Hi Lorraine:
> An additional question.... I'm a new Mac user... since there is much
> difficulty with compatibility between MS Office 2004 and MS Office 2007 (w/
> Mac) would it be better to purchase to MS Office 2004 and not 2007?
For advanced users, "Yes".
Office 2004 has a lot more of the functions used by advanced users than
Office 2008.
For users who can live without advanced functions, then it's probably better
to buy Office 2008 -- it's simpler to use, for undemanding users.
It helps to understand where the compatibility difficulties lie:
1) There are Windows and Mac users who have not yet installed the free
converter for the new file formats. These people will continue to be unable
to open the new file formats until they update their systems.
But this is not the Mac user's problem. The tools are there, they are
no-charge, they can download them in a minute or two.
You cannot make people use the correct tools. Nor can you stop them
complaining about the difficulties they get when they don't. People just
love to play the helpless victim :-)
But these people are currently pumping out a lot of text all over the
internet. In most cases, you will find that such people have either never
used the product at all, or have never learned to use it properly. Of
course, they won't tell you that!
Of course, you should form your own opinion about the appropriate action for
yourself.
2) There are currently a large number of bugs in Office 2008. Many of
these will be resolved by the Service Pack that is due out tomorrow. The
rest will be fixed over time: we can expect at least one more major service
pack.
3) Mac Office 2008 is a substantial cut-down of Office 2007. Microsoft has
left out about half the functionality.
So Office 2008 is not able to create or display or work with many of the
things that Office 2007 can.
Non-professional users do not use these functions, on either a PC or a Mac.
Research abounds that proves conclusively that 80 per cent of users use only
ten per cent of the software's functions. Such users will never need or
notice the missing functions.
However, the other 20 per cent of us DO stretch Office applications to their
full capability. We frequently use things such as Macros, Automation,
Graphics Editing, the Analysis Toolpack, and a full range of citation
standards.
Such users are better advised to sit this release out. Office 2008 has
limited functionality. Office 2004 is still a supported product.
Professional users and power users can afford to wait for the next version,
and in most cases, they should.
There, that's a fairly expansive answer. I hope it gives you what you need
to form your own opinion.
Cheers
On 9/3/08 6:54 PM, in article ee85287.15.DeleteThis@webcrossing.caR9absDaxw, "Lorraine
M" <Lmwood102.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> > Arghhh!! Enough!
>> >
>> > Windows users actually have the same problem with earlier versions of
>> Microsoft Office. A patch works nicely for them on PC's running Windows.
>> >
>> > The patch for the Mac versions of Office, however, are not so helpful.
>> >
>> > I suggest that you go back to the Windows source and simply ask for them
>> to send the file in a older format (.xls or .doc) rather than the newer
>> default file type.
>> >
>>
>> I agree.
>>
--
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http://www.word.mvps.org/
Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.
John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:john@mcghie.name
>> Stay informed about: Compatibility issue for Office 2004 for MAC with Office 20.. 
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