Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Student and Teacher [OLD VERSION]

The new Project Center.

A handy Toolbox.

Notebook layout view.

Improved Track Changes functionality.

New page layout view.

Major charting improvements.

Handy new presenter tools.

Cool animations and transitions.

Efficient new three-column view.

Robust management of accounts and contacts.

Eligibility
To license Office 2004 for Mac Student and Teacher Edition, you must be a Qualified Educational User or the parent or guardian of a Qualified Educational User who is a minor. Qualified Educational Users include full- or part-time students, home schooled students, and full- or part-time faculty or staff of an accredited educational institution.

It is simply a must have upgrade.

What I love about the new upgrade:

1. Long file names
2. Better change/edit management
3. Lots of new features in PowerPoint (although Keynote still looks better displayed)
4. Much cleaner interface

I'll give credit where credit is due. This is a fantastic update, one I am glad I paid for.

Only one beef, to be balanced, is MS should work on speeding up the apps in the .1 release.


I am impressed.   July 19, 2004
W. F. Abbey (USA)
98 out of 113 found this review helpful

I am surprised to find myself impressed with a Microsoft product. I vowed I never would be, but I have to admit that the Macintosh Business Unit of Microsoft has truly released a must have product. I bought the upgrade as soon as it came out and so far it has only crashed once (while doing an import into Excel). If you have Office v.X then I doubt it's really worth an upgrade. Unless you see one of the new features as a must have v.X will work well for quite a while. However, if you use another product I must impress upon you how wonderful this suite actually is. The new project center in Entourage is very handy if you have problems with keeping files together and the new notebook view in Word is especially useful if you often take notes in meetings. Presenter Tool's in PowerPoint is also a great feature. Messenger is useless, but you already have iChat so you don't even have to bother with it. I have found that all of the applications feel more "Mac-like" with a more appealing interface. While a completely Apple built suite would win me over, I doubt I would be satisfied with any other companies product. If you are in a business or academic environment, then this product is a must have. So, while I think that all of the rest of Microsoft's products put together are worth about $5, this is simply a must-have product unless you already have v.X.


It Has Helped with My Transition to the world of Macs.....   August 13, 2004
P. E Marshall
42 out of 45 found this review helpful

I recently threw out my virus-infected PC and bought an Apple Powerbook. I was concerned that the switch would limit what I can and cannot do with my computer, but Microsoft Office for Mac has made the transition much easier, as I have been a Microsoft Office user for years. The Mac version runs much smoother than the Windows version, (as does the entire computer.) No problems with lock-ups, no lost data, and the Mac version seems much easier to use than my Windows version. Very straightforward, yet powerful enough for a full range of use, from simple to very complex.
So, for anyone out there thinking of making the switch from PC to Mac, do yourself a favor: get Microsoft Office for the Mac.


Wait for a Patch!   May 14, 2004
38 out of 49 found this review helpful

This is barely passable as BETA software considering the number of issues/bugs etc. I've encountered in only a few days of use. But first, the good:

Excellent e-mail view in Entourage
Superb PowerPoint presenter tools for multiple display capable PB's etc.
Compatibility report is great for ensuring ease of sharing files
Easy import of Apple Mail messages/settings/rules etc.
Excel Print layout view is a good addition (about time!)

The BAD:

Entourage crashes on both my installed Macs when trying to change fonts in an HTML e-mail or Signature
Entourage sync Conduit for Palm devices crashes Hotsync Manager. Will not sync.
Must manually approve both image & attachment download for all Messages.
Excel required Re-install after trying to open Entourage Excel attachment.
Entourage drops IMAP password CONSTANTLY: have to re-enter with every sent mail.
No improvements to Exchange support.
No Upgrade install option, creates new Office folder in Apps (may cause some problems)

and on and on...

There are some strong improvements, but it doesn't look like this software was bug-tested at all. I highly recommend waiting for a patch before making the purchase.


excellent update!   October 17, 2004
Krishna M. Sadasivam (Tampa, FL USA)
35 out of 38 found this review helpful

I had initially ordered Office 2004 primarily for my sister's iBook G4. The Office 2004 Student / Teacher edition includes 3 licenses --a pleasant surprise indeed! As a graduate student myself, I was able to install one license on my Dual G5. So far, in my usage, Office X 2004 brings more refinement to all four programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage). I especially like the fact that Office now tracks your recently used documents, making it even easier to locate and work with your documents. Initially, Office X 2004 seemed to be a bit more sluggish than its predecessor, however the recent Service Pack update seemed to restore the speed I had grown accustomed to from the previous release. I'm more of a casual Office user -- I use Word to write papers, Excel to keep track of various accounts, and Entourage for a secondary email client. In short, if you are a casual user of Office, and have a previous version, I wouldn't recommend getting the update. However, if you are in the academic arena and don't already own Office for OS X (especially if you're making the move over from a PC to Mac), I'd recommend the Student / Teacher version of Office 2004 X wholeheartedly.