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Real People Reviews: Office 2008 for Mac-Special Media Edition pricey, but perhaps necessary

Posted by Daniel East May 21, 2008 at 6:27pm

Let’s look at the reality: Microsoft Office is the standard for business. No matter what, there are always a few glitches (which can often be worked around) that either won’t allow things to look or act properly when using a translator or third-party Office-style substitute. Now that Mac users have the benefit of iWork, how does Microsoft Office 2008 measure up?

If pricing is not an issue, pretty well as this version adds a lot more function and flexibility, as well as compatibility, but is going to face the uphill battle of want vs. need. In this case, I think “need” is where the most users will come from for this product. This is a major improvement on the part of Microsoft, even as something so pricey, but perhaps necessary. 
 

The “launch pad” for the entire Office 2008 suite is the new Microsoft Project Gallery that replaces the jump-off screen when launching any one of the Office applications in previous editions. While this takes a bit of getting used to, and takes more time since the MPG is an application used to launch the other applications, it is effective if you have enough processor power and RAM to handle it. Clearly, Office 2008 is more for newer Macs, and rightly so. Like any new software, there is only so much backwards compatibility needed as developers want to take advantage of the latest abilities from the new computers. Personally, I’d like to at least have the option to have it back at the top of the application I’ve chosen to launch in order to save the step, but so that I can still select from templates directly.
 
Let’s take a look at Word. Clearly the most popular title in the suite and the most apparent changes at first glance. The new document elements present a huge variety of template and themes, as well as the page components (table of contents, bibliography, etc.) pre-formatted so that your project is cohesive. Microsoft has added layouts for everything from posters to restaurant menus as well as a variety of ways to customize each element within every theme. There are more visual effects, 3D styles and graphical elements that can help create excellent looking documents. The performance is improved, particularly on older Macs that still meet the minimum system requirements, and there is much better compatibility when saving your document for use by previous versions of Word. Word 2008 is by far the strongest item in the Office 2008 suite and has the most significant improvements overall.
 
PowerPoint has come a long way in some areas, but still nowhere near Keynote’s agile abilities in others. Again, this product is a necessity in some cases for business users who create presentations online and in-person. This is, by far, the slowest application of the suite and has a lot of steps involved to achieve anything even close to Keynote’s output quality. For those who’ve recently moved to the Mac OS from Windows, this will have a familiar feel and, for business users new to the Mac, this is 100% PowerPoint taken to the next level.
 
As you may know, Excel is still the standard for spreadsheets and, while there are some major improvements, it seems that some of the features that put it on top are no longer present. Microsoft has dropped the VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) support so Macros may not be used to repeat frequent tasks or to perform any commands from within Excel; however, and in this day of virus concerns, this may be yet another necessity. This absence is a nuisance for several types of searches and tasks so one would hope to see this support return instead of creating scripted workarounds that are not cross-platform compatible. If you rely on the user of VMA, stick with Office 2004 for now. Excel is an application that is capable of many things on many levels, but the learning curve is also substantial. Apple not only has Numbers, but Mac users have the option of Bento and Filemaker Pro – again, also more cost effective as well.
 
Entourage is one of those applications with a love/hate reputation but a requirement for many in the business world. This new version is now more iTunes-esque, if you will, in its layout and Mac users may find it easier to navigate. It is faster than previous versions, but not nearly the improvements that would make it real competition for Apple’s Mail. Once again, too many steps to achieve the same goals and at a much higher price when compared to Apple’s own offerings.

In the version tested, Microsoft’s Expression Media feature does yet another strangely familiar dance around something that is already accomplished by iPhoto or Aperture, but incorporates it into the suite and allow the user to employ some basic web graphics and simple photo manipulation. This is not something that designers or advanced digital photographers may find useful, but it is handy when working within the Microsoft Office 2008 workspace.
 
There is no doubt that Microsoft has created a more creative and graphical suite of applications for the Mac, but the perception is that it brings more of the things Mac users already enjoy to the MS workspace. Does that mean there is a need for such a thing? Maybe. Office 2008 is more Apple-like to iWork in many ways, but, if I have to make the choice between them, I’d say this: For businesses and education, you almost have to have Office 2008 (Education edition is available). For personal use, iWork is more intuitive, more fluid, and better performing and only $79 (for Keynote, Pages, Numbers, plus Mac users already have Mail, iCal and iChat built-in with the OS). Even with the most recent service update to v. 12.1.0 (that would not recognize my v. 12.0 installation requiring me to reinstall the entire suite) has addressed a lot of performance issues and bugs, there are still more hurdles to clear for Microsoft’s Office 2008.
 
Given the pricing, Office 2008 is something to be chosen by need rather than function. Even as this is a very impressive improvement over previous versions and nearly a requirement for anyone working cross-platform, it still prices itself out of reach for some everyday Mac users. Perhaps Microsoft, and I know that this is not a new suggestion, might create a “Lite” version with just Word and Xcel at a reduced price to entice more Mac users who may not have the need for any of the additional items in the suite. 
 
Pros: Better compatibility than previous versions, more design features, Word and Entourage performance boost.

Cons: Updates will not run without full reinstall, PowerPoint very slow performance, Excel lacks VBA support

Minimum system requirements: 700 MHz native PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 processor; Mac OS X version 10.2.8-10.3; Mac OS X version 10.3 is required for the Power Mac G5; 512 MB of RAM; 3 GB of available hard-disk space; CD-ROM or DVD-ROM: CD-ROM drive (or connection to a local area network if installing over a network); Mouse or compatible pointing device
Price: US$439.95 online – $499.95 retail; upgrade $244.49 online – $299.95 retail
 
Macsimum rating: 6 out of 10
 
For more information, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/Office2008/default.mspx

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