2003 Upgrade

[Jim Higgins]

If one is using Office XP for general Word and Excel use is there any reason
to Office 2003. From what I have read on Microsoft's Office site there
seems to be no reason for me as a home user to upgrade. Have I missed
something?

 

[Tom Foolery]

No there isn't, if you are happy with Office XP. Some are using Office
suites dating back to Office 97, and are quite satisfied with them. For
purposes you describe, there is no reason to upgrade.

 

[Sloan Crayton [MS]]

I think there is quite a bit that you would find useful in Office 2003, Jim.
Some enduser features that I think you should consider ...
- Outlook includes a new spam filter that handles 99% of the unwanted email
that I receive and don't want to read
- New user interface in Outlook that makes it much easier to manage your
email.
- New Setup feature called Local Install Source. This installation feature
copies the source files to the local hard disk prior to installation. This
prevents any of those prompts to insert the CD when you're installing a
patch or performing a repair.
- Most secure version of Office ever. Office 2003 went through a full
security review prior to release.
- Most stable version of Office ever. Microsoft spent extra time using the
data provided by beta customers via the Application Error Reporting feature
to fix crashes and hangs before any customers pay for it. I've been running
beta versions of Office 2003 for a year and it's been months since I've seen
a crash or hang in this release.

I'm probably a bit biased, but you asked.