M$ Office preview

[Urbansory]

jhawk28, you can record audio for free with other apps, so paying ... to do so isn't a benefit... but you did say u were a college student, and I know all about how that works out, lol

[evildan]

wonder if date functionality is improved... I hate the way M$ Excel deals with dates... (see previous rants).

[cockneygeezer]

I can only pray for better Exchange support.

Same here dude!

Personally, I hope that they make Entourage 2004 a carbon copy of Outlook 2003. I am sick to death of not being able to do the same type of work as stuff as my PC counterparts in the office. Entourage, to me, is the most important program in the Office suite. I do love the new view layout, exactly the same, if not similar to Outlok 2K3. Excellent. Did anyone notice to the icons etc. Looks alot more polished...

As for Word and PowerPoint, you can have them. Don't really use them.

But, I will say the the Flash presentation was very professional and slick. Exactly was Flash MX 2004 Pro was designed to do, and has been done well.

Same that the release date of Office 2K4 is not for another, what, 4 or 5 months?

[hulkaros]

I'll sound again like the usual anti-M$ but what the heck:
I don't care about Office anymore and I'm trying my best to convince my customers, friends, et al to not use ANY M$ products... YES, even in the Wintel/Amd side of the computing world... So, far I'm in a very good point:
Most of my friends are using some version of Linux, bought a Mac with NO M$ products installed and the poor souls who insist on keep on using Windows, they use other applications instead of the usual Messenger, Office, IE, WMP combo

As for other companies that I co-operate with, I let them know that for them in order to exchange data with me I want their documents to be in a NON-M$ Office formats... And you know what? So, far so good!

Go ahead and give it a try! Use the alternatives and convince others to do so! M$ is not the end all, be all... And while M$ Office has some amazing features over the alternatives, 90% of those features, if not more, aren't needed by even the "advanced" users out there...

The funny part is that the MOST requested feature of the M$ Office from my customers, friends, et al, that they cannot find in the alternatives or it isn't that good in those solutions, is the Clip Art gallery + WordArt combo!!!

Come on! Let everyone know this:
Alternatives exist that CAN replace most of what M$ products can/will offer to them!

[MacMuppet]

I can only pray for better Exchange support.

Thats funny, thats what my (NT) Server Manager has been saying for years....

[powermac]

I think what I am reading from people are the features in X04 appear to be superficial. I have been saying this for awhile, M$ needs competition for the office suite market for the Mac. I use word everyday, that is only recently. I used Appleworks until late last year. The only other app I use is Xcel, which I feel is well done. I am not sure if I upgrade right away either. Still hoping for an alternative to Office. Come on Lotus !!!!!!

[Ripcord]

Is there anything specific, feature-wise, that you guys are looking for in '04?

Some things so far look intriguing, maybe I just don't have enough imagination, but I'm trying to understand what it is you folks want =)

[Urbansory]

I only used Word when I had to write papers in college, graduated, AND NO MORE DAMN PAPERS FOR ME!!!!!! Had to vent a little. But i only open it when i get a storyboard from a client, which is always a Word file, or they send PowerPoint presentations for me to look over. But I love Enoturage, I hate iCal and Mail, one app doing all the work and some is good for the way i work.

1 request, i notice Word will eat a lot of the CPU more than other apps, and it litearlly does nothing, such a waste.