No, not unless you need to send a spreadsheet to someone. I have Office XP and when I am on the road, sometimes it is a week before I can send in reports.

I have tried using Excel and it won't let me a message comes out saying something about Internet connections.

These are not Windows XP programs. They are Office programs and if you did not order and pay extra for Office, you don't have them installed on your computer.

You should be able to use Office for up to 50 times and then you have to use Product Activation. You can activate by telephone if you wish. The instructions to activate are in the link.