Buying Software in LOS

[teelack 9,683]

The only things that I have bought are a few dozen DVD's and music CD's however I would like some updated software such as an MS Office suite. On the basis that quite a few of the CD's and DVD's are faulty I am not sure if its a good idea. Perhaps a member who has bought and installed MS Office or similar could advise me on price and quality. Thanks

[jacko 8,866]

The only things that I have bought are a few dozen DVD's and music CD's however I would like some updated software such as an MS Office suite. On the basis that quite a few of the CD's and DVD's are faulty I am not sure if its a good idea. Perhaps a member who has bought and installed MS Office or similar could advise me on price and quality. Thanks

I bought MS Office here..... I think it was about 2500 baht.

It is a restricted version though.....

 

Are you asking about legit copies or pirated stuff.

[nus01 305]

The only things that I have bought are a few dozen DVD's and music CD's however I would like some updated software such as an MS Office suite. On the basis that quite a few of the CD's and DVD's are faulty I am not sure if its a good idea. Perhaps a member who has bought and installed MS Office or similar could advise me on price and quality. Thanks

I download all my own stuff and this is exactly where the stuff your buying in LOS is coming from.

 

The problem with Pirated stuff is if/when the maker finds out about the fake serial no, indemnification keys or whatever they can block them.

 

My Microsoft Office crack now comes up with a warning that this may not be a legitimate copy every time i log in, other than that it works fine.

 

Over they ears i have downloaded many programs without any problems, however i have the benefit of only downloading the best copies. Reading the comments on forums from others who already downloaded it

 

The problem in Thailand, as you see with the movies as soon as a copy comes out no matter how shit it is its being flogged for sale.

 

With software You could be buying a copy that worked fine 2 weeks ago but is now blocked, or has been cracked but only 20% of the functions are available.

[biggles 509]

I have bought a lot of copy software from the large shop in tukcom, for my son who is a photographer. I would have bought probably 15 CDs in the last couple of years with only two problem ones. I returned them when I came back to thailand and they replaced them (with updated versions) without question.

[lovedog100 1,372]

I may have got some from Tukcom before. It's hit and miss. The first thing I would do, is a virus and malware scan of the disk. You will find that some need to go straight into the trash can with out being installed. Others work great.

[jacko 8,866]

I may have got some from Tukcom before. It's hit and miss. The first thing I would do, is a virus and malware scan of the disk. You will find that some need to go straight into the trash can with out being installed. Others work great.

Good point, my previous neighbour gave me a Tukcom DVD full of software as I wanted Nero off him.

My virus protection identified some nasties on there!

[englishinsiam 15]

I may have got some from Tukcom before. It's hit and miss. The first thing I would do, is a virus and malware scan of the disk. You will find that some need to go straight into the trash can with out being installed. Others work great.

 

 

Some of the Cracks and Keygens to get your licence keys are sometimes misread by Anti Virus software as potentially dangerous even though on the whole they aren't.

[alias 111]

The only things that I have bought are a few dozen DVD's and music CD's however I would like some updated software such as an MS Office suite. On the basis that quite a few of the CD's and DVD's are faulty I am not sure if its a good idea. Perhaps a member who has bought and installed MS Office or similar could advise me on price and quality. Thanks

 

I would be careful, because (unless you are buying legitimate copies) you could be installing god-knows-what on your PC.

 

I've used Open Office for years. I've sent files created at work using MS Office (Word, Exel) home to work on using Open Office, and then back to work again. I've never had any compatibility issues.

 

http://www.openoffice.org/

 

It's free.

[joekicker 53]

Good point, my previous neighbour gave me a Tukcom DVD full of software as I wanted Nero off him.

My virus protection identified some nasties on there!

 

Never say "never" of course, but almost always this is the heuristics checking of the anti-virus programs, which are (correctly) identifying that the cracks and installers and serial-number generators are CAPABLE of changing your software - which, of course, is exactly what they are supposed to do. So the heuristics work, they identify software that is designed to change system software - but that is precisely why you purchased/borrowed it, so all is well with the world.

 

I've never personally seen an actual virus or similar malware/bad program on a disk purchased at the Bangkok IT malls, and I've gone through a lot of them and for many years. On the other hand, big "trusted" software companies have shipped disks with viruses and worse on them, including Norton and others. All in all, general statement - the disks and DVDs at Tukcom and similar in Bangkok and elsewhere are very reliable.

 

Open Office

It's free.

 

Also going out of date, unfortunately because no one trusts Larry Ellison to keep the Sun source code "honest". Have a look at the new fork:

Libre Office

 

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Edited April 10, 2011 by joekicker

[alias 111]

Also going out of date, unfortunately because no one trusts Larry Ellison to keep the Sun source code "honest".

 

The only place I've heard anything like that is.... you. And you appear to exist here solely to be a contrarian know-it-all jackass.

 

So forgive me if I'm skeptical.

[joekicker 53]

So forgive me if I'm skeptical.

 

Be as sceptical as you want. The FACT is that Libre Office is the new iteration of Open Office, and the FACT is you could check that out but would rather cavil.

 

Up to you.

 

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[alias 111]

Be as sceptical as you want. The FACT is that Libre Office is the new iteration of Open Office, and the FACT is you could check that out but would rather cavil.

 

Up to you.

 

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Yes, I'm aware it exists. My skepticism is concerning your stated "reasons" for it's existence.

 

Jackass.

[joekicker 53]

Yes, I'm aware it exists. My skepticism is concerning your stated "reasons" for it's existence.

 

Jackass.

 

Be as sceptical as you want. The FACT is that you could check that out but would rather cavil than simply google something like "libreoffice ellison", say, and check out your scepticism. Knock yourself out.

 

Curious, though: Why do you sign your post? I've seen only a couple of people who do that and don't recall your doing it.

 

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[jacko 8,866]

Never say "never" of course, but almost always this is the heuristics checking of the anti-virus programs, which are (correctly) identifying that the cracks and installers and serial-number generators are CAPABLE of changing your software - which, of course, is exactly what they are supposed to do. So the heuristics work, they identify software that is designed to change system software - but that is precisely why you purchased/borrowed it, so all is well with the world.

 

I've never personally seen an actual virus or similar malware/bad program on a disk purchased at the Bangkok IT malls, and I've gone through a lot of them and for many years. On the other hand, big "trusted" software companies have shipped disks with viruses and worse on them, including Norton and others. All in all, general statement - the disks and DVDs at Tukcom and similar in Bangkok and elsewhere are very reliable.

 

 

 

Also going out of date, unfortunately because no one trusts Larry Ellison to keep the Sun source code "honest". Have a look at the new fork:

Libre Office

 

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Whether heuristics or not, it makes me nervous enough not to let it on my computer.

Oh no doubt... when I first bought my VIAO in the UK, and did a full scan after enabling my 3 month free AV package, it found something in the pre-loaded games directory.

[Grandpollo 366]

Hard to beat these bargains with viruses and measures against piracy at every turn. Since MS sells the home and school edition of Office for about $90 for three licenses it hardly seems worth it.

 

And if customs finds it on your return they'll seize it.

[joekicker 53]

And if customs finds it on your return they'll seize it.

 

Most/many customs won't. I've been closely attended to three times in recent years at US airports, and I always carry a lot of CDs direct from Pantip. The US customs folks looked at the disks, tossed them back in the suitcase. I didn't ask, but presumed they were looking for the kiddie porn ones.

 

First, they'd have to prove they were even pirated. In my cases at least, they had much better things to do.

 

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[joekicker 53]

Whether heuristics or not, it makes me nervous enough not to let it on my computer.

 

You'll never go wrong with that. But then some web page or something will bite you in the butt. When you look in the mirror, it's not a bad idea to note: "Yes, yes of course I am. But am I paranoid ENOUGH?"

 

But better safe than sorry, no args. The download solution is not bad. Never be the first, watch the comments sections, wait at least a few days. If the software is bad, you'll get a warning. And to be fair, buying the legal stuff as you mentioned above is almost as safe as careful illegal downloading.

 

I have a lot of software. I believe in horses for courses, and I have little programs that do one thing only, many of which are running all the time. Most are freeware, and downloaded. I try never to be first adopter. So far, knock on wood, etc.

 

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[Samsonite 181]

The only place I've heard anything like that is.... you. And you appear to exist here solely to be a contrarian know-it-all jackass.

 

So forgive me if I'm skeptical.

Joe is correct on this one.

The main OpenOffice developers split shortly after Oracle acquired Sun and started Libreoffice. They have been joined by the developers of Go-OO, another fork of OpenOffice, in an effort to turn Libreoffice into a serious competitor to ms-office. There have been three releases so far and it is looking very good.

Edited April 11, 2011 by Samsonite

[teelack 9,683]

Whoa! Thanks for the response guys. I have come to the conclusion that for my needs (A Word and Excell equivalent) that all I need is Open Office and begger all the issues with the problems noted here.

[joekicker 53]

Whoa! Thanks for the response guys. I have come to the conclusion that for my needs (A Word and Excell equivalent) that all I need is Open Office and begger all the issues with the problems noted here.

 

Er. From the responses, I think you need Libre Office. Open Office isn't bad (yet), but it is dying.

 

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[Samsonite 181]

LibreOffice 3.4.0, was released on 3 June 2011.

 

Features, changes & fixes:

 

http://www.libreoffice.org/download/3-4-new-features-and-fixes/

 

 

Home page:

 

http://www.libreoffice.org/

Edited June 9, 2011 by Samsonite

[the_inspector 6]

Rather than buying pirated software why not just download it yourself?

 

I use a mac so don't have to worry about viruses but even when i was using a PC i always used a sandbox therefore risk of viruses was zero

[joekicker 53]

Rather than buying pirated software why not just download it yourself?

 

On self-contained programs, sure. But there are times that buying it is easier - big packages, especially. You don't have to fiddle with the patches and serials and all, the pirate shop does it all for you and packages it up.

 

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[the_inspector 6]

On self-contained programs, sure. But there are times that buying it is easier - big packages, especially. You don't have to fiddle with the patches and serials and all, the pirate shop does it all for you and packages it up.

 

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Thats a poor argument there ain't it? If you don't know what to do with a serial number WTF are you doing with a computer?

[MM 6,562]

Thats a poor argument there ain't it? If you don't know what to do with a serial number WTF are you doing with a computer?

 

Some people like DIY, and some people like to have it done for them. It doesn't mean those that are not DIY types don't have a right to use a computer....or a car, or a home.