dacs.doc electric

It’s a strange world when Microsoft, which makes Windows, invests $150 million in a competitor such as Apple. It’s even weirder when they ship a new version of their best-selling software for Macintosh before their own Windows version. I have a feeling that they might be doing it to keep Apple alive and the anti-trust government lawyers off their backs. Without Office, I really believe that the Mac would die a slow, agonizing death.

Microsoft is busy putting the finishing touches on Office 2001 for Windows, but has already shipped Office 2001 for the Mac. Although it lacks the Windows products like Access and FrontPage, it does include the core applications: Word, Excel, & PowerPoint. These three applications are used by almost every computer user to write, calculate, and present information. I have used these programs for at least 10 years, and it’s hard to remember the commands when I find myself trying to use WordPerfect, Lotus 123, Persuasion, or any other competing product.

I was recently given a copy of Office 2001 for the Macintosh to review. The first thing I noticed was the new packaging - a CD case. Finally someone figured out that we throw away the boxes software normally comes in. This new packaging, which I hope they use for most of their new software, holds 10 CDs.

Installation is a breeze. You simply drag and drop the Office 2001 folder onto your hard disk. A few brief questions, such as which folder to put it in, and you’re done. Installation takes about 10 minutes.

The first software feature I noticed was the new Project Gallery. This is a similar feature to the opening screen of Microsoft Works. Instead of giving you a blank page to start with, they’ve wisely designed a screen that lets you pick a project to work on, such as a resume, letter, invoice or Web page.

Speaking of Web pages, it’s even easier to create a Web site in Office 2001. For a long time you could create a document and save it as an HTML file, or Web page. Now you can use the Project Gallery to create a simple Web site. It’s still not as powerful as a product like FrontPage, but for some simple Web work or putting information on your intranet, it’ll do the job.

Entourage is the newest addition to the Office family. It’s designed to be your calendar, email program, to do list, address book, and more. I currently use Eudora for my e-mail, but it lacks the integrated scheduling and task management. Entourage can also sync with my Palm computer, making it more useful. I’m not sure I’m going to switch, but I’m seriously considering it.

The interface has been updated to a more Mac-like look and feel. They even “borrowed” a feature from Adobe’s GoLive product - floating palettes. While you’re working in any of the Office 2001 products you’ll see a floating palette that reflects the type of work you’re doing. If you’re working in Word, it’ll allow you to quickly change the font, style, alignment, spacing and more. This was a great idea, and I can’t blame them for using it. They have also made the product look more like OS X, with some transparency effects and design changes.

Office 2001 includes a bunch of goodies as well. There is more than 120 mb of free clipart, useful templates and wizards, and more on the CD.

The biggest application missing from Office 2001 is Access, the database. Microsoft has attempted to address this shortcoming by creating a tight interface between Office and FileMaker Pro, the best-selling database for the Mac. While not 100% compatible with Access, it does address most business needs for creating and maintaining data on the Mac.

One thing to keep in mind is the upcoming release of OS X. Shipping in March and bundled with all computers starting next summer, it will require another upgrade of Office to run native under OS X. Microsoft has announced a tentative ship date of next fall for the OS X version and a 1/2 price discount for anyone who buys Office 2001 now.

Should you upgrade? The upgrade is relatively expensive, at $259 or $429 for the full version. I think the new features (including better compatibility with the Windows version of Office) make it worthwhile for anyone that uses Word, Excel, or PowerPoint daily. I think the upgrade price is a bit steep, but think about what life would be like without these great applications.

System requirements include a Power PC Macintosh, at least 32mb of RAM, OS 8.1 or greater (OS 8.5 recommended), and at least 160mb of hard disk space.