Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013 Product Key Card - 1 PC

Pros: Outlook has improved a lot over the years making it more stable, and increasing the storage limits.

Cons: The whole install and activation process is pathetic. If you are a smaller scale computer service company, the old activation system was infinitely superior for everyone involved, but of course Microsoft doesn't care. Office is severely overpriced, especially the subscription based 365 versions.

Overall Review: Microsoft had better be careful. They are trying to milk more profit out of office to make up for shortfalls in other areas, but even with the ubiquitousness of Office, businesses and consumers will look for alternatives at some point to save money.

Pros: I used the Release Preview last year while I was trying out Windows 8. Office 2013 works well and integrates with the new interface of Windows 8. When it worked it was fast and intuitive. I really enjoyed the new search method for templates.

Cons: Everything is made for a touch screen. When making a spreadsheet I work better with my a mouse and keyboard. Who makes a spreadsheet with their fingers all over the screen? With everything bigger to facilitate touching I feel that a lot of the screen is wasted with interface options instead of information I am working with.

Overall Review: I had to step in after reading the last review. It was biased and not very helpful.

Pros: Compatible with previous file types. Works better with touch.

Cons: Installation sucks for system builders and IT techs. The application must be permanently tied to an email address and Microsoft Live account. Gee, let me just create an email address and Live account for every pc and then track that information forever. I have nothing better to do with my time than spend an extra 20 minutes jumping through Microsoft hurdles to prove I am not counterfeiting their software. Who is paying for my lost time? This is ridiculous in a business environment. Yeah make it harder for the honest people, there's a good plan! The White, white, or white interface choices suck.

Overall Review: This is the first Microsoft Application / Suite I have ever hated.

Pros: Once it is installed correctly and activated, it might actually be a nice office suite.

Cons: The activation process is a nightmare, especially for oem system builders. If you don't have the files for installation you have to "stream" the install which can take hours. The mandatory MS account binding is for the birds.

Overall Review: I build computers on a daily basis for a small company and this generation of office has been torture to me and anyone who has to deal with it. At first we were using a local support account to activate the copies but then realized they were permanently attached to that account. Now we leave it unactivated and unbound and the customer feedback on activation has been horrible as well. Like I said in the Pro's section, this may be a good functioning office suite but the process to install and activate has really put a dent in my productivity as a system builder.

Pros: -Slightly streamlined interface...

Cons: -But "the ribbon" remains... -The price. Ouch!

Overall Review: Office 2013 does not offer enough improvements to take on the hassle of moving to the new version (which I deliberately did not call "upgrading"). If you are already using the Office 2010 suite, deliberate carefully about both the expense and the subsequent tweaking it will take to get you back to the customization you like. At installation, I was promoted to first remove my existing Office 2010 suite. After doing so, installation of Office 2013 took approximately 10 minutes. Although cosmetic changes appear in the user interface (mostly in a "flattening" of controls on the toolbars), the overall presentation will be familiar to users of Office 2010. Hint: if you have many commands placed in your Office 2010 applications Quick Access Toobars, export them before you uninstall. You can later import them into the 2013 programs. Why this couldn't be scripted into the 2013 install process (along with removal of the earlier version) is another question. Microsoft claims an array of new features in Office 2013. The biggest one that is readily apparent is that Microsoft would love for you to join them on the cloud via its online SkyDrive and Office 365 subscription services. Oh please. I already bought the productivity suite, and could have done without the additional marketing. Plus: every single time you look at the Office Ribbon, the big "Sign In" button will be visible on the right side. Bad idea, Office team: please don't add clutter to an already complicated user interface. Newly installed programs installed in a recently refreshed operating system should work flawlessly. The user experience while working with various Office suite data files (primarily Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Access for me) is basically the same as with 2013. Immediately after installation, every time I closed an application, Office offered a "...(application name) has stopped working" and the usual MS prompt to check for solutions or close the program. Of course it stopped: I just closed it. Online searches, including at Microsoft, have presented nearly a dozen options, most specifically focused on add-ins. I accepted the "search online for solutions" option during a Word shutdown. Apparently Office found one, and the remedy took place across all applications. However, this error was *NOT* part of the user experience in the Office 2010 suite that I uninstalled 10 minutes before the switch to 2013...and users shouldn't expect the latest version to contain more annoyances (which is what this is) than its predecessor. Very unsatisfactory. Office 2013 claims increased ease of handling graphics and editing .pdf documents. I've experimented with both, and in my opinion, the jury is still out. I am extremely lucky in being able to obtain this product under an academic license via my employer for fraction of what "civilian" users must play. For the deep discount I enjoyed, this behavior is an annoyance. If I had paid full price for this, "annoyed" would be far too mild

Pros: Umm...eventually works kind of. Supports touch on Surface Pro, kind of. Can eventually be installed to your computer, kind of.

Cons: Oh, where to begin? My abbreviated list is as follows: 1. You cannot just download and install the software. You now MUST sign up for a "Live" account. This becomes a HUMONGOUS issue if you ALREADY have a Live Account under a "corporate" version of Office 365, because not all Live accounts are created equal and Office 2013 doesn't install (properly) with the "corporate" accounts. Massive problems with just creating and accessing the account, before even beginning to be able to install the product. 2. Once you can manage to get it to approve your user name and password there are no installation options other than "go". So If I have any system with a 16Gb C: "Boot" partition and "all my stuff" on a big D: partition, I'm out of luck. One out of space C: drive. No options to tell it what I want where. 3. Absolutely HIDEOUS look and feel. Remember Windows 2.0 from 1984? Yeah, that's what the new Office product looks like. Welcome to the "new" look and feel. 4. Dramatic feature reductions/removals from prior Office versions. One example is in Outlook, where "upcoming" appointments are displayed in the "To Do" area. Whereas I could show the next 5 appointments in the old versions, the new version only shows remaining appointments "today". There's no way at 3:00pm to see what my first appointment tomorrow looks like without clicking around. There's much more, but unfortunately, I'm out of time and need to get to other things. Suffice to say, I'm not upgrading to Office 2013 on any (more) of my PC's, and am strongly evaluating competing (and free!) products for our corporate clients. Office has outlived its usefulness.

Pros: I would give it half an egg if possible. No Pros over 2010, with 2010 reinstall whenever you need to with an actual CD/DVD product in your hands.

Cons: Ok, so no CD/DVD install, you have to go through hoops to setup and account, verify this verify that. Download the product which will only work on one PC. Good luck if you want to reinstall from a virus or crashed drive. Do yourself a favor and purchase 2010 while you can. MS has a nasty habit of changing phone numbers and websites

Overall Review: I give Newegg ***** Eggs for returns by the way Returns for the product to MS direct is a nightmare, transferred 3 times from dept to dept. MS will only take returns that are mailed to them with receipts. Takes 6 to 8 weeks for a check to be mailed to you. Caution before you buy.

Pros: Seems to start fast, overall responsive. Some new auto-formatting options come in handy ***you CAN install it from an .iso WITHOUT creating a Live acct- MSFT just makes it really difficult...see Other Thoughts***

Cons: Hate the new installer- Why did they strip out the Custom option??? You can't even select what drive you want to put it on!! I understand trying to make it simple enough for grandma to install, but at least have an option for people that actually want to be in control of their PC. Not much reason to upgrade if you have Office 2010, for the average user there really isn't much added unless you are into the whole cloud movement...

Overall Review: Search: "Office 2013 Direct Download Links" You will find a .net with links direct from MSFT for all the different versions. Burn a disc, and you can install on multiple machines without downloading, also you can do a 'standard' machine-based activation instead of a Live acct-based activation.