Office 2011, El Capitan, Big Sur

[RLRL]

I am considering a new iMac, or iMac Pro to replace my 2014 iMac which has been a great machine.

Frankly, I am tired of Apple so quickly changing OS's so I am still using El Capitan, works great.

Do the new iMac's come with Big Sur installed?
I understand the Big Sur will not run 32 bit apps! What about the previous OS's?

Office 2011 will not run on Big Sur, and I am not going to pay Microsoft a yearly fee for another Office License.
I already own multiple copies of Office.

This also raises my concern about other El Capitan apps not working on Big Sur.

Is it possible to use my Time Machine backups to load El Capitan on the new iMac.

I think Apple forgets about all their customers who will have migration difficulties with all their OS changes.
El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, and now Big Sur, this is really annoying.
Personally, I see no advantage in changing OS's because Apple wants to sell more machines.
In fact, with every new Apple OS they take something away, like USB faxing, gone forever.

Ideas and comments appreciated before I spend more money with Apple.

 

[chscag]

Already answered in another forum.

 

[flowrider]

You do not have to pay a rental fee for MS Office. I bought my copy of Office 2019 for $69. MS issues monthly updates that I take advantage of.

New Macs use the OS in play at the time of machine release and can't use earlier OS's.

Lou

 

[RLRL]

It is $69 a year forever. You never own it.

The ones I bought I own the license.

You can no longer just buy a license.

Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store

Find the right Microsoft 365 Family or Personal plan for all your devices. Includes AI-powered Office apps, 1 TB of cloud storage, and premium mobile features.

www.microsoft.com

 

[SoupyTwist]

Hi RLRL, new iMacs purchased from Apple will be preloaded with Big Sur.

If you have 32-bit apps you'd still like to run, it might be worth considering purchasing Parallels Desktop. Although any macOS release after Mojave does not natively support 32-bit apps, you can use Parallels to virtualise / run older versions of macOS that do have 32-bit app support (Mojave, High Sierra, El Capitan etc). You can also use Coherence Mode to run these apps alongside your native Big Sur apps.

Although Parallels have a version that is paid monthly, you can still purchase a perpetual license that is paid for once by going here and selecting the options in the below screenshot. There is also a trial version you can use to test how well the apps you need work.

One thing bearing in mind is that it is rumoured that Apple will soon be releasing iMacs running Apple Silicon processors (ARM based processors, rather than Intel / x86 processors), so the above steps will not yet work. If you buy an Intel based Mac, you should be able to virtualise any version of macOS back to OS X Lion (10.7) or Leopard (10.5) if you have a server copy.

 

[mikzn]

Office 2011 will not run on Big Sur, and I am not going to pay Microsoft a yearly fee for another Office License.
I already own multiple copies of Office.

This also raises my concern about other El Capitan apps not working on Big Sur.

Is it possible to use my Time Machine backups to load El Capitan on the new iMac.

Office 2011 will run fine on Mojave and below - but migrating or installing office 2011 a new mac will require entering the serial number, the key that came with your Office 2011 may not work and may be difficult to to get a new key since 2011 is no longer supported by Microsoft

This may be the same for other apps that you have on El Capitan

You cannot install "el cap" on recent Mac Hardware - but you can use the time machine back up to "migrate" the data and files to the new macOS - but again some of the apps may not work - especially from El Cap to Big Sur

 

[chrfr]

It is $69 a year forever. You never own it.

The ones I bought I own the license.

You can no longer just buy a license.

Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store

Find the right Microsoft 365 Family or Personal plan for all your devices. Includes AI-powered Office apps, 1 TB of cloud storage, and premium mobile features.

www.microsoft.com

You can still buy Office. Scroll down and look at the section labeled "Office Home & Student 2019." You can buy a license for $149, one time purchase. Microsoft has never stopped selling perpetual licenses for Office.

 

[mikzn]

You can still buy Office. Scroll down and look at the section labeled "Office Home & Student 2019." You can buy a license for $149, one time purchase. Microsoft has never stopped selling perpetual licenses for Office.

Good info - that said - I am not sure, but I believe it does not include outlook / email

 

[chscag]

Good info - that said - I am not sure, but I believe it does not include outlook / email

That's correct. Only Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote are included. However, MS supposedly will issue a stand alone version of Office this year, probably Office 2021.

 

[flowrider]

It is $69 a year forever. You never own it.

The ones I bought I own the license.

You can no longer just buy a license.

Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store

Find the right Microsoft 365 Family or Personal plan for all your devices. Includes AI-powered Office apps, 1 TB of cloud storage, and premium mobile features.

www.microsoft.com

It was $69.00 for a license - I own it. And as I said, I update it once a month to the latest version.

Here's a link:

Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 Purchase for Mac

Microsoft Office home and business 2019 at 67% off. Best buy Microsoft office 2019 for mac | onetime purchases for a lifetime license

www.digitalsoftwarecompany.com

BTW, Outlook is included.

Lou

 

[chrfr]

It was $69.00 for a license - I own it. And as I said, I update it once a month to the latest version.

Here's a link:

Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 Purchase for Mac

Microsoft Office home and business 2019 at 67% off. Best buy Microsoft office 2019 for mac | onetime purchases for a lifetime license

www.digitalsoftwarecompany.com

BTW, Outlook is included.

Lou

I have serious doubts about the legitimacy of that license, but Apple sells the Home and Business package for $249.95.
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 (1 Mac)

Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 1 Mac - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

store.apple.com

 

[MBAir2010]

If you are in need of a new improved computer, Windows or linux might be a better solution for you.
Windows 10 has not changed the name, but also has updated and added different configurations, but everything from windows 10 release date still will works today whereas Sierra is deemed outdated.

Apple will always improve their operating system yearly and will stop supporting older models, some even 6 years old with the same set up (processor wise) will not work with the newest osx and other devices like iPads and iCloud software. Most apple users just ignore that and deal with the upgrades while a few others will switch to Windows or Linux while  is banking on a next generation of computer users who are in their late teens to purchase these big sur computer as their first experience with their own macbooks and iMacs.

I love Elcapitan, which finally worked on my MacBook air with the iPods, like mt Lion did until Mojave was released. Im looking for a nice used MacBook air from 2013 and just calling my  purchase phase a day and stay with Mojave for good.

 

[flowrider]

I have serious doubts about the legitimacy of that license, but Apple sells the Home and Business package for $249.95.
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 (1 Mac)

Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 1 Mac - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

store.apple.com

There is no problem with the license, that's the one I have and I've had it for over a year. When you buy it it, they send you a license number by eMail that you register with MS. The purchase is painless and it works well.

 

[SuperMatt]

I am considering a new iMac, or iMac Pro to replace my 2014 iMac which has been a great machine.

Frankly, I am tired of Apple so quickly changing OS's so I am still using El Capitan, works great.

Do the new iMac's come with Big Sur installed?
I understand the Big Sur will not run 32 bit apps! What about the previous OS's?

Office 2011 will not run on Big Sur, and I am not going to pay Microsoft a yearly fee for another Office License.
I already own multiple copies of Office.

This also raises my concern about other El Capitan apps not working on Big Sur.

Is it possible to use my Time Machine backups to load El Capitan on the new iMac.

I think Apple forgets about all their customers who will have migration difficulties with all their OS changes.
El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, and now Big Sur, this is really annoying.
Personally, I see no advantage in changing OS's because Apple wants to sell more machines.
In fact, with every new Apple OS they take something away, like USB faxing, gone forever.

Ideas and comments appreciated before I spend more money with Apple.

I have a 2006 Mac Pro running El Cap (thanks to some hacks detailed on the MR forums!). It works, but at some point we will all need to move on. I use a laptop for work that has Big Sur. It’s a great system, and I will have no hesitation about buying a new Mac when the time is right for me.

Regardless of what OS you have (Mac, Linux, Windows)... things eventually become obsolete. I have to use Vivaldi on El Cap because a bunch of sites don’t work with that old version of Safari. Security updates aren’t coming, and if somebody finds an exploit for El Cap, you could be at risk. I can’t run newer software on it, which is becoming more of a problem each day.

If you want to provide a shortlist of apps you count on, I can probably help you determine what ones will or won’t work on Big Sur. All 32-bit apps are right out... but most apps have new versions, so I assume you’ll be fine.

As for MS Office, they are absolutely releasing a version with a perpetual license in the 2nd half of 2021 if you want that instead of the annual subscription version. Or you can buy Office 2019 if you don’t want to wait.

Next perpetual version of Office to debut in 2021

As it turns out, Office 2019 wasn't the last perpetual-licensed version of the popular software suite; Microsoft will release a successor in the latter half of next year.

www.computerworld.com

If you like to keep your machine for a long time, I recommend getting one of the Apple silicon Macs. Either a Mac mini now or wait for the new version of the iMac to be released. Buying an Intel Mac at this time means you will be looking at it being unsupported sooner rather than later - ask anybody who bought the last of the PPC Macs when they saw the Intel transition, and wanted to “ensure their old apps work.” They regretted it because all the “big” apps updated for Intel and they were stuck with a slow machine, and nobody was making PPC apps anymore, so they were basically stuck with whatever software was available the day they bought their Mac, and nothing else.

In the end, we have to move forward. The less often you update, the bigger the “shock to your system” when you do update. If you update each year, there will be a couple minor things you’ll notice. If you wait 7 years, you’ll be like “When did they change everything!?!?!” I help people upgrade all the time, and I’ve seen it all. You will be annoyed at Big Sur for the first month, then you’ll get used to it and enjoy the speed and other improvements... that’s been my experience; I hope it will be yours.

 

[Bazza1]

Had to give up my Office 2011 when the OS jumped to 64 bit. Well that, and Microsoft stopped supporting it. As noted above, there is the Home & Student which is the cheapest standalone MS Office Suite (albeit without Outlook), though MS is trying desperately to phase any standalone out (2021 may be the last), in favour of demanding a subscription.

I generally resent 'subscription' software - a product you buy but never own - but I've bitten the bullet and do it for Office, but only because I've always managed to catch a sale on the product. And I've never successfully used Outlook - and it's newest version is not compatible with iCloud mail.

That said, in a pinch Office does have online versions of itself (including Outlook), and there's always similar in Google Docs, etc. I have considered some of the standalone alternatives. iWorks (Pages, etc) reminds me of the old home-user Microsoft Works (and is not 100% compatible with the same apps on iOS. Don't get e started...) and so is a nonstarter for me, while products like LibreOffice shows promise - albeit with no Outlook alternative.

I'm afraid OSs change more often than our needs, often leaving the things we need a computer to do in the dust. 'Fortunately', software developers will find a way to charge us for things we already paid for to 'fix' that. And that's why Microsoft and Apple are wealthy and we are less so.