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| Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition Upgrade | 
 enlarge | From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $299.95
Buy New: $94.00
You Save: $205.95 (69%)
New (40) Used (1) from $94.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 123
Format: Dvd-rom
Platforms: Mac Os X, Macintosh
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Special Media - Upgrade
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 5.3 x 1.3
MPN: FWA-00029
Model: FWA-00029
UPC: 882224544733
EAN: 0882224544733
Release Date: January 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 | | NEXT » |
No Reason to Upgrade January 6, 2009
I purchased MS Office 2008 for a PowerMac G5 (with OS X 10.5.6). It's much slower loading than Office 2004 and doesn't appear to offer anything new of substance. I don't like the new interface much, but I'll get used to it. It does, of course, work better with the new file types, but I resented being forced into an upgrade by Microsoft -- especially one that performs worse (sound like Vista anyone?).
 Quality Product December 31, 2008
I upgraded from Office 2004 for Mac. Software installed seamlessly, integrated well with OX 10.5, no problems. I'm very satisfied with the product and how easy it was to install.
Cleaner than Office 2004 December 28, 2008
After reading the negative reviews, I hesitated, but PowerPC-based 2004 ran so slow on my Intel Mac that I upgraded anyway. Many of the bad reviews focussed on font problems, so I did not load the new fonts, and that seems to have prevented some of the headaches. I changed the Normal template to use good-old Times New Roman. The new Word pushes Cambria and Calibri in your face, and I still haven't figured out how to de-preference them everywhere, but otherwise, no problems by not loading the new fonts. Anyway, the interface is clean, makes better use of color, and at least Excel and Word run much smoother than with 2004 (haven't played with Entourage and Powerpoint yet). If you were already using palettes in 2004, the interface changes are minor. Quibbles in Word include: Can't figure out how to turn off Elements Gallery bar in page view; doesn't seem to allow compressing pages together in page view (dropping header and footer whitespace) like you can in the Windows version; doesn't remember what you had open within the formatting palette when you reopen files (for example, you always have to unfold Bullets and Numbering b/c it folds back up between sessions); different color palettes depending upon whether you access from menu bar or floating formatting palette. These are fairly minor issues. I didn't use the programming capabilities that have been left out in this version. There are new file formats (for example, Word defaults to .docx format) that may create compatibility headaches, but it is easy to reset the default format setting to use any number of higher-compatibility formats. I found the compatibility checker confusing, but easy enough to choose a format based on its name/postfix. At first glance, Expression Media seems like a souped-up variation on iPhoto w/ better user access to meta-data. Haven't worked out the merits yet. Expression Media is a separately loaded program from the rest of the Office package. If you want the scoop on Expression Media, MS has an online forum.
 No Support for Microsoft products for Mac & Shutdowns December 6, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a life-long user of MS Word (I've written over 3 million words with MS Word), I switched to a Mac in August and naturally bought MS for Mac 2008. This is the most cumbersome product I've ever used.
One word to sum up the product: CRASH.
Many typical key sequences trigger a MS shutdown. For example:
1. If I stop a print command, the program crashes.
2. If I use the "auto correct" feature, the program crashes.
3. If I update a graph, the program crashes.
4. If I add a row, the program crashes.
AND (I assume) MANY MORE THINGS TRIGGER THE CRASHES.
Why, Microsoft, why? I want to use your products, but this quality is embarrassing.
Upgrading Office on an old iMac + Expression Media comments December 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I installed Office 2008 on a 1.25GHz G4 iMac with System 10.4.11 . Since other reviewers have discussed the features and functionality of Office 2008 thoroughly, I am going to focus my review on the experience of upgrading from Office v.X to Office 2008. I'll also comment on Expression Media because it's what sets the Mac Office Special Media Edition apart from the other versions of Mac Office.
Background:
*I have experience with several versions of Mac Office, beginning with version 4.2 . I also have used Office 98, Office 2001, and as mentioned above, Office v.X before upgrading to Office 2008.
*The way I use Office has changed over time. I made extensive use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in graduate school and in various professional settings through Office 2001. Now I mostly use Excel to do basic financial analysis and Word to write personal documents.
Installation:
*Installation is straightforward, using Apple's familiar Installer mechanism. I prefer this method to the old drag-and-drop installation method because OS X is so sensitive to where things are installed.
*The installer program automatically finds older versions of Office and allows users to delete them easily.
*Many customized settings can be transferred from previous Office installations, including dictionaries, autocorrect lists, and proofing tool settings.
*Once Office 2008 is installed, several updates must be downloaded and installed. Microsoft should have made this process more user-friendly. Users must manually shut down other applications, including the Office 2008 Installer, before running the update installer.
Pros:
*Office is now a Universal Binary so the same program will run on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.
*An Uninstaller is placed in the Office folder automatically.
*Office will check for updates automatically on a schedule chosen by the user. No more messing around on the Microsoft website, hoping you didn't miss a Service Pack or Critical Update.
*Users can now turn the feedback sounds on and off. If hearing a chime, a popping bubble, or some other "cute" noise every time you did something drove you crazy, you will greatly appreciate this long overdue feature.
*Speaking of unnecessary cuteness, Clippy the Paperclip is gone! Yesssssss!
Cons:
*All the applications startup and quit slowly on my G4 machine. Office v.X applications started and quit virtually instantaneously (yes, I realize v.X was written specifically for PowerPC processors). Saving files is slow as well.
*Office 2008 uses a new file format that is not compatible with other versions of Office. If you send documents to people who are not fully up to date, you have to save a second version or limit yourself to working with the older file format.
*It's good that Microsoft no longer just ports Windows Office to the Mac. Nonetheless, there are user interface inconsistencies both within and across the applications which keep Office from feeling 100% Macintosh.
*Silverlight, Microsoft's attempt to compete with Macromedia Flash, is installed by default.
*No macros in Excel! Bad, bad, bad move. And no support for Visual Basic.
Expression Media comments:
*EM is a standalone application, not a fully integrated component of Office. Installation and activation is a separate process from installing Office and requires entering a second product key.
*Mac Office ships with EM 1.0 . Users must manually download EM 2.0 from the Microsoft website after installing the earlier version. This is inconvenient but not a gigantic obstacle if you have a fast Internet connection.
*EM is a good tool for managing projects that use data from many sources. For example, somebody putting together a presentation that includes text from Word, numbers from Excel, slides from PowerPoint, music from MP3's, and images from digital photographs can organize all the necessary files in one EM "catalog." All the source material for the presentation is then viewable in one place.
*EM doesn't create new copies of documents, thankfully, but its catalogs can become very large. As a test, I created two catalogs with digital photographs--a 3.5 GB set resulted in a 25.8 MB catalog and a 1.5GB set created a 113.9 MB catalog. I'm not sure what accounts for this very large discrepancy but it's clear that EM isn't for people with limited hard disk space.
*Home users probably will find EM to be overkill for their needs. If you just want to keep track of your music and photos, iPhoto and iTunes are more than adequate. Having said that, I'm going to use EM to manage all the e-delivery documents I receive from banks, brokers, and the like. It will be a lot easier than digging through lots of Finder folders and subdirectories.
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Bottom line: Office 2008 doesn't hold any surprises for experienced Office users. For the most part, everything still operates in the way to which you are accustomed. If you own a PowerPC Mac and use an older version of Office, you should carefully consider whether you want to upgrade or not. The benefits of the new features may be outweighed by the inconvenience of the slower performance and/or the need to adjust your workflow.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because Expression Media is a useful tool.
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