Office at 50% off - worth it?
I am considering purchasing a new 15" P-Book. For compatability at my employer's, I am thinking of purchasing Microsoft Office as well. There seems to be considerable criticism of Office at its regular place due to the lack of "Access" d-base. I don't use Access on any regular basis but could use Excel.
My question is, at the reduced price, is the software worth it? Will it function well on a P-Book, or drag it's performance down? Is the user interface well thought out? Is compatibility with Windows version tight? What are experienced user's take on this software package?
P.S. - If you have any comments/recommendations on the value of the new P-Book that would be appreciated as well. It seems mostly like a price reduction than a serious upgrade.
Thanks in advance!
My question is, at the reduced price, is the software worth it? Will it function well on a P-Book, or drag it's performance down? Is the user interface well thought out? Is compatibility with Windows version tight? What are experienced user's take on this software package?
P.S. - If you have any comments/recommendations on the value of the new P-Book that would be appreciated as well. It seems mostly like a price reduction than a serious upgrade.
Thanks in advance!
Comments
It's probably bloated, but i think it runs great and, most importantly, looks like a Mac app too. Word used to crash a lot for me before the last update, but since it runs perfectly. I also love the "formatting palette" as a way to display options. It's basically a sidebar, and makes more sense that horizontal tool bars because we have wide screens, but working on a portrait document.
I haven't used PowerPoint much, but have used both for college work. When it came to class presentations, I used my 12" Powerbook hooked up to their projector and the satisfaction that brings is brilliant. If you do presentations, it is awesome as it displays the upcoming slides and your all important notes on the small display whilst using the projector to run the show. This works flawlessly, more so than the actual Windows machines everyone else used.
Excel I have used least, but it has all the features you expect in it, including macros and a VBA editor.
I got the student version which is something like £100 and thought it was worth it. I realise I have spent the whole post praising Microsoft, but sometimes they can do well.
Originally posted by SerpentFruit
I am considering purchasing a new 15" P-Book. For compatability at my employer's, I am thinking of purchasing Microsoft Office as well. There seems to be considerable criticism of Office at its regular place due to the lack of "Access" d-base. I don't use Access on any regular basis but could use Excel.
My question is, at the reduced price, is the software worth it? Will it function well on a P-Book, or drag it's performance down? Is the user interface well thought out? Is compatibility with Windows version tight? What are experienced user's take on this software package?
so - I would just check the validity of wherever you are getting a 50% off deal first... if that checks out then yeah i mean its an okay product. excel is actually damn good and the only ms product I like. you don't get access with the mac version but thats just as well...
powerpoint is to photoshop as
access is to mysql
word is kinda like windows overall - its 'adequate' but not great. like a Ford Probe vs. a Lexus or something.
man I am just full of analogies today.
And iWork... has a lot of work before it can be considered a viable alternative. Sure, I like Pages and Keynote is great, but it's still a 1.0 product (as a suite).
Originally posted by SerpentFruit
I am considering purchasing a new 15" P-Book. For compatability at my employer's, I am thinking of purchasing Microsoft Office as well. There seems to be considerable criticism of Office at its regular place due to the lack of "Access" d-base. I don't use Access on any regular basis but could use Excel.
My question is, at the reduced price, is the software worth it? Will it function well on a P-Book, or drag it's performance down? Is the user interface well thought out? Is compatibility with Windows version tight? What are experienced user's take on this software package?
P.S. - If you have any comments/recommendations on the value of the new P-Book that would be appreciated as well. It seems mostly like a price reduction than a serious upgrade.
Thanks in advance!
a- Office is great. Get it. There isn't anything better, anyway.
b- I have used it on 15" PB. Faster than a lot of desktops.
c- Never had a problem moving an Office file from Mac to Win. No conversion required.
d- I've been using packages like this since WordStar. Office is the best now.
e- The PB is a hot machine. Have five versions. Have loved them all.
Try FileMaker (Apple) if you need an easy database. It is pretty sophisticated, but easy to use.
If you are going to do stuff that requires page layout, Word is weak. Look into Adobe CS2. I think you can also get it for reduced price.
Complex answer...yes, although there are some annoying tendencies in sharing files between windows and mac office.
Originally posted by a j stev
Simple answer...yes.
Complex answer...yes, although there are some annoying tendencies in sharing files between windows and mac office.
Gosh, that's pretty complex. I guess it's not possible to elaborate anymore then?