Phil, 2 interesting points you are raising:
1. the 2008 is Home and Student ? Therefore I guess the discussion above regarding "student" eligibility is irrelevant and everybody can buy it as long as we don't use it for business purpose ? Any new restrictions for the 2008 license ?
2. VBA support: does this mean that if I have spreadsheets at work which embed some VBA macros, I will not be able to use those macros on my Mac ?
Thanks...
w.
First of all, congratulations: Your skills in thread necromancy are much to be admired!
1) The various editions of the 2008 version of Office are distributed differently than those of the 2004 version were.
In 2004, there was a Standard edition meant for general purpose home and small office use. Then there was a Student/Teacher edition which was basically 100% identical to the Standard Edition in terms of functionality, but with different licensing terms and preferential pricing for academic use. Finally there was the Pro edition with additional features (most notably Virtual PC - which became useless with the advent of Intel-based Macs).
In the 2008 version, there is the Home and Student edition, which replaces both the former Student/Teacher edition, and the home user base of the former Standard edition. It consists of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Entourage. The 2008 Home and Student version is not intended for use in a commercial environment.
Then there's the new Standard edition, which takes on the largest part of the small and large office user base of the former Standard and Pro editions. It offers different functionality in terms of Exchange support within Entourage, and some templates for integrating with Automator in all applications.
Finally, there's the Special Media edition, which is identical to the Standard edition, but also adds an additional component,
Microsoft Expression Media.
2) Correct. The rumour is that VBA is on its way out on the PC side as well, but they managed to give it one more kick at the can in Office for Windows 2007. However, they did not include it in Office for Mac 2008. Of course, basic mathematic and logical formulae embedded within cells, and referencing other cells and/or worksheets will still function in Excel as always.