721
I had forgotten that people are seriously paying for office software in 2025.
Majority of people don't even have ad blockers. I've talked with tech journalists that don't know what open source means.
I never received email from LibreOffice. I love LibreOffice.
Same, although I've recently found I love OnlyOffice more, but they don't mind being in a love triangle. We're putting the open into open source.
Pretty sure openoffice stopped receiving security updates
OpenOffice development stopped about a decade ago. OnlyOffice is still actively developed.
I misread your comment -.-
I figured, no worries! If I had said OpenOffice, it would have been important that someone told me to stop, so I really appreciate your intent.
Amazon did the same thing with Prime, changed everyone to an ad-infested plan for the same price and created a new, ad-free tier for a higher price, and claims this change isn't a price increase.
Spotify did the same thing when they raised everyone's prices but started bundling audiobooks with music, but left behind the old, audio-book free plan for the old price without telling anyone.
I don't feel bad for pirating as long as the middlemen of media continue to pull underhanded tactics like this.
this would make me cancel anyways. I've already put the effort in, you've already tried to trick me, fuck you
It gets better. I went to cancel, got the old price (and confirmed it) and they still gave me CoPilot.
They really need your data.
That's actually worse, lol~
I got the same email, and the same offer. Canceled anyway, because fuck them, that's why.
I just canceled it entirely when they started the AI charges. I've not missed it for a minute.
Cancel anyway and just use LibreOffice or OnlyOffice...
I struggle with Linux- though I still use it on my Internet machine... But libre office isn't any more difficult that MS office. Also you don't get ransomed for money on a very simple product. I don't understand why people pay for this bullshit.
For anyone disliking LibreOffice interface layout, OnlyOffice has very similar tabbed interface as MS Office.
Libreoffice has multiple interfaces too. 
My.only annoyance is the shortcuts are all.different. My muscle memory for office shortcuts is reinforced at work, too. We can't install third party stuff there, sadly.
To adapt shortcut keys to your needs, use the Customize dialog, as described below.
1)Select Tools > Customize > Keyboard. The Customize dialog opens.
2)To have the shortcut key assignment available in all components of LibreOffice select the LibreOffice button.
3)Next select the required function from the Category and Function lists.
4)Now select the desired shortcut keys in the Shortcut keys list and click the Modify button at the upper right.
5)Click OK to accept the change. Now the chosen shortcut keys will execute the function chosen in step 3 above whenever they are pressed. Oh, I know. I'm just too lazy to set literally every damn one of 'em. But thanks! It's just an annoyance, really.
It would be a nice gesture to help welcome folks if there were presets you could switch to that would do them all at once.
- LibreOffice is available on MacOS and Windows as well
- I'd argue it is easier to operate than MS office, because the UI doesn't change basically under your cursor with every f*cking update
I've used LibreOffice (or OpenOffice as it was known before), and a problem with this approach is that your family will still constantly ask you to install Office and crack it for them. And those who don't know any better will ask your help to open the PowerPoint their friends keep sending them.
Not to mention that LibreOffice doesn't have an easy to integrate backup solution, nor an easy way to share big photo folders, let alone a decent mail client.
LibreOffice is a good thing at what it wants to be. But it's not comparable to what MS is offering in the form of a subscription though. You don't just switch and only replace the word and excel alternative...
There are perfectly good open source solutions for all those things. Admittedly, that is going to take more work than just paying the Redmond tax. But you can't have digital sovereignty without putting in some effort.
All true, but making 4 other people do this who will also continue to ask on how they can use Office because they need it for work/school is way more work.
That's a great opportunity to get people to take more responsibility for their own digital life. And I know that's an uphill battle but it's also possible to say no.
I don't disagree agree that that's technically true. But in practice it's simply not going to happen. My 70 year old mother just wants to use outlook to mail her friends and I've setup het phone to save the pictures she takes of her grandkids (my nieces and nephews) on OneDrive so she can share them easily with the rest of the family. Same thing for my brother and my SiL. For 80 euros a year I get a full groupware experience with no extra work. Is it perfect? Of course not. But even with a higher budget there's no feature for feature alternative.
Hell, the chances of getting my work to switch to OSS cloud subscriptions is higher than getting my family to do it.
Time for your own Nextcloud instance. I'm really not trying to be dick here (perhaps unsuccessfully? Sorry.) But If I was the tech support for the family it would be my house, my rules.
99% of home users would do just fine even with Wordpad. But everyone was hooked on MS Office. Even myself. But I was just annoyed chasing new versions and looking for cracks for them. That was years ago when I migrated to EasyOffice which was free alternative. Then came OpenOffice and LibreOffice. Now I'm using OpenOffice because it's less bloated than LibreOffice and just has 3 basic tools, Writer, Spreadsheets and Presentation and that's that. LibreOffice installs bunch of stuff I don't need and there is no way to adjust that during install.
But none of what you mentioned has a mail server/client nor cloud storage. Do you run your own groupware environment for yourself?
I do this with Internet/cable companies. Whenever I move I get the promotional price for a year. Then after a year I call them up and complain about the price increase and they extend the promotion. I've done that every year for the past 15 years.
I tried it and they didn't care. So I cancelled switched providers until their promotion ran out then switched back.
I think the Sales executives want this. They get bonuses for new customers. If no one switched they wouldn't get their bonus. So as long as the competitors are getting customers to leave, they try to get their own customers to leave too.
Most places I've been, the company has a monopoly and my only other choice I satellite, which often sucks.
Sounds like deceptive business practices to me
Yeah it's weird and depressing how this is even legal. It's one thing to have to increase your prices, but what they seem to be doing here is automatically upgrading your subscription to something other than what you signed up for, when the original thing is still available as an option.
You wouldn't tolerate it in any other industry, but big tech moves so much faster than legislators, that they get to establish newer and shittier norms way before the geriatrics in government figure out what they're even looking at.
Haha I had the exact same. Only discovered the extra charge was only for AI I don't want when I tried to stop regular payments.
This is why we all need to start self hosting open source office things. I realize that is hard for people but if you want the cloud stuff of 365 that needs to happen, if you do not need the cloud stuff than just get libreoffice.
They're trying to see how much customers will bear, and don't want to lose them if they won't. It's shitty price discovery enabled by technology.
They back off for now.
It's been a while since I got that mail, and made sure I have the none AI version, but isn't it mentioned in the mail itself? Or in a link from the mail?
They think AI is a desirable thing that consumers want, that's why they charge more for the one with it.
I'm pretty sure they're aware that no one cares, but also that they think they can make us dependent on it if they cram it down our throats enough.
I also think that the bubble will burst when investors realize that it's never gonna happen.
While studies say that consumers buy less if the product advertises AI. But whatever the evidence says, because capitalism raised a bunch of psychopaths to the top.
You can still acquire non-365 licenses that also come bullshit-free with no AI.
Once those are no longer available, I’m sure I’ll be fully over on Linux/LibreOffice by that time.
Ive been on LibreOffice. No complaints from professors about it so, I'm assuming no one can actually tell I'm using LibreOffice.
I'm assuming no one can actually tell I'm using LibreOffice.
Trace formatting issues aside, it will show up in other subtle ways such as smaller *.docx files and cleaner doc-to-PDF conversions.
non zero chance at least some of them are, too
this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
721 points (99.5% liked)
Boycott US
1339 readers
810 users here now
Overview:
The community dedicated to boycotting the US until they stop fascism, restore full democracy and start following international law.
Americans have a moral obligation to resist Donald Trump and project 2025 at every turn.
America is a flawed democracy currently being ruled by oligarchs. Stop the backslide! Dont let America become the next Hungary.
America needs to challenge the court rulings of citizens united v. fec and shelby county v. holder, protect the media, implement independent district drawing, and the single transferable vote so they don't end up having people stay home in life-changing elections because they cannot vote for their favourite candidate.
Join 50501.chat to fight back!
Related communities:
Boycott:
[email protected]
Activism:
[email protected]
founded 5 months ago
MODERATORS