Software questions

[Hawkmoon]

Looking to prepare an older notebook computer for sale. We've been down this road before, but here we go again. I won't sell it with my licensed copy of Microsoft Office on it, so I'm looking at freeware alternatives. The smart money would say to just install Libre Office and call it a day ... and I may do that. However, this particular notebook is quite old and not very speedy, and the hard drive is also small (150 GB). Libre Office uses a lot of hard drive space, and it runs like molasses in January even on a faster computer. So I'm investigating alternatives.

One possibility is SoftMaker Free Office. Two downsides: (1) Although they advertise flawless compatibility with Microsoft Office, I've worked with it enough to know that the compatibility is less than great. (2) It requires registration, so I would have to get an activation key sent to some bogus e-mail address I set up.

Which brings us to (drum roll, please) ... Lotus. First, although IBM has pulled Lotus Symphony from their corporate web site, it is still available from other Internet sources. Does anyone know anything about it?

Second, in performing some desktop archeology I uncovered two CDs, each with a copy of Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition.These are listed as being for Windows 95, 98, NY, and one of them also lists Windows 1000 and XP. Will it run under Windows 10?

[zxcvbob]

Lotus Smart Suite runs just fine on Windows 10.  I had to install it cuz we have a lot of old documentation at work in LWP format that I needed to export to something (anything) else.

If you were setting one up for yourself and so didn't mind spending a few dollars, MS Office 97 works very well and you can buy disks on eBay, cheap.  Just make sure you get the license key with it (on the back of the original jewel case)

[Brad Johnson]

Honestly, a notebook with a 150 GB hard drive is too functionally obsolete for anyone to be interested. Certainly not enough to pay actual money. I wouldn't spend any time on it. Pull and destroy the HD to ensure data security then drop the chassis in a local electronics recycling bin.

Brad

[Hawkmoon]

Honestly, a notebook with a 150 GB hard drive is too functionally obsolete for anyone to be interested. Certainly not enough to pay actual money. I wouldn't spend any time on it. Pull and destroy the HD to ensure data security then drop the chassis in a local electronics recycling bin.

Not gonna happen. I'm a product of Depression-era parents. It goes against the grain to discard something that looks brand new and that still functions. There's no question that this isn't what a modern "road warrior" businessman or tech freak would buy, but it's still a viable computer for someone on a tight budget who just wants to do e-mail and maybe type a letter once in awhile.

[dogmush]

Why not let whoever buys it install the office software of their choice?  All the free ones I've used have their quirks that get really annoying, and at the level of laptop you seem to be talking about, you may very well sell it to a student that will slap a student edition of office on it, and whatever freeware you've installed will be wasting space.

I wish I had seen this yesterday, as I just bought a new laptop this morning to run some stuff in the garage.

What is it, what hardware does it have, and what do you want to get for it?  If it can run Mach3 I can probably find a home for it.

[Hawkmoon]

It's a Toshiba Satellite L300. CPU is a Pentium T3400. 3 GB RAM. I don't remember exactly how old it is, but more than 10 years for certain. It had XP on it when new, and I skipped Windows 7 and finally migrated it from XP to Windows 10 a few months ago.

[lupinus]

Let whoever buys it worry about their own office solution? Frankly for something with a hdd that small the only thing I see as reasonable is going to be google docs or some other cloud solution.

But frankly given those specs for modern computing I'm not entirely sure who you intend to find as a buyer...

[lee n. field]

Honestly, a notebook with a 150 GB hard drive is too functionally obsolete for anyone to be interested. Certainly not enough to pay actual money. I wouldn't spend any time on it. Pull and destroy the HD to ensure data security then drop the chassis in a local electronics recycling bin.

Brad

+1

That, or put a lightweight Linux (Mint with XFCE: https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php), then give it away.

Computer obsolescence is like dog years, but worse.

It's a Toshiba Satellite L300. CPU is a Pentium T3400. 3 GB RAM.

little bit different than I thought.  But, value is pretty darn  low, nonetheless. 

If you've got a stick of 2GB DDR2 laptop memory, bump it to 4GB RAM.  That would help.  Then, minimal effort prep, then give it away to some worthy recipient.

[dogmush]

It's a Toshiba Satellite L300. CPU is a Pentium T3400. 3 GB RAM. I don't remember exactly how old it is, but more than 10 years for certain. It had XP on it when new, and I skipped Windows 7 and finally migrated it from XP to Windows 10 a few months ago.

Yeah, that's a bare bones machine these days.  It won't even run my machine control software very well.

It's probably only worth 80-100 bucks.  At best.

I renew my suggestion to not bother with office software.  Whoever gets it can install their preferred solution.

[Hawkmoon]

But frankly given those specs for modern computing I'm not entirely sure who you intend to find as a buyer...

Anyone who will buy it, of course.

You guys are all looking at it from the perspective of people who use computers every day, probably for work and/or maybe for gaming (which, as we all know, is why the teenagers usually get better computers than the parents). Older notebooks like this sell on Craigs List around here all the time, typically for $100 to $150. That less than what a bottom of the barrel notebook sells for at Walmart. Who buys them? My guess is older people who just need something to read e-mail, write an occasional letter, and shop Amazon.

I've sold a couple before. The first (sometimes second) question is if it has office software installed.

[Jim147]

With all the classes from home I wish I would have had an old working laptop or two sitting here in March could have sold everyone.

[WLJ]

Second, in performing some desktop archeology I uncovered two CDs, each with a copy of Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition.These are listed as being for Windows 95, 98, NY, and one of them also lists Windows 1000 and XP. Will it run under Windows 10?

Should but I won't guarantee it. Too many weird things that older software did that may or may not be blocked by W10 often for good security reasons.

[dogmush]

Older notebooks like this sell on Craigs List around here all the time, typically for $100 to $150. That less than what a bottom of the barrel notebook sells for at Walmart. Who buys them? My guess is older people who just need something to read e-mail, write an occasional letter, and shop Amazon.

I've sold a couple before. The first (sometimes second) question is if it has office software installed.

I was just going by my recent laptop shopping experience.  I can get a refurbished business class Dell or Lenovo with a Core i3, 500GB, 4GB RAM all day long for $150 and free shipping.  So a older chip architecture, less storage, and less RAM should be $80-$100ish.

I suspect you're correct there are folks that only need an Amazon/web rig, or need a computer for a pretty simple, but discreet task in their house, and that's who buys old laptops. 

If you're looking for office freeware I've heard decent things about Apache Openoffice.  Never used it myself, though.  A quick scan of their website says it installs in 440MB of disk space and runs on 256MB of RAM.  Seems like a good fit for your computer.

[lee n. field]

Anyone who will buy it, of course.

You guys are all looking at it from the perspective of people who use computers every day, probably for work and/or maybe for gaming (which, as we all know, is why the teenagers usually get better computers than the parents). Older notebooks like this sell on Craigs List around here all the time, typically for $100 to $150. That less than what a bottom of the barrel notebook sells for at Walmart. Who buys them? My guess is older people who just need something to read e-mail, write an occasional letter, and shop Amazon.

I've sold a couple before. The first (sometimes second) question is if it has office software installed.

There was a local guy here who would set up laptops like this with a low end Linux, for folks with exactly those needs.  Apparently his customers have been fine with it.   (A buddy of mine knows him, and I see the laptops occasionally when my buddy brings it to me to fix updating.)

He set them up as easy as possible -- automatic login, Mint or Elementary OS (made to look and act sort of like Mac OS), Firefox or Chrome and other basic apps on a launch bar.

Windows is such an awful dog, on the low end hardware.

If Libre Office is too heavyweight, Abiword is out there as an option for Linux.

[Hawkmoon]

If you're looking for office freeware I've heard decent things about Apache Openoffice.  Never used it myself, though.  A quick scan of their website says it installs in 440MB of disk space and runs on 256MB of RAM.  Seems like a good fit for your computer.

Apache Open Office and Libre Office are both forks from the same base. The difference is that Apache Open Office hasn't been updated for quite a long while, and Libre Office is maintained and updated regularly. I have Libre Office, and I considered it. It runs (and, especially, loads) very slowly, even on a newer, faster computer. That's why I don't want to use it on this older machine.

I think I've settled on SoftMaker Free Office. It has a lot going for it. One major plus is that Free Office offers a choice between a traditional menu interface and a more modern, ribbon interface.

[Jocassee]

If you have to sell it, I would sell without productivity software.

[AZRedhawk44]

Print a document with names and URLs of various freeware office suites and include it with the computer.

Allow the buyer to decide.  Not worth the time or hassle on such a low end machine.

[Brad Johnson]

Print a document with names and URLs of various freeware office suites and include it with the computer.

Allow the buyer to decide.  Not worth the time or hassle on such a low end machine.

+1

Brad

[HeroHog]

SoftMaker Free Office is what I use these days. VERY compatible with MS Office files (Word and Excel at least).

[zxcvbob]

SoftMaker Free Office is what I use these days. VERY compatible with MS Office files (Word and Excel at least).

I had never heard of this.  I will have to compare it to Office 97 to see which I like better.  Plus it's available for Linux.  Thanks!

[Hawkmoon]

Try it -- I think you may like it.

Be sure to explore the user interface options. As I noted, they offer either a traditional Office 97-like interface and a modern, ribbon interface. Both are available in a light theme and a dark theme, and you can click a check box to switch to larger icons for touch screen devices.

[zxcvbob]

I have an original copy of Office 97 that I paid good money for 20-ish years ago and it hasn't broken yet, so I just keep using it.  But I have a new Linux laptop and it will be nice to have Office (or something just like it) on that too.  If I like FreeOffice, Ol' 97 might go back in the archives.

[Ben]

I have an original copy of Office 97 that I paid good money for 20-ish years ago and it hasn't broken yet, so I just keep using it.  But I have a new Linux laptop and it will be nice to have Office (or something just like it) on that too.  If I like FreeOffice, Ol' 97 might go back in the archives.

The only reason I use Office 2007 at this point is because I have it. If there was ever a reason (e.g., security) to stop using it, I'd have zero problems just going to Libre Office, which I run on my travel laptop and Linux VMs anyway.

IMHO, the only reason to use the MS products is job related. I tried using one of the openoffice products years ago when telecommuting, and while it was ~97% compatible, the three or so percent of non-compatibility came up just enough to cause me headaches. Especially for stuff like group editing of a document. However for home or some individual business uses, I can't see any reasons to pay for the MS product. Especially since IIRC, the latest versions are cloud only subscriptions.

[Hawkmoon]

The only reason I use Office 2007 at this point is because I have it. If there was ever a reason (e.g., security) to stop using it, I'd have zero problems just going to Libre Office, which I run on my travel laptop and Linux VMs anyway.

Microsoft has already stopped issuing security updates for Office 2010, so you're well past the point of no return with Office 2007. The end of support for Office 2007 was 10/10/2017.

[zxcvbob]

Microsoft has already stopped issuing security updates for Office 2010, so you're well past the point of no return with Office 2007. The end of support for Office 2007 was 10/10/2017.

How much security risk is a word processor?  Especially if you use it for documents that you created and never share the files, just share the exported or printed output?