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It's definitely better than previous versions of Office for Mac, and is arguably better than its Windows counterpart. However, I still find it very difficult to justify the cost for what you get, but if what you need is maximum Word/Excel/PowerPoint compatibility then Office 2008 is your only real option, as iWork, while great, still has some compatibility issues.

So, if you want it just to create nice documents, spreadsheets etc, then I'd recommend iWorks for the sheer value for money and ease-of-use. But if you need compatibility then 2008 is your best-bet. Microsoft are however showing that they can innovate and improve their software though, and Office 2008 is a definite step in the right direction.

(640 of 808 people found this review useful)

Installation was easy enough, but since installing i have had so many problems!
Office 2008 will not open, 2004 will not open either.
Fonts have been messed up (not just in office but in other applications), and printers within quark now have issues.
I cannot comment on compatibly issues with previous versions (inc cross platform issues) as i cannot open any office documents.
Microsoft have a habit of making substandard software which requires several updates to make it fully functional.
I would suggest waiting until a major update is released until you install.
I have now removed it and returned my mac back to normal.

(674 of 900 people found this review useful)

Bought this to install on my brand new Macbook. Installation was really easy, the new interface is fine too. BUT I cannot open a large percentage of documents (created in the previous version of Office) I transferred from my G4 Mac. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to this some of the documents are a few years old some are new, some created on the Mac and some on PC and some open no problem. I tried the help site and it only suggested downloading the update (I'd already done that) and opening documents from within word using open in the File menu- didn't work just got error message or a blank document!!! I am now stuck in the situation where I have a lot of documents which I can only open on my old G4- grrrr! Microsoft help is not a patch on Apples either (funnily enough!!) it's much harder to get to talk to someone. How can they possibly release a product which does not open files created in the previous version of their software? Have trawled the internet looking for a solution and as yet haven't found one.

(198 of 231 people found this review useful)

I bought this along with a new MacBook Pro and I have been very pleased with it. Word and Excel are good and PowerPoint is industry standard so you might as well use it. At £100 for three licences it is a good deal.

The usability knocks seven shades out of previous Mac versions not to mention Office 2007 on XP. I am guessing probably the same with Vista since apparently nothing is very good on Vista.

The new interface for these applications is better once you get used to it. Far less fussy, the panels with icons suits me rather better than long lists in drop-down menus (which are still there if you like them).

I have not encountered any of the problems other reviewers mention to do with fonts or system problems, but this might be to do with Entourage. Entourage has a problem to do with databases (try Googling "entourage 2008 database problems") Sooner or later Entourage will render your Mac completely inoperable, requiring a database rebuild. This is not too difficult, but you'd rather not have to do it. This has always been the case with former verisons of Entourage, and nothing has changed with this version. Apparently Entourage has problems with Time machine as well.

I suggest a custom installation of the software loading up Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but do not under any circumstances put Entourage on your machine. Use the Mac's own Mail, Address and Calendar software. It is arguably just as good and it won't break your machine.

I'll give this version 4 stars, for the improvements to Word and Excel. PowerPoint is a dog, but it is the industry standard dog and it is an improvement on previous versions.

If I include Entourage in this it would be down to a maximum of 2 stars because it is a complete liability.

(163 of 191 people found this review useful)

I have never written a review for anything before, except on my blog site, but I feel drawn, nae COMPELLED to voice my dissatisfaction at this piece of software. I had Office 2004 for Mac, which, although not as pretty, was more usable.
Word 2008 is terrible once you exceed 60 page documents, and the Layout view brings your machine to a crawl.
Excel 2008 does not support Macros and crashes a lot once pivot tables are involved.
Constant updates, very little improvement.
Powerpoint is just weak compared to powerpoint 2007 or (much better) Keynote.
I use office as I am forever opening .doc files and iWork pages does not always deal with them they way I would like.
That being said - this software has been so disappointing that I will either revert to 2004 or just dump MS Office altogether. Lotus Symphony (IBM supported version of open office) will be out for Mac soon... May well be worth a look. But iWork is the way to go.
Avoid this software. It is not productive.

(140 of 160 people found this review useful)

Haven't started to install this yet but on opening the package see that this home and student edition comes with 3 licenses with 3 license keys to install on 3 computers. At only £99 (or less) this is fantastic value for money. Plus I will no longer have Word not starting because there is another copy running on my home network (I had enough licenses but was lazy when installing so installed using a single cd)

(146 of 203 people found this review useful)

I am a heavy user of Word. Until now, I was using Word 2004. I was very much looking forward to this update, for I was expecting an increase in speed and performance, being a universal application. However, I am extremely disappointed. It goes slower than Word 2004, it is terribly unstable and it does not work with spaces! This is the worse updated software I've ever seen...Now, I use NeoOffice, and I am so much happier: free, stable and quick! Have a try, change to free open source software, there are good apps out there. Microsoft pushed me to it...

(95 of 103 people found this review useful)

I bought Office 2008 for Mac as soon as it became available. The installation went fine and since then I have downloaded several major updates (Over 300 mb) and I still have the same problems. The programme crashes very often. Word often fails to display pages created in word 2000/2003 properly. Excel has crashed over 20 time tonight whenever I try to change a chart type created in Excel 2000. I use a 2.4Ghz iMac with 2.25G ram and just got my first ever "low memory warning" when using this setup. I only had Word and Excel running. Shortly after I had to force quit Word. Excel crashed and closed on its own. Very disappointing. I hope Microsoft do something about it soon as otherwise it seems like a complete waste of £100.

(87 of 100 people found this review useful)