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Summary: Another great Microsoft upgrade
Review: I really like this new version of Microsoft Office. Like previous upgrades, there isn't too much of a difference in Excel and Word other than a few things, it is Outlook which has the largest improvements. I really like the new look as it uses "screen real-estate" much more efficiently. The Junk E-Mail filters are better than in previous editions (much better!) and I had no problems working with my previous PST files. Also, the ability to send busy and free times to people not on Exchange is really nice.However, I do like the changes in Word and Excel, especially as it comes to sharing with other users. It is nice to have control over what is shared and what isn't shared. The improved digital signature is a fantastic benefit as well. And Access. I use Access all the time for my personal databases. I was really concerned that this might be an upgrade like how 2000 was to 97 where you would need to convert everything over and it wouldn't be backwards compatible. Thank goodness everything is backwards compatible. That is a real life saver. The backup feature is excellent as well!! My hats off to Microsoft for another great product!!
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Summary: Microsoft another great product!!
Review: If you heat junk-mail they way I do, it's worth it! The Junk E-Mail filters are great. The new Outlook look is the best and I love the Outlook Video 10sec e-mail add-on and the two page doc. in Word, I do like the changes in Word and Excel If you like to keep up-to-date and really into new features, buy it! if you don't like change, than have a nice day in your little world. Thanks Microsoft for another great product!!
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Summary: Webmasters Don't Buy Access 2003
Review: If you use Access 2002 or earlier in your websites, don't buy office 2003 because Access 2003 is not supported by anyone including bCentral, a Microsoft Company. I changed providers to bCentral after being told they did, then found they don't, plus not to mention cannot connect to their servers most of the time. As with any MS product, always errors. It has been a complete nightmare, I uninstalled 2003 and reinstalled 2002 and all my databases that I opened with 2003 are screwed up. It will take me months to fix a 1500 page website that is Access driven. Time I learned PHP or MySQL.
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Summary: Webmasters Don't Buy Access 2003
Review: If you use Access 2002 or earlier in your websites, don't buy office 2003 because Access 2003 is not supported by anyone including bCentral, a Microsoft Company. I changed providers to bCentral after being told they did, then found they don't, plus not to mention cannot connect to their servers most of the time. As with any MS product, always errors. It has been a complete nightmare, I uninstalled 2003 and reinstalled 2002 and all my databases that I opened with 2003 are screwed up. It will take me months to fix a 1500 page website that is Access driven. Time I learned PHP or MySQL.
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Summary: Use Open Office - It's Free!!!
Review: If you want an alternative to MS Office, that is also compatible with MS Office, use Open Office. You can find it under the Google search term Open Office. It's a free download, and just as good as Office 2003. You get a Word application, a spreadsheet application, and a PowerPoint application. All are compatible with Office 2003.
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Summary: Unable to get past the "Convert" Process
Review: In mid-August I purchased a new 3-Gig P4 mid-range Compaq laptop with Windows XP Pro, a trial version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft Works pre-installed. Using the documentation provided on Amazon.com I purchased the upgrade version of Microsoft Office 2003 Pro on amazon.com. Here it is the mid-November and I'm still trying to get the trial version to "covert" to the upgrade version I purchased. No documentation seems to exist, online or otherwise, and I dread the possibility of spending hours on hold to Microsoft.
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Summary: Much, much better
Review: Let me tell you, I've used every version of Office that's been released since 1995, and this edition is by far the best one yet.
I was quite dissapointed with Office XP, luckily lots of problems have been fixed in this new version. First of all, all the programs that come with office load MUCH faster. It use to take nearly a minute to open word or excel, now they open in under 30 seconds.
Also, they have reintroduced Publisher as part of the main packages. Publisher, since I am a student who makes lots of paper creative design projects, was one of the most useful programs on my computer before the upgrade to Office XP. I was devastated when Microsoft pulled it from Office. I suppose I wasn't alone because it's back and better than before.
Along the same lines, Outlook has received it's first major update since 2000. In fact, it is now easy enough to use that I actually have picked it over Outlook Express (a personal first).
Overall, I must say that Office 2003 makes Office XP look like a train wreck of a program. I must recommend Office 2003 to anyone who uses Office of any edition, but especially to those who use XP because they have no idea how much they're missing.
Welcome to the future of Office.
Rating: 
Summary: Office XP users can skip it - but buy Outlook 2003
Review: Outlook 2003 is a fantastic product, especially for those using Exchange Server remotely. The caching mode makes it alone worth the money for just Outlook. Email triage is also top notch. The rest of Office 2003 is a snoozer though. Very difficult to tell what is new from Office XP or in many cases, Office 2000.
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice...but worth the price?
Review: The beta version arrived at my house, was installed, and had lots of bells and whistles. Fancy colors, buttons, etc. However, I am not sure that the changes are worth the kind of cash proposed by Microsoft's suggested retail price. Word, Access and Excel are basically the same programs as XP, Powerpoint has a few nicer features (it always has had nice features), and Outlook does have some data management not previously available. As a small business operator, I have found it much easier to track business contacts, emails, etc. I also have a FrontPage designed website. The new FrontPage has a nifty "split" screen which allows you to look at your HTML coding along with the actual published page, both at the same time. The new FrontPage also makes general HTML tagging, coding, and changing much more user friendly. However, it suffers from the traditional Microsoft misery; namely, the online help is virtually useless. This is also true for Publisher. You will spend lots of frustrating moments with both of those programs. ...
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Summary: Microsoft Office 2003 ¿ A System of Solutions
Review: This is a justified upgrade for all Office 97, 2000 and some Office XP users. Office has evolved into a system of information gathering tools, a set of solutions for ideas, communication, connecting people and places. Intense XML (extensible markup language) integration for generating solutions that are compatible with today's, tomorrow and future standards. The updated applications integrate with the Windows XP experience featuring a bolder inviting interface. I am disappointed with the default use of the current theme in Windows XP, but with the new tool bar icons, it makes you forget about that. Overall it's a wonderful work experience with Office 2003. The suite offers improved reliability and stability, because of the integration with the supported operating systems. Once the suite is installed, you don't have to restart your computer, just start using the applications, the suite even has its own default programs group (finally), which keeps your programs menu less cluttered. Word 2003 includes development tools that add dynamic features to documents making them powerful than ever. The power beneath all this is XML, allowing the user to embed components for updating data in documents such as stock quotes. Word 2003 offers simple, familiar yet improved features regular users are accustomed to. Majority of the features in Word 2003 are aimed primarily toward businesses and the Enterprise. But are still necessary for the average user because of the control over information across all the Office applications. Tools such as Information Rights Management (IRM), (this controls the flow of information to specific users), persons can be restricted on how they use your Office files; whether it's printing or sharing, very powerful! Reading view is an enhanced mode of print preview; documents are laid out in virtual pages reducing the need to print. The Task Pane is also improved by offering resources to look up information on a particular topic being typed; this is a feature across the core Office applications. Lots of other great features make Word 2003 a worthy upgrade. Excel is a XML mammoth because of the integration with the language. The ability to migrate data between different storage sources and extraction of information to make it flexible in different scenarios. Tables can be transferred back and forth between applications such Word with ease. Excel can continually use the tables from documents as a data source for further expandability. It's the flexibility for data exchange that makes Excel 2003 very powerful. Outlook, is so revamped, this alone is a worthy upgrade. Three panes in Outlook 2003 make e-mail an enjoyable experience. The Mail Pane holds all of the necessary tools found in prior versions of Outlook such as the Outlook Bar, and the different folders such as inbox, calendar, etc. The second pane gives an expanded view of the different items listed in the Mail Pane, like your incoming mail, contacts and calendar, which makes reading these information resources easier on the eye and productive by providing a better view. Reading your e-mail in the third pane (Preview Pane), the user views the message in portrait layout, more content is seen compared to prior versions. Its even better to view e-mails with "Clear Type" turned on for Windows XP users. Other features such as improved Virus and Spam protection makes Outlook 2003 a great upgrade. Outlook is not placed on the desktop by default, it can also be minimized to the system tray in Windows, for users connected to an Exchange Server, this displays all the network settings available. PowerPoint 2003 offers the same features of version 2002, but what makes it an enticing upgrade is the package to CD feature that allows users to save presentations onto CD-ROMS. The PowerPoint Viewer included with each Package to CD allows it to be played on other computer systems even if PowerPoint is not installed. Windows media integration is also in PowerPoint 2003, which makes watching presentations more fun and exciting. The effects are fantastic when combined with these elements. The ability to integrate videos into Presentations to create home movies has long been a request of users, even if they have a DVD burner. For the PowerPoint 2000 user this is a worthy upgrade that provides simple yet Powerful tools to take presentation graphics to a new level. This new version of Access is also XML integrated, enhanced features such as extraction of data from multiple tables, Access 2003 also improves Smart Tag integration. The ability to design solutions within the program makes web services a powerful resource for the enterprise; the flawless integration with Microsoft SQL makes information sharing a productive experience. This makes data storing and retrieval an easy way to control how data is implemented across many scenarios using personalized solutions, allowing your information to have a stronger impact across the Enterprise. Publisher has become a mainstream Office application because of its integration with other Office programs. It connects to product databases; the Mail Merge feature is much improved because it's the same one as Microsoft Word, which offers greater ease of use. The Start Center is awesome, which makes starting publications an organized experience for the user. The interface is less cluttered and more customizable. You can rename pages like Workbooks for better searching, if you are typing large publications. The website features are easier to use; it provides satisfactory integration with FrontPage, for converting websites created in Publisher. With a total of 45 design master sets, users can create attractive e-mails that are fully compatible with many messaging services. The ability to merge data sources using text and images is great. Compatibility goes back to Publisher 2000, which is a draw back for users who might be using Publisher 98 or under. Outlook Business Contact Manager is an application that offers features for Small Businesses for generating customer reports and e-mailing customers. Picture Manager has replaced Photo-Editor; it has better image editing tools, more functionality and ease of use. Office 2003 is a worthy upgrade for many users, especially persons still in an existing Office 97 or 2000 user base. The tools it provides offers a powerful productivity experience that makes information accessible, controllable and connected for you the user. The suite and all the Office 2003 applications are supported only on Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, Windows XP all editions.
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