Microsoft Office for Mac 2008

Pros: The machine that runs it (macbook).

Cons: Destroys objects such as graphics (word)
Can't always save (word)
Cannot always undo (word)
Changes slides randomly while (powerpoint)

Summary: Word 2008 cannot be used to produce anything beyond letters to Grandma. I'm a pretty forgiving user, and am willing to tolerate even frequent crashes if the software works well otherwise. But this thing has bugs that render it nearly unusable. The worst of these is how it sometimes cannot save files that are edited. I mean, you have got to be kidding me! This is a fairly common bug (just search on google). There are usually (but not always!) workarounds that rescue me, such as saving as doc instead of docx, but this in turn always creates another horrendous bug - equations (and perhaps other embedded objects) are turned into graphics. Not only do they become uneditable, but their display and print quality often become unacceptable. I can't count the days I've spent retyping equations. Edits are also lost because of horrible quirks in the undo feature. Some edits will create things like endless "Undo Applerange-script" or some nonsense that effectively precludes any meaningful undos. This is particularly bad if you inadvertently cut some precious text out in the process of editing.

I'm angry that I am forced to use Word because I collaborate with other authors who are stuck on using it. To add insult to injury, I've been forced to buy a copy of the Windoze version of the same crummy software so that I can run it on PC emulation software, where it works substantially better (and don't pat yourself on the back Microsoft, this is the way it should be). Yes, openoffice is a possibility, but to do that I have to spend yet more money to upgrade EndNote (bibliography software), and while practical, by all accounts I should not have to jump through any hoops at all.