Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition | Better than Office 2004 and that's Really...

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition | A Very Good Package

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	Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition Macintosh, Mac OS X \| Microsoft Software, 2008 average customer review:based on 320 reviews view larger image
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Better than Office 2004 and that's Really Saying Something

I don't understand, the people at CNET can say Office for the Mac 2008 doesn't have all the features that Office for Windows 2007 has. I don't agree. I use the Windows version at home and have the Mac version on three different computers. One at work now and a desktop (iMac) and a laptop (PowerBook G4) and to me the Mac version is every bit as robust and feature rich as the Windows version. I don't then Microsoft skimped a bit here, in fact I think they went all out.

In my opinion this is the best productivity software you can buy for the Mac, bar none. Sure, I suppose there are less costly ways to go to get a lot of the features here, but hey, you bought a Mac, so you've already paid a bit more than you'd pay for a Dell or an HP machine. I know, money is tight for a lot of people these days, but if you use your computer to earn a living, then this is a program that'll pay for itself. If you don't have Office on your Mac, you need it.

However, do you need it if you have the 2004 version. Maybe not. Seriously, the 2004 version does everything I want it to do and though it's not running natively on my Intel iMac, I'd swear you'd never know. The new (2008) version seems a little snappier, but not so much that I'd spring for the upgrade. Also the interface is gorgeous, much better than the 2004 version, but still, probably not worth the price of an upgrade.

I guess that's Microsoft's curse, they made the last version so doggone good, that you hate to leave it and leave it I did, because when you install the 2008 version it removes the earlier version. That kind of ticked me off at first, but I don't really need it anymore as the never version is better. But, like I said, if you have the older version, you'll have to check the state of your wallet, before upgrading.

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A Very Good Package

Microsoft Office for the Mac 2008 contains Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Entourage and is a must have program. I was using Claris Works (how old is that) on my PowerBook, but I'm getting ready to think about upgrading to a MacBook and Claris Works won't work on the newer machines.

Word is very intuitive and easy to use. I've written several letters in Word and have found it to be fast, though not as fast as that old (and I guess bare bones) software I'd been using. I do use Office for Windows on a Dell, so I really didn't have any problems at all with the Mac Version. The interface for the two programs is a bit different and I like the Mac version better, probably because I'm a Mac person at heart.

The Windows version of Office arranges the functions with tabs, however the Mac version puts the functions in drop down windows, but the templates and Smart Art Graphics are the same for both versions and that's convenient and I really like the My Day widget for Entourage that floats on top of the desktop. Having all my to do lists right there, that's convenient too. I really feel like I've taken a step into the new Millennium with this program.

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A Necessary Upgrade for Me -- and a Pleasant Surprise

Based on the reviews, I admit I was apprehensive about upgrading to the newest Microsoft Office; however, I was tired of sending back .docx files for my undergraduates to re-save in Word 2004. Fortunately, most of my fears were ungrounded. I bought a single use Office version from my university, and, when I decided I really liked it, I got the entire Office 2008 for Home and Student to install on a second machine. I've been using Office 2008 for a couple of months now on the first computer, and have yet to have it crash. Out of the Suite, I mostly use Word (I'm an author and educator), although I do use Excel and, rarely, PowerPoint. If I open Entourage, it's by accident.

I appreciate that Microsoft does not require owners to uninstall Office 2004 when installing 2008. I can have both open on my screen if I want without either program complaining. Drag and drop works perfectly with both Word and PowerPoint documents, with resizing completely intuitive. As always, it's sometimes a pain to override the default settings for AutoCorrect or formatting; that's nothing new. For those that use The Project Gallery, Microsoft seems to have expanded the templates a bit to offer a wider range of possibilities.

The biggest change that Office 2008 users will run into is compatibility. The files in all the programs have a different suffix, making it impossible for owners of older versions to open. For instance, .doc becomes .docx. You will have to remember to "save as" in 2004 if you expect to distribute the file. Fortunately, you can open old Microsoft files using the new software, although, if you keep your 2004 Office installed, it will open in that instead. Again, as before, documents created in Mac Office are readable on Windows Office, as long as compatibility issues are considered. (When I send files via email, I now include both versions as a precaution, and that's somewhat of a pain.)

Word now has a tool bar above a blank document with "document elements," "quick tables," "charts," "SmartArt graphics," and "WordArt," all of which are displayed graphically, with interesting options, even if I don't use them often. They allow the user to quickly format without having the more limiting project gallery templates. The layout options in PowerPoint are also expanded. Many of the tools are displayed either graphically or with icons; my one complaint with Office has always been a preponderance of cutesy helpful tools that get in the way, but either I've gotten used to the style or this version is subtle enough.

This particular box comes with three legal installations, allowing you to put it on two computers while saving a third for an emergency. For college students, this newest version of Office is a must since most incoming students have bought computers equipped with it and since professors are likewise ensuring compatibility.

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Necessary Evil

The program works well. It is a standard for reading and writing documents that others create and need to read. The mac version tries its best to be "Pages" like with a convenient contextual palettes. It has a rich set of templates which will appeal to many. Among its downsides are errors in scrolling (scroll the sidebar through a large document and the document stays stuck on the original page.) They still haven't worked out the problems with flowing around embedded illustrations which plagued the earlier versions. There are other relatively minor complaints but again, as a teacher, it is a necessary tool for dealing with the vast library of documents out there. (Full disclosure, I do use Pages, and Open Office, they all have their advantages and disadvantages).

The loss of Visual Basic is made up for by including an AppleScript menu which allows you to write embedded Applescripts. I find Applescripts much easier to write than VB scripts.

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