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| Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac | 
 enlarge | From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $399.95
Buy New: $198.99
You Save: $200.96 (50%)
New (57) Used (9) from $164.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 175
Format: Dvd-rom
Platforms: Mac Os X, Macintosh
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 87.6 x 61.2 x 14.4
MPN: 73101727
Model: 73101727
UPC: 605433009974
EAN: 0605433009974
Release Date: January 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Office for Mac vs. iWork - the comfort of the familiar December 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you're a home user like me, either Microsoft Office or Apple's iWork will handle most of your needs, so choosing between them really comes down to 4 questions:
1. What's familiar? If you're used to previous Mac or Windows versions of Office, you will probably prefer Office.
2. How often will you be sending files between Mac and Windows machines? If you will be regularly sending files to Windows users, it's definitely easier to use Office.
3. How are you going to use it? If you want to use iWeb to publish a blog, or if you'll be adding media to your work using iPhoto, iTunes, etc., iWork makes it easy and seamless.
4. Price - Office can be more expensive for even a single license, and does not appear to be available in an equivalent to Apple's "family pack" for multiple computer households.
Most of the programs in Office feel more powerful, feature-heavy, and complicated than what I need, but I was still able to create basic projects fairly quickly. There are some new features since my old version, Office X (2001). The Elements Gallery, with its easy to navigate graphics features, seems especially useful.
I created duplicate projects using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and their iWork equivalents. I was able to get basic projects done easily, and I added photos, movies, and music to slideshows without much of a problem. The iWork suite felt more intuitive to me, but that is probably because I'm used to the way Apple applications handle files (more of a drag and drop system than menu-based "insert... (filename)" system). I didn't install Entourage because I use MobileMe to sync Mail, iCal, etc. across computers and my iPhone.
Unlike other users, Office hasn't crashed for me yet, but there were several updates to download and install, so some of these may have addressed the stability issues.
For me, familiarity = ease of use, so I'll be going back to iWork for most projects, unless I need to send a file to a Windows machine.
 It's Office on a Mac... December 3, 2008
Really, the only reason I use mac:office is because I still work with people that are set on their Windows system, and while the Mac counter applications are good, there are times that they just cannot read these files correctly. The Mac:office suite serves that function quite well. I've not received a complaint about files that I've updated using this program. Everything works as I would expect and meets my needs. Entourage is a nice replacement for Outlook, doing a better job of mail and tasks than the Windows counterpart.
If you love your Mac and still have to interface with the Windows world for documents, presentations and spreadsheets, this is the solution you need.
It's okay, I prefered 2004, however December 3, 2008
While visually Office 2008 for Mac is quite attractive, one of the things that is bothering me is it seems to be taking almost twice the amount of time to start up one of the 08 programs than it did with 04. It's a minor thing to some (I'm using a Macbook Pro, by the way), but when you're using a powerful laptop, you kind of want the speed that you're used to that you received from the older version of the product you are using. This tells me that Microsoft was more interested in getting the visual look down, rather than some of the basics. At least the various apps are prettier.
Also, I would have liked to have seen Communicator offered for Mac and bundled with this package. Unfortunately, Communicator is not available for Mac OS X at this time, so I'm missing out on some work-related goodness the Windows Office suite offers.
Additionally, I can't seem to get SP2 installed for MS Office 2008. It simply hangs there no matter what I do. This is a big issue for me as Microsoft is notorious for releasing buggy software and fixing/breaking with new updates. Oh, well.
 A Must Buy for Teachers. November 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been teaching for many years and have depended on Office 04 to make the best of my presentations and of student projects for evaluations and for parents during conference and have been pleased. But I must admit that Office 08 was a must needed improvement.
The main goal of Office 08 has to give your presentations a lot more pop and to make it easier to do so. The templates are better in Office but overall Word isn't drastically different. I didn't have any hiccups trying to kick off 04 for the newer version. It all went smoothly.
I don't have any issues with Office 08, in fact, I like it better than 04 just for its drop down menu alone. As I stated earlier, it's not a HUGE difference from 04 and for those who don't rely to much or need to upgrade will be fine with 04. But for those who found some nagging instances in 04 might want to upgrade. The price is worth it for more intuitive software, I don't have a problem paying for something that saves me time, 08 is definitely worth the price.
It's MS Office for Mac November 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have been using MS Office 2004 for several years. "Upgraded" to 2008 the other day... I guess I'm just not a power user because I had no installation problems and Word, Excel, & PowerPoint all work speedily enough for me. I am very comfortable using Word, Excel & PowerPoint and agree with the previous reviewer that if it's what you use (and have like me, always used since the first Word for Mac was released back in the Dark Ages), the transition is simple, quick, and effective. I was comfortable with Office 98, 01, 04, and am perfectly comfortable using 2008. I experienced no formatting issues (yet: very sorry to read the SA reviewer's trials with her book), either. I stopped using Entourage back when I upgraded to Intel machines, so I can't comment upon that.
People complaining about the price should be realistic... if it's necessary for your work, spend the money, get started learning the ins&outs, and move on.
BTW: icons for the various programs on the Dock don't bother me, saved me the time of putting them there myself. I was a bit surprised to see that smaller icons over folders (e.g., Documents folder) changed to MS icons, but I really don't care about that...
Bottom Line: it's a set of useful computer programs that installed easily on a device to make tasks easier, and it works. Whether it's a value-added upgrade is up to the individual, but if you're just starting with Office, go for this one.
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