long
after that date. Since notebooks come
pre-loaded with their operating system,
downgrading them from Vista to XP will not
be an easy matter. This process will take
2-2.5 hours and some of the bells and
whistles that came with the notebook may no
longer work under Windows XP. The need for new notebooks may,
more than anything else, be the driving
force that moves organizations to ensure the
software running on their network is Vista
compatible.
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BSC Solutions Group serves the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) from Burlington to Bolton to
west Toronto and including Markham, Concord,
North York, Vaughan, and Etobicoke.
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