September 2, 2025Sep 2 Not as bad as it sounds as refers to those with 365 subscriptions..........(which means you possibly don't mind anyway) https://www.askwoody.com/newsletter/free-edition-word-docs-forced-to-onedrive/ Quote It’s starting with Word 365 for Windows and will spread to Excel and PowerPoint for Windows later in the year. Nothing has been said about Microsoft 365 for Mac. Office 2024 and earlier “fixed” releases will not change.
September 2, 2025Sep 2 Popular Post Quit using OneDrive/Office/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/etc and download LibreOffice for free.
September 2, 2025Sep 2 Author 2 hours ago, lungbing said: Quit using OneDrive/Office/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/etc and download LibreOffice for free. For me One Drive was eliminated a while ago along with Cortana and Edge. I have an old copy of Office 2007 I use for Word and Excel. I can't be bothered to redo all the spread sheets I use regularly in Libre (I did try and start once but gave up). I also had them working well via Wine on Linux Mint. I think the real issue for me from the article above is what the author mentions here and how this is developing - Quote Now comes a huge change, with cloud folders given explicit preference over local computer options. The notion of customer choice has been thrown out in favor of Microsoft corporate needs. Never mind the legitimate needs of customers and their concerns about privacy and security. However based on previous threads on here those already using 365 seem happy to be 'embraced' by One Drive and the Cloud so up to them.
September 10, 2025Sep 10 De-install OneDrive. Simples. (Assumes you have alternative backup solution(s)).
September 10, 2025Sep 10 On 9/2/2025 at 1:16 PM, lungbing said: Quit using OneDrive/Office/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/etc and download LibreOffice for free. I binned Windows 16 years ago for Linux. I've used LibreOffice almost every day since, and it's a world apart from Windows Office.
September 10, 2025Sep 10 41 minutes ago, Moti24 said: I've used LibreOffice almost every day since, and it's a world apart from Windows Office. It certainly is. Still usable if there's no alternative, though.
September 10, 2025Sep 10 3 hours ago, RayWright said: De-install OneDrive. Simples. (Assumes you have alternative backup solution(s)). I agree. I just built a new Windows 11 PC - it does NOT have a MS account associated with it - just local accounts. OneDrive, One Note, etc uninstalled. Recall never installed Local licenced copy of Office 2024 (less than 20 UKP if you know where to look) Because there is no MS account on the PC, Office doesn't even need a 'net connection, apart from, (obviously) Outlook which handles my emails. All MS updates need to ask my permission to download / install. All data is on D drive backed up by FreeFileSync to a third internal drive AND an external, plus FileHistory for "belt and braces" The C drive is imaged using Macrium to another external hard drive kept in a drawer in case it's needed. Non-sensitive stuff that I want to share with my laptop / tablet is on Dropbox.
September 10, 2025Sep 10 On 9/2/2025 at 7:16 PM, lungbing said: Quit using OneDrive/Office/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/etc and download LibreOffice for free. Im switching to Linux cinnamon running it from a external hard drive and keeping my old office and windows ten, Microsoft is getting greedier by the day.
September 11, 2025Sep 11 On 9/2/2025 at 9:30 PM, topt said: For me One Drive was eliminated a while ago along with Cortana and Edge. I have an old copy of Office 2007 I use for Word and Excel. I can't be bothered to redo all the spread sheets I use regularly in Libre (I did try and start once but gave up). I also had them working well via Wine on Linux Mint. I think the real issue for me from the article above is what the author mentions here and how this is developing - However based on previous threads on here those already using 365 seem happy to be 'embraced' by One Drive and the Cloud so up to them. The cloud is certainly sucking up, I don't trust it one bit.
September 12, 2025Sep 12 I will never use Microsoft again , windows 11 is a spy machine and forcing people to use the cloud for profit is a joke, it is blackmail. Linux here i come, i will keep my old HP and run Linux from a HD no problem can still use my old office and word, but will adapt to Linux over time, Microsoft are trying to control the lot of us, its pathetic, don't forget Billy the Kids involvement in praising the vaccine, and his shareholding in Pfizer, well known now, another BlackRock peddler.
October 8, 2025Oct 8 On 9/2/2025 at 7:16 PM, lungbing said: Quit using OneDrive/Office/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/etc and download LibreOffice for free. It's thanks to this kind of behaviour that I now use Google Docs for my writing and Linux instead of Windows. Sick of being badgered to try a 365 subscription and/or OneDrive upgrade every time another update is installed. Apple is just as bad, trying to trap everyone in the iCloud, with thousands of photos that are impossible to download in a timely manner thanks to their criminally slow service.
October 8, 2025Oct 8 On 9/10/2025 at 2:55 PM, VBF said: I agree. I just built a new Windows 11 PC - it does NOT have a MS account associated with it - just local accounts. OneDrive, One Note, etc uninstalled. Recall never installed Local licenced copy of Office 2024 (less than 20 UKP if you know where to look) Because there is no MS account on the PC, Office doesn't even need a 'net connection, apart from, (obviously) Outlook which handles my emails. All MS updates need to ask my permission to download / install. All data is on D drive backed up by FreeFileSync to a third internal drive AND an external, plus FileHistory for "belt and braces" The C drive is imaged using Macrium to another external hard drive kept in a drawer in case it's needed. Non-sensitive stuff that I want to share with my laptop / tablet is on Dropbox. If you paid £20 for Microsoft Office, that's an illegally resold volume licence.
October 8, 2025Oct 8 3 hours ago, OutofLondon said: If you paid £20 for Microsoft Office, that's an illegally resold volume licence. So? They're openly available on sites like Amazon and others. the company I bought from states that they're genuine licence keys. Check 'em out https://ecokeys.co.uk/about I've bought similar licences since 2017 and all are still showing as activated and getting updates. The thing is, if they were illegal, Microsoft would soon jump on them, so don't fall for the MS hype.
October 11, 2025Oct 11 On 10/8/2025 at 2:49 PM, VBF said: So? They're openly available on sites like Amazon and others. the company I bought from states that they're genuine licence keys. Check 'em out https://ecokeys.co.uk/about I've bought similar licences since 2017 and all are still showing as activated and getting updates. The thing is, if they were illegal, Microsoft would soon jump on them, so don't fall for the MS hype. So they often don't work like people expect them to. All sorts of crap is available on Amazon - they don't curate the site in the way they claim to.
October 11, 2025Oct 11 6 hours ago, OutofLondon said: So they often don't work like people expect them to. All sorts of crap is available on Amazon - they don't curate the site in the way they claim to. i get what you're saying and you're right...BUT.... my experience by picking the right sellers has been positive. Repeating what i said "I've bought similar licences since 2017 and all are still showing as activated and getting updates." These are on 3 different PCs using Windows 10 and 11. You're right to be cautious (Caveat Emptor and all that) but look at the link I posted earlier to Ecokeys, then look at their Trustpilot reviews. I even emailed them for some support regarding how Outlook behaves differently from Office 2016 to 2024. I got an almost immediate and very helpful response with an offer to refund my payment if I wasn't satisfied. I declined and kept the product - very satisfied, but you will, of course make your own decision. I only know that, over the years, i've saved more than £2000 on various MS software and not had a problem. Also, when I was configuring my new PC, a friend was doing the same - he bought on my recommendation, both the PC and software. BTW, I have no connection with Ecokeys other than being a satisfied customer... Food for thought?
October 15, 2025Oct 15 On 10/11/2025 at 4:44 PM, VBF said: i get what you're saying and you're right...BUT.... my experience by picking the right sellers has been positive. Repeating what i said "I've bought similar licences since 2017 and all are still showing as activated and getting updates." These are on 3 different PCs using Windows 10 and 11. You're right to be cautious (Caveat Emptor and all that) but look at the link I posted earlier to Ecokeys, then look at their Trustpilot reviews. I even emailed them for some support regarding how Outlook behaves differently from Office 2016 to 2024. I got an almost immediate and very helpful response with an offer to refund my payment if I wasn't satisfied. I declined and kept the product - very satisfied, but you will, of course make your own decision. I only know that, over the years, i've saved more than £2000 on various MS software and not had a problem. Also, when I was configuring my new PC, a friend was doing the same - he bought on my recommendation, both the PC and software. BTW, I have no connection with Ecokeys other than being a satisfied customer... Food for thought? Yes, my experience with volume licensing was somewhat different. I purchased what was described as a full Windows 10 licence from an American vendor. Unfortunately, I subsequently found I was unable to upgrade that Windows 10 installation via the retail channel, because it was corporate volume- licensed software. In other words, the software was useless to me. The vendor offered to help me with that particular upgrade but that wouldn't solve my issue in the long term. As they refused to refund me, I had to open a Visa dispute and get my refund that way. I guess once bitten, twice shy.
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