Anyone else give Office 2004 a spin today by chance? Seems Amazon does not have them in stock the way they've been advertising... now 1-2 week ship time. Which is pretty much what everyone else's site says.
I've really started to lose some faith in the accuracy of Amazon's product listings. Suggested retail prices are often over-stated in order to make their price look more heavily discounted than it is and their availability dates seem to be correct about half the time now.
Bezos seems to be losing a grasp on the quality control there... too many half-baked retailer parternships and "beta stores". They need to refocus what they sell IMO.
As I posted in another thread, my legally purchased copy of Office X 2004 is on the FedEx truck for delivery today. I'll report back once I've installed it and run it through its paces.
I deleted Office X from my iBook last year to save disk space. When I wanted it again, I couldn't find my install disks. I tried a few other Mac word processing apps, but none of them cut it for me. I reverted to using BBEdit (and Office for Windows on my wintel desktop) for heavy writing.
Personally, I simply can't get around Microsoft Office in today's business and academic world. And it's a good product, so there's no reason for me to avoid Office.
BTW: I only use Word and Excel, plus PowerPoint to open up the occasional PPT presentation. For e-mail I am wedded to Eudora and have no interest in Outlook/Entourage.
Apple's mail is scrumptulescent. I recently moved from Entourage, and just tried out thunderbird. Both great programs, but they don't focus on their core functionality enough. I love the fact that i can easily read how many unread messages i have just by glancing at the dock. I love how everything is drag and drop-able, and everything is an object, including email addresses. Really nicely done Apple!
I'll look at Mac office 2004, but i don't think it'll steal Mail's spot in the dock
I'll need the latest Word and Excel though, because I'm a cutting edge freak.
I received my copy of Office:mac 2004 this afternoon. I chose to install only Word and Excel because I am running out of space on this old iBook's 10GB HDD. So I am not able to report on the new project center and features in other appls at this time.
So far, Word:mac and Excel:mac 2004 seem to run more smoothly and fluidly than the previous versions. So even if there were no new features, the increased speed alone makes this a worthy upgrade for me. I am running an iBook/500 with 576MB RAM and Mac OS X 10.2.8. Once I finally get a new 12-inch PowerBook, which will bring me OS X 10.3 Panther and faster hardware, I imagine the Office apps will fly. I am pleased.
Despite the fact that Office 2004 seems to be shipping, I wonder when the official Microsoft release date will be. I ask since if you go to Mactopia, it's still a pre-orderable product.
On that note, anyone here familiar enough with campus computer stores to know how long it will take the new version of Office to trickle its way down to the Microsoft Student Select programme, thus making it nice and cheap for me?
Weird. The Amazon listing has dropped to 24 hours now. Maybe I spoke too soon, but my concerns stand, especially related to quotations of retail pricing for many books. Anyway, if the positive performance comments continue to roll in I'll probably place my order within a week or two.
Weird. The Amazon listing has dropped to 24 hours now. Maybe I spoke too soon, but my concerns stand, especially related to quotations of retail pricing for many books. Anyway, if the positive performance comments continue to roll in I'll probably place my order within a week or two.
And a national chain up here in Canada, CompuSmart, lists it as "in stock." Perhaps we'll see an official release announcement tomorrow.
I've been using Office 2004 all day (Mac Store here had it in this afternoon: Student & Teacher Edition)...
Couple of quick thoughts:
1. It is not the revolutionary upgrade I was hoping for...
- Entourage is no better in Exchange envorinments than the X version. There is no .pst support, no real Exchange server support etc. In fact, I still can't connect via Exchange to my 5.5 exchange server, but IMAP works fine.
- The vertical build of Entourage is terrific, and may be enough in itself to keep me from going back to Apple's Mail program. It lets you see everything instantly including a FULL email. Very nicely done.
- Entourage crashes everytime I try to change fonts from within the application (signature etc.; not within preferences). Happens on BOTH my G5 and Powerbook, so it appears to be a serious bug.
- Project Center seems useful, but requires a good deal of manual effort: assigning people etc. this can't be avoided and shouldn't be considered a negative; however, assigning e-mails to projects is best done manually as rules allow for either people and/or Subjects to filter, not useful if you have colleagues who don't use consistent Subjects for project related e-mails.
- Icons (dock) are the same but darker).
- PowerPoint presentation tools are superb, with everything the presenter needs on the laptop display while the full presentation is up on the secondary monitor (projector).
- New PowerPoint transitions (ripped off flagrantly from Keynote) are a let-down, and are nowhere near as smooth (cube) as the Keynote ones. Looks like a stutter, not a smooth roll.
- New PowerPoint templates abound.
- Excel page view is a great addition, but launches as the default which can be disorientating for older books not made for printing.
That's about all I can think of right now. Ask away if you're still awaiting your copy and I'll try to test anything/everything that's posted.
Can anyone who has begun using Mac Office 2004 comment on compatibility with Office XP? What about Keynote compatibility with the newest version of powerpoint? What is the compatibility tester all about?
- Versions included in the File Menu, which is great for tracking the progression of a file.
- I don't recall if the Navigation Pane was in X, but it's in 2004. Lets you see the document like you do a PDF in Preview or a PowerPoint with the thumbnails down the left.
- Controls fade out after about 30 seconds, becoming mostly transparent. Other than looking neat, I can't see the usefullness in this since if Word is the foremost application.
- Compatibility is a solid addition, as it prompts you when you select SAVE AS to check the file, then delivers a report explaining what versions of Word (Mac or PC) might have a problem with the file and why. Of course, I've never had a problem sending/recieving files in an all PC Office 2000 environment, but...
- Minimized menus use genie effect into the toolbar.
Can anyone who has begun using Mac Office 2004 comment on compatibility with Office XP? What about Keynote compatibility with the newest version of powerpoint? What is the compatibility tester all about?
I only have one colleague running Office XP, and I've noticed no issues with the exchange of files (But I didn't really have any with X).
PowerPoint cannot import Keynote files, but exported keynote files coming into PowerPoint hold formatting a little better (not perfect) than they did in X. Transitions are lost, even if they are now available (cube does not stay as cube when exported) but I suspect this is a Keynote issue not a PP issue.
PowerPoint is perhaps the biggest improvement, as the speaker's view is superb. Everything you need to see as a presenter on your laptop, with a full screen current slide view on the projector (second monitor).
What about backwards compatibility with previous versions of Word XP and power point XP? I can use my Mac to make my presentations and documents, but my freakin job won't allow me to use my Mac to present. I need to present using an XP portable.
Will I benefit from purchasing 2004 with these caveats?
Will I run into new problems transferring documents from either program into XP equivalents?
Comments
I've really started to lose some faith in the accuracy of Amazon's product listings. Suggested retail prices are often over-stated in order to make their price look more heavily discounted than it is and their availability dates seem to be correct about half the time now.
Bezos seems to be losing a grasp on the quality control there... too many half-baked retailer parternships and "beta stores". They need to refocus what they sell IMO.
I deleted Office X from my iBook last year to save disk space. When I wanted it again, I couldn't find my install disks. I tried a few other Mac word processing apps, but none of them cut it for me. I reverted to using BBEdit (and Office for Windows on my wintel desktop) for heavy writing.
Personally, I simply can't get around Microsoft Office in today's business and academic world. And it's a good product, so there's no reason for me to avoid Office.
BTW: I only use Word and Excel, plus PowerPoint to open up the occasional PPT presentation. For e-mail I am wedded to Eudora and have no interest in Outlook/Entourage.
Escher
I'll look at Mac office 2004, but i don't think it'll steal Mail's spot in the dock
I'll need the latest Word and Excel though, because I'm a cutting edge freak.
So far, Word:mac and Excel:mac 2004 seem to run more smoothly and fluidly than the previous versions. So even if there were no new features, the increased speed alone makes this a worthy upgrade for me. I am running an iBook/500 with 576MB RAM and Mac OS X 10.2.8. Once I finally get a new 12-inch PowerBook, which will bring me OS X 10.3 Panther and faster hardware, I imagine the Office apps will fly. I am pleased.
Escher
Originally posted by >_>
I mean hell... Roz was having a tough time keeping the drool in her mouth at the keynote. ^_^
=P
- Xidius
It's not easy to enunciate and pronounce words when you're deaf like Roz is.
On that note, anyone here familiar enough with campus computer stores to know how long it will take the new version of Office to trickle its way down to the Microsoft Student Select programme, thus making it nice and cheap for me?
Originally posted by Moogs
Weird. The Amazon listing has dropped to 24 hours now. Maybe I spoke too soon, but my concerns stand, especially related to quotations of retail pricing for many books. Anyway, if the positive performance comments continue to roll in I'll probably place my order within a week or two.
And a national chain up here in Canada, CompuSmart, lists it as "in stock." Perhaps we'll see an official release announcement tomorrow.
Couple of quick thoughts:
1. It is not the revolutionary upgrade I was hoping for...
- Entourage is no better in Exchange envorinments than the X version. There is no .pst support, no real Exchange server support etc. In fact, I still can't connect via Exchange to my 5.5 exchange server, but IMAP works fine.
- The vertical build of Entourage is terrific, and may be enough in itself to keep me from going back to Apple's Mail program. It lets you see everything instantly including a FULL email. Very nicely done.
- Entourage crashes everytime I try to change fonts from within the application (signature etc.; not within preferences). Happens on BOTH my G5 and Powerbook, so it appears to be a serious bug.
- Project Center seems useful, but requires a good deal of manual effort: assigning people etc. this can't be avoided and shouldn't be considered a negative; however, assigning e-mails to projects is best done manually as rules allow for either people and/or Subjects to filter, not useful if you have colleagues who don't use consistent Subjects for project related e-mails.
- Icons (dock) are the same but darker).
- PowerPoint presentation tools are superb, with everything the presenter needs on the laptop display while the full presentation is up on the secondary monitor (projector).
- New PowerPoint transitions (ripped off flagrantly from Keynote) are a let-down, and are nowhere near as smooth (cube) as the Keynote ones. Looks like a stutter, not a smooth roll.
- New PowerPoint templates abound.
- Excel page view is a great addition, but launches as the default which can be disorientating for older books not made for printing.
That's about all I can think of right now. Ask away if you're still awaiting your copy and I'll try to test anything/everything that's posted.
Originally posted by Frank777
Has anybody yet confirmed that you can import mailboxes, contacts and schedules from the Apple Apps into the new Entourage?
Palm Conduit for Entourage X does not appear to work with 2004, so hopefully there is an update coming.
With the software already in so many hands, tomorrow's gotta be the PR day.
Anybody want to take a guess what time the Apple front page will go all 'Microsoft Office' on us?
I say 10:15am EST.
Originally posted by Eugene
It's not easy to enunciate and pronounce words when you're deaf like Roz is.
That's what MICROSOFT would have you believe. ^_^ *snicker*
- Xidius
Originally posted by Aquatic
Is there anything new in Word besides Notes?
- Versions included in the File Menu, which is great for tracking the progression of a file.
- I don't recall if the Navigation Pane was in X, but it's in 2004. Lets you see the document like you do a PDF in Preview or a PowerPoint with the thumbnails down the left.
- Controls fade out after about 30 seconds, becoming mostly transparent. Other than looking neat, I can't see the usefullness in this since if Word is the foremost application.
- Compatibility is a solid addition, as it prompts you when you select SAVE AS to check the file, then delivers a report explaining what versions of Word (Mac or PC) might have a problem with the file and why. Of course, I've never had a problem sending/recieving files in an all PC Office 2000 environment, but...
- Minimized menus use genie effect into the toolbar.
Originally posted by luigi
Can anyone who has begun using Mac Office 2004 comment on compatibility with Office XP? What about Keynote compatibility with the newest version of powerpoint? What is the compatibility tester all about?
I only have one colleague running Office XP, and I've noticed no issues with the exchange of files (But I didn't really have any with X).
PowerPoint cannot import Keynote files, but exported keynote files coming into PowerPoint hold formatting a little better (not perfect) than they did in X. Transitions are lost, even if they are now available (cube does not stay as cube when exported) but I suspect this is a Keynote issue not a PP issue.
PowerPoint is perhaps the biggest improvement, as the speaker's view is superb. Everything you need to see as a presenter on your laptop, with a full screen current slide view on the projector (second monitor).
Has the windows version of powerpoint had this for long?
Will I benefit from purchasing 2004 with these caveats?
Will I run into new problems transferring documents from either program into XP equivalents?