- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 5 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
3.0 stars
"Sort of a love / hate thing..."
Pros: Very flexible and nearly every convenience tool imaginable.
Cons: Unsecured macros, restrictive licensing and "activation", no real improvement over 2K or XP versions, high price.
Summary: I've been using Office for years, since the 16-bit 4.0 days. I actually have 2003 Pro, but have never installed more than the "Standard" set of applications. (Don't ask.)
Word is a terrific word processor, Excel is capable of far more than I'll ever learn how to use, and PowerPoint makes pretty quick work of slide shows (if you really want to subject your coworkers to that sort of thing.) Outlook has been underrated and overlooked for contact managment and calendaring, IMHO.
Even so, 2003 was no real improvement over versions 2000 or XP. The Big Brother activation scheme means getting the third degree should you want to remove it from one machine and install it on another. (Would "DEactivation be all that hard to include?)
All in all, Office 2003 is very good, but hardly changed little since the 97 version, and therefore somewhat overpriced. As much of an Office fan as I've been over the years, now I tell people to check out OpenOffice first. It does nearly as much and costs nothing but some download time.
Where to buy
Office 2003 Standard Edition:
$143.62 - $397.25
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$288.48 | Yes |
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$288.55 | Yes |
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$143.62 | Yes |
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$397.25 | Yes |
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