Customer Reviews

Microsoft Office for Macintosh 2001 [Old Version]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a dedicated Mac user, I approach new Microsoft products with a healthy skepticism. However, I must have cross-platform reliability since I use Windows NT, too. So I took what I needed from MS Office 98, and I disabled the rest. Then I upgraded my Mac OS from 8.6 to 9.0 to 9.1. While Word 6.01a and PowerPoint 8.0 still worked, Excel 5.0 would not work with Mac OS 9x. Thus, I had to purchase MS Office for Mac 2001 in order to get an Excel program that would work with Mac OS 9.1 (and that I hope will work with the new Mac OS X). This software comes in a cute round plastic box, but there is no written manual included. I have found that it takes about a week or two to complete the usual de-bugging processes.

As with most "Value Packs" or "CD Extras," one needs to do a "custom install" because some of these "free" applications might be earlier versions than those which one is already running (if one has kept current with updates). As another example, I have been running Internet Explorer 5 for some time. I did not need to re-install it and re-configure my plug-ins and preferences. Also, I have Outlook Express 5.02; I did not need to re-install it. I did not like the way the these two programs "interfaced," so I have tweaked them so they that do not grab information from each other. (I highly recommend Aladdin Systems "Spring Cleaning 3.5" software's "Internet Cache Remover" feature to assist with this issue.)

With MS Office for Mac 2001, PowerPoint documents can now be "saved as" QuickTime Movies, which is a timesaver for creating presentations. This feature is quite an improvement over Office 98, even if it does grab a considerable amount of RAM. (Do check to see if you need to add more RAM to your Mac before installation of this software.) I have been keeping Virtual Memory turned on, with which I boost my RAM by 150 percent, with only a slightly detectable slowing of processing speed.

My vote is still out on the new Entourage program. I need to test it more to see if I like it, and if it will work efficiently with e-mail applications with proxies and with those behind firewalls. One bonus for Mac users has been the relative immunity to most e-mail generated viruses, worms, and trojan horses, so I plan to make the transition to Entourage with all due discretion. The ability to integrate with Palm OS is nothing new for Mac users; however, Entourage may simplify the process. ...

The instant access to "Encarta Dictionary" through Word may appeal to some users. I do not like "Encarta Dictionary" very much, although it is an improvement over the dictionary that was included in Word 6.01a. I prefer to use the only CD-ROM dictionary that I believe works with Mac OS at present, which is "The Oxford English Dictionary" 2nd ed. (However, it still seems necessary to keep it as the resident CD-ROM for it to work with the Mac OS.)

Finally, the main drawback to MS Office for Mac 2001 is that there is no manual in print now for users who run Mac OS 9.1. So be prepared to do your de-bugging, tweaking, and navigating without much written help until the various "after-market" print manuals are updated and reissued.

If you are a contented user of Office 98, there are not many reasons why you *should* upgrade to Office 2001. Functionalities and file formats are the same, for instance, so it's not an absolute must. Some reasons why you might consider upgrading:

* You are a upgrade queen and, like me, enjoy using the latest, niftiest software.

* You work in an office environment where other people use Office for Windows. For you, Entourage and the new calendar/appointment software will get you integrated with the Windows world even more--while retaining your Macness on your desk.

* You want an integrated calendar, address book, and task manager instead of what you've been using so far (Now, Palm Desktop, etc.).

One caveat: Office 2001 doesn't seem to play friendly with memory management. There seem to be conflicts with RAM Doubler 9 and/or Internet Explorer 5.5 (other users have reported these goings on too, which you can read more about on MacFixit's Web site). You may want to wait for Connectix and/or Microsoft to release their first fix-it patches for Office 2001 to ensure a smooth transition--particularly advisable if you make your living using Office on your Mac.

Otherwise, this upgrade isn't a "must." It is a fine upgrade, notably faster, quite a bit more attractive, lots of subtle but useful functionality enhancements. Entourage is spectacular, too. But if Office 98 meets your needs, you can feel confident about sticking with it for a while, too.

Essentially an incremental update of Office, with some cosmetic improvements and a useful new automatic floating palette function. It's good that Microsoft has stopped simply porting the Windows version of Office to the Mac; however, if you are happy with Mac Office 98, you should look at the "new" features carefully to ensure upgrading is worth the hassle and the cost. Beware of the included Value Pack as well, it will slap several hundred Mb of flashy clip art and bloated document templates on your hard drive if you aren't careful.

First thing about this product, and about all Microsoft products for Mac that have come out over the last few years - installation is simple, just drag and drop one folder for a basic install, or run the installer to get only certain components. Either way works well (I've used them both).

The big deal with this version of Office is the new e-mail client/PIM, Entourage. This is sort of a combination of Outlook, from the Windows version (calendar, powerful address book, reminders, tasks), and the popular free Outlook Express for Mac (mail, newsgroups, directory services) - and if you ask me, they kept the best parts of OE for Mac and built the rest around what was already a great program. The calendar function is a little on the weak side, but OK for a version 1.0 program. The important thing is that Entourage handles Mail, News and other functions with a very Mac-centric feel; there's very little in way of learning curve. Palm synchronization is also a nice touch. I wouldn't necessarilly call this a "killer app", because most of the functions most users will utilize in Entourage can be found in OE - but if you're going to pony up what MS is asking for the new versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint, it's a nice added bonus. Also, Entourage serves as a "hub" for the other Office applications, so it's designed as a place from which to start whatever you're working on. (One more note about Entourage: since Office for Mac isn't as tightly connected to the OS as its Windows cousin, Entourage must be open to deliver reminders & calendar items. But since most mail users keep their mail reader open all the time anyway, this probably won't be a big deal.)

Speaking of which, the new versions of those core programs seem to be changed little in terms of function - new features have been slathered on liberally, as is Microsoft's upgrade policy, but unlike Office 2000 for Windows, the new features aren't as "in-your-face". The first thing you notice is the revised GUI, which finally makes the Mac version of Office look and feel less like it's Windows counterpart. Programs are speedier, which is a welcome change from Office 98 and Office 4.3.1, which seemed to lumber about. A welcome change to Word in particular is that the screen has been de-cluttered, to a point - the fotmatting toolbar has been replaced with a palate that can sit anywhere on screen, or closed completely. The Office Assistant is still here as well, and can now be resized at will. The changes to the core programs aren't massive, but they were needed and are welcome.

Problems with this release: Users of RamDoubler 9 will be disappointed on the outset, because Office 2001 doesn't work with RamDoubler - yet. Enough has been posted about this conflict that I suspect that MS will post a patch in the near future. Also - anyone fond of the Office Manager menu, hold on to the old extension - there is no Office Manager in this release. Users are expected to use the "project gallery" (which replaces the "New" dialog box) in Entourage to open the other applications, assuming you don't just open them directly.

Overall, this version is (aside from Entourage) more about the little things - but a lot of little things add up to a big thing. Also, if you're looking for platform cross-compatable word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, Office is really the only way to go. The addition of Entourage finally gives users something else to use besides Netscape (which I've always felt was bloatware since version 4), and that's worth something. All in all, it gets 4 out of 5. It misses the 5th star because of the price - for the featureset, it's a little expensive. But if you're an avid Office user (like me), it's worth it. (Remember, also, that there's an upgrade for existing Office users...)

Like a good boy, I had been regularly purchasing various Microsoft-for-the-Mac upgrades for a very long time. How long has it been? It's been so long that my first copy of Excel (1.0, in 1985) was free, because at the time I possessed registered copies of MS Multiplan and MS Chart. That's a long time by anyone's measure.

My most recent Excel upgrade prior to MS Office for the Mac 2001 was Excel 95; I took a bye on Office 98 principally because I've never been particularly fond of MS Word (even in the Mac versions that had worked reasonably well). For most of the fifteen years or so that I've been using Macs almost exclusively, my word processor of choice has been WriteNow: Lean, mean, full of most of the features that I need, still running on OS 9.2.2, and, regrettably, discontinued (abandoned would be a more appropriate term) several years ago.

However, with the ever-increasing hegemony of Windoze-based business networks, and with the fact that Excel 95 cannot run on a G4 Mac with OS 9.0 or newer, I bit the bullet and purchased this Office 2001 package. And, while I've now pretty much climbed its learning curve, the experience hasn't exactly been one that I'd write home about.

Here are a few nits I choose to pick (some small, some not so small):

* Somewhere between Excel 95 and Office 2001, Microsoft programmers seem to have lost track of the fact that Macs have both "Return" and "Enter" keys. (Windoze machines have no "Return" key.) The "Return" key no longer functions as it did, scrolling down one cell in an Excel spreadsheet; it now does precisely the same thing the "Enter" key does (which is limited to whatever one chooses from the "Preferences" menu). Not very bright!

* In like fashion, the MS programmers decided to reassign several of the common "Command" key functions (Fill Down, Fill Across, Insert, Delete, Clear, etc.) to the "Control" key, again in some ill-founded effort at "cross-platform"compatibility. (Imagine my surprise when I first went to insert a row or column, only to find that my selection was formatted in italics!) In the process, the ergonomic superiority of the Mac keyboard, requiring less "stretch" effort to activate these keyboard shortcuts, has now been sacrificed to the Bill Gates God of Uniformity. And Microsoft continues to place the Font menu on a toolbar, not as a Mac-standard menu. Not very bright!

* While tools have been added to the toolbox library, the ability to customize toolbars for one's own use has actually been reduced! And the tools don't always load consistently, suggesting some bugginess that requires a Microsoft patch or two, not yet available. And, unlike previous Excel upgrades in my experience, this one appears to provide no additional chart types. Not very bright!

* Word is incompatible with RamDoubler 9.0 (another patch still not available). But, for once, my newest (G4) Mac has more memory than RamDoubler can deal with. Nevertheless: Not very bright!

* Word files - as always - are bloated for reasons that have little to do with content or formatting. (As a comparison, a 25-page file, containing a few tables and some minor formatting, which occupies 91K of HD space as a WriteNow 4.0 file and 96K as a WordPerfect 3.5e file, occupies 194K as a Word 2001 file.) If not "Not very bright!", then "Why?"

* The ubiquitous Windoze paperclip "Advisor" has been transmogrified to a less-than-winsome "flex-toy Mac." Gimmee a break!

* Entourage is incompatible with Outlook or Outlook Express. Its inclusion is specious at best, and one wonders how many will use this module.

* Once again, as far as a database module is concerned, Mac users are left in the lurch. Access continues to be notable by its absence (not that it is every database user's "dream program"), and FoxPro has long been history as far as Microsoft support is concerned. Moreover, a Mac port of SQL is just a fantasy. And VisualBasic is only present in crippled form, to support the modules that are VB-capable.

There are a few (very few, I'm sad to say) gains:

* PowerPoint works fine. But I have little need for it, save for the odd PP file that gets attached to my e-mail thanks to some chain letter or other.

* The modules run acceptably fast. But I think this has as much or more to do with G4 speed and available RAM as it does to "tight" coding by software engineers.

* Word works acceptably well (but not particularly great) as a platform for HTML coding.

* I've got the cross-platform compatibility that my business-related activities require.

For those G4 users needing a single module but not needing "full" cross-platform compatibility for other applications, my advice is to limit yourselves to just the Office 2001 module (saving some bucks), hang on to your WriteNow 4.0 program (it'll run just fine on OS 9.x G4's) or download a free copy of WordPerfect 3.5e, take a bye on Entourage (Outlook Express works just fine, and is bundled free with Explorer), and, if you need a database program, there's always FileMaker Pro.

Summary: A "forced" upgrade for G4 Mac users who must use Excel. More steps backward than forward for those of us who prefer Macs but need the cross-platform compatibility. At best, three stars, and then only with the greatest of reluctance.

Bob Zeidler

Most reviews of Microsoft Office discuss how well it works in an actual office setting. Which isn't wrong, because that's where it's primarily being used... in offices. :)

But, as a student, I have found that this is great for us too! I'm a Psychology major, and I find all these programs invaluable. With "Word", I can do all my papers and assignments.

With "Excel" I can do statistical analyses for my Psych research reports. You can also make some pretty cool graphs and charts, if you're a Chem or Bio or Psych major. It's much easier to enter info into the spreadsheet, and make a chart, than in Appleworks. If you've ever tried to do that on Apple or ClarisWorks, and had a hard time, you'll breathe a huge sigh of relief.

With "Entourage" I can keep in touch with my friends back home, and my professors and TA's (teaching assistants). It's also a great program to keep track of assignment due dates, and test dates... with the "reminder" feature. I actually haven't used "Power Point" yet, but it looks nifty, and will probably serve a student well, too.

So, if you're a student, and are wondering whether or not to get this, do it!! :) My only complaint is that too many plug-ins have to be installed. But you don't have to go searching all over the web for them, they're right on the CD-ROM. I would recommend buying it through your school bookstore though, because the academic price is a lot less harsh on the wallet. Take care and happy computing!

Microsoft once again has not solved the problem of moving from PC to MAC-- if you have your life stored in PC outlook, don't even think about buying this. Switching to MAC is great... porting over applications is not bad. Porting over email and contacts is a disaster. Microsoft support is not much better-- spent 2 hours on the telephone trying to find anyone who could even address the issue. Never did. Bottom line: for MAC users with Office 98, not much functionality is gained. For PC users moving back to MAC, plan on fat-fingering in all of you data.

I am surprised by the number of positive reviews for this version of Office. I have used Office 98 for 3 years, which had it's problems but was OK. This version doesn't provide many new features & certainly isn't worth the price upgrade. Moreover, the only new feature, Entourage, crashes your computer (if you are running OS 9) & simply doesn't work. Trying to hotsync w/ your Palm is not an easy matter if you can get it to work. Moreover, Microsoft still loads a bunch of extensions into your system folder which conflict with other Microsoft software, especially Outlook Explorer & Internet Express. It's been a nightmare just trying to things to work properly. I have tried all the fixes posted on troubleshooting sites, but still have yet to get Entourage to evenopen. To add insult to injury the Upgrade price is even more than I paid to buy the full Office '98 package w/ extras.

The one thing I can say about Microsoft is that the programs they design for Macintosh seem to be notably better than their peecee equivalents. Office 2001 follows suit. Visually and functionally, this version isn't too much different than prior versions - yet this time they purport a seamless link between Mac and peecees with Office data. Macs pretty much have done this on their own for a while - but OK now it's seamless.

The new addition to the team is Entourage - which is certainly a high-quality email program. In stereotypical Microsoft fashion, it doesn't like to access its own Hotmail accounts...hmmmmmm...what's that all about?

It also comes with Internet Explorer 5, which is what you might call yoogly - which is ugly with a capital, boldfaced "U" at the front. It too, has slight improved functionality over it's peecee counterpart. It is a free program so there's no real need to pay for this.

If you've already got a version of Office, you may want to stick with it and save your cash.

Every time I upgrade, some features are better but many more have become over-complex. Lets face it - how many people are capable of using even a quarter of the features of Word? Who wants 150 templates? I never use them - I make my own.

There seem to be some serious problems with Word. Tables in Word on the Mac are a nightmare. Its all so unpredictable and can be very slow compared to a PC. For no apparent reason (usually when I've cut'n pasted a row - or reduced the font size using keystrokes rather than the mouse)it crashes. It even took Excel with it last time.

I hate the new drop-down autofill in Excel 2001. The old one was fine and quicker. Why "improve" something just for the sake of it? They have done something really odd to the sort function with numbering. At one time it sorted 2 after 20 ...another "improvement"?

As for the multilevel numbering. If only they would stop changing it. I just get my head round the latest version and they change it again! The contortions one has to go through to miss out a level ....

Overall I like the look of Office 2001 and some of the features are great. I even like Entourage - contrary to popular opinion.

Why isn't there a decent built-in fax facility? I am having a dreadful time with Symantec - it won't open with anything I posess!

In desperation I was going to try Appleworks but was put off by the reviews ....