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Which version of MS Office?

S

Saluki Alex

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 26, 2006
283
0
Illinois
Okay, I switched to Mac last month and I only have about 10 days left of the Office test drive. Now here is my predicament, I can get Microsoft Office v. X through my university for around $50, you have to order through CDW though, but nevertheless. If I were to go this route, how much difference would it be than Office 2004 that's already on my Mac? Is it possible just to use the license for Office v. X with Office 2004? Would I be better off going with the Student/Teacher addition of Office for $130? Am I asking too many questions? :D

Here's a link to the version of Office that's available through SIU: http://www.cdwg.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=347456
 
Saluki Alex said:
Okay, I switched to Mac last month and I only have about 10 days left of the Office test drive. Now here is my predicament, I can get Microsoft Office v. X through my university for around $50, you have to order through CDW though, but nevertheless. If I were to go this route, how much difference would it be than Office 2004 that's already on my Mac? Is it possible just to use the license for Office v. X with Office 2004? Would I be better off going with the Student/Teacher addition of Office for $130? Am I asking too many questions? :D

Here's a link to the version of Office that's available through SIU: http://www.cdwg.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=347456
Click to expand...
It really depends on what you are doing. Office v.X is file-compatible with Office 2004 and all previous versions of the productivity suite. OTOH, Office 2004 Student & Teachers is newer. At $130, it is a good deal. It is your money; it is your decision.
 
Also, Microsoft said they would release a Universal Binary update to Office 2004 at some point...

So if you've got an Intel Mac that may have some bearing on your decision.
 
Blue Velvet said:
Also, Microsoft said they would release a Universal Binary update to Office 2004 at some point...

So if you've got an Intel Mac that may have some bearing on your decision.
Click to expand...

I thought they decided not to bother, and will make the next version (Office 2007?) universal?

Anyway, I'd go student teacher for $130, although if you don't have the money, just spend the $50 now, and then buy the newest version in 2007. Bear in mind that student/teacher isn't upgradeable to the next version at the discount price (although if the pricing holds, it's cheaper to buy another student-teacher version than the upgrade version.

No, the keycode will not work with the test drive version. In fact, to install office 2004, you have to remove the test drive version from your computer entirely. It's not like a locked demo version where all you need to do is type in hte reg. code.
 
if you don't mind X11, you can always download and use openoffice.org (which is free), which can read and write MS Office files.

(just make sure you get the intel build, not the PPC one)
 
I use Office v.X all the time, and it does everything you could possibly need and more if you're just going to be writing papers. If that is going to be your main use, I would suggest just getting this and saving yourself the $80.

On the other hand, if your use is going to be a bit more involved than that, I would suggest checking out what the actual differences are between the two, and seeing if any of those would have an effect on what you plan on doing. Then you can decide if the $80 is worth those improvements. That's just me, though.
 
Blue Velvet said:
Also, Microsoft said they would release a Universal Binary update to Office 2004 at some point...

So if you've got an Intel Mac that may have some bearing on your decision.
Click to expand...

Microsoft's most recent statement on the matter was that they will not be releasing a universal version of Office 2004, instead waiting until the next major release of Office to come out with a UB. From this MS FAQ page:

"Q. Will you re-release Office 2004 for Intel-based Macs?

A. No. There are no plans to re-release Office 2004. With Rosetta, Office 2004 runs well on Intel-based Macs. "

Either Office X or Office 2004 should work OK for you. Personally I'd go for Office 2004, but then again, I'm kind of weird about wanting the newest version of things.
 
mduser63 said:
Microsoft's most recent statement on the matter was that they will not be releasing a universal version of Office 2004, instead waiting until the next major release of Office to come out with a UB. From this MS FAQ page:

"Q. Will you re-release Office 2004 for Intel-based Macs?

A. No. There are no plans to re-release Office 2004. With Rosetta, Office 2004 runs well on Intel-based Macs. "

Either Office X or Office 2004 should work OK for you. Personally I'd go for Office 2004, but then again, I'm kind of weird about wanting the newest version of things.
Click to expand...


My mistake then... thanks.
 
I've got Office 2004 and it's very good - but I was able to get it through work for £17
 
Office X constantly crashed on my iMac G5. No one else in my department had this problem, but even after a reinstall, it constantly crashed.

Once I moved over to Office 2004 (on the same machine), I had no problems.

So, my own god-awfully biased experiences would send me fleeing from Office X. But I probably just got the lemon ...
 
I recently upgraded to 2004 from X, and there's really only one big upgrade that I've found worthwhile...Presenter Tools in PowerPoint. If you're giving presentations from your MBP, it might be nice to have. If not, X is just fine in my opinion.
 
2004 has better icons :) LOL
no really, iwork is new, universal, and $79,
it's also better than office (ok, so no spreadssheet, but who cares)
 
If you download the service packs with Office X then it reduce the crashes a lot. I prefer Office 2004 because I like new stuff but since it is towards the end of the life cycle, I would get the older version to save a few bucks and buy Office 2007 on day one.

It looks like Office 2007 will be out for both Windows and Mac to match the major OS upgrades.
 
I don't know if v.X has the "notebook view" option like 2004 does, but that's what i use to take all my notes, and i never saw that option when i was using v.X. So if X doesn't have it, I'd get 2004 just for that!

if pages had such an option, I'd probably leave word behind because I find it slow and, though relatively stable, more likely to crash than any other app I have.
 
QCassidy352 said:
I don't know if v.X has the "notebook view" option like 2004 does, but that's what i use to take all my notes, and i never saw that option when i was using v.X. So if X doesn't have it, I'd get 2004 just for that!

if pages had such an option, I'd probably leave word behind because I find it slow and, though relatively stable, more likely to crash than any other app I have.
Click to expand...
Notebook View was new to Office 2004 :)
 
Well, I think I'm going to go with Office 2004. Like several of you, I too want the most up to date software. And besides that, I'd have to go through a lot of hassle to get Office through my school, although it's probably enough hassle to save $80, but nevertheless. Thanks for everyone's input.

Peace
 
jakeOSX said:
if you don't mind X11, you can always download and use openoffice.org (which is free), which can read and write MS Office files.

(just make sure you get the intel build, not the PPC one)
Click to expand...
AFAIK there is no intel build.
 
Democrat622 said:
2004 has better icons :) LOL
no really, iwork is new, universal, and $79,
it's also better than office (ok, so no spreadssheet, but who cares)
Click to expand...

I was thinking of buying iWork, is pages 2 as good as MS Word? I heard it is more for presentation (posters, etc.)
Is Pages easy to use for lay-out and so on?

I really don't need excell, outlook or access, so I hope iWorks will do.
 
Macnoviz said:
I was thinking of buying iWork, is pages 2 as good as MS Word? I heard it is more for presentation (posters, etc.)
Is Pages easy to use for lay-out and so on?

I really don't need excell, outlook or access, so I hope iWorks will do.
Click to expand...

As with everything, it depends what you are looking to do with it. Pages is *different* from Word, not better or worse. I think that the lay-out and graphics handling of Pages is better than Word, and the included templates are better. The integration between Keynote and Pages is good, along with the iLife suite for including images in your document.

Having said that, Word is better when collaborating, because its commenting system works better across a group, and the ability to track changes is better. Word also does a better job at endnotes and footnotes, and dynamic referencing within a document. The hyperlinking ability in Word is better than Pages as well.

So, it really depends on which features of each kit are most important to you, in order to decide between them.

Also, the advantages of Keynote over Powerpoint, now that Keynote 3 is out, are pretty overwhelming. I think that Keynote itself is worth the price of admission.
 
For that price... GET IT! but yeah it can read the same word files and it has most of the same features like 2004.
 
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