"Mike Humphrey" wrote in message
o.uk...
John wrote:
I am needing to get a laptop as I need to go away to do some work.

Has anyone got real experience of "Open Office" as an alternative to
Microsoft? It will make a difference to how I spend my budget if I don't
buy
"Office". On my desktop I use Office 2003 with Outlook - I will think of
this as my datum.

I'll just throw in my opinion. I use Open Office all the time (as I use
a Linux system I don't have the choice of using MS Office!). It works
fine, I've not found anything I can't do. The main limitation is that
very complex documents in Microsoft formats can get their formatting
mangled - but this can happen between different versions of Microsoft
Office too. There's no equivalent to Outlook, if you want
calendaring/mail you could try Evolution - it's supposed to integrate
with Exchange but I've never tried to do that.

I would suggest you try it - it won't cost you anything more than a bit
of time if you don't like it.




From the OP

Went to possibly buy a laptop today ( However, I like to compare what I am
being sold with the Manufacturer's site to ensure the model is current
before spending)

Some good ones - 4Gb Ram 500Gb HDD, etc. However, many are end of line
models.

I decided I want (not necessarily need):

4Gb RAM
HDMI Socket (Who knows, at some time I may wish to connect it to a new TV)
Separate Number Pad
LED Back Lighting

Currys had the best display - but a lot of end of range.

Most I noted down as of interest don't seem to be on the makers web sites. -
Off for a pint!