Office 04 for Mac Student & Teacher VS 08 for Home & Student

[schraderclan]

Hi again,

I wrote in a couple weeks ago about a "wrong code" error on a version
of Office V.x I was trying to install on my daughter's new Mac. You
were all very helpful! And someone named Diane suggested I forget
about what I was using and just get her Office 2004 for Student &
Teacher (with a "free upgrade to 08") ... so I went onto Amazon.com
and found:

Office 2004 for Mac Student & Teacher

AND

Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student

at virtually the same price ($130)... what's the difference, and
should I really be getting the 04 version? Thanks from the bottom of
my oh-so-not-technologically-informed heart.

 

[Diane Ross]

I wrote in a couple weeks ago about a "wrong code" error on a version
of Office V.x I was trying to install on my daughter's new Mac. You
were all very helpful! And someone named Diane suggested I forget
about what I was using and just get her Office 2004 for Student &
Teacher (with a "free upgrade to 08") ... so I went onto Amazon.com
and found:

Office 2004 for Mac Student & Teacher

AND

Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student

at virtually the same price ($130)... what's the difference, and
should I really be getting the 04 version? Thanks from the bottom of
my oh-so-not-technologically-informed heart.

The 2004 version would have qualified you for the Suite Deal that would give
you the most expensive version of Office 2008 for shipping. However, that
deal expired yesterday. Get the 08 version unless your daughter needs
Exchange support.

 

[schraderclan]

deal expired yesterday. Get the 08 version unless your daughter needs
Exchange support.

Deal expired yesterday? Story of my life. Sorry to be so
thickheaded, but what is "Exchange support" ??

Feeling REALLY dense,
Diane S.

 

[Michel Bintener]

Hi Diane,

chances are that if you don't know what Exchange support is, you won't
need to have it. ;-)

Some companies and universities use Exchange, which is a server-based
software designed to host calendars, contacts, mail messages and so on.
As of Office 2008, the Home & Student edition of Entourage cannot handle
Exchange accounts; that functionality is only available in the Standard
and Special Media editions of Entourage.

If your daughter is about to go to university, it might be a good idea
to check beforehand whether or not they are using Exchange; in that
case, however, the university's IT department might offer her an
Exchange-compatible version of Entourage and/or Office for a very cheap
price since they should have a volume license for their students.

My suggestion: buy the Home & Student edition now and worry about
Exchange compatibility only when the situation I've described above
presents itself.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

***Always reply to the newsgroup.***

 

[CyberTaz]

Well, here's another voice in the night...

For a college-bound user I'd strongly suggest that you consider what type of
course she intends to take. If her interests are in math, science, computer
science or other such disciplines she will be better served (IMHO) by Office
2004 because of VBA (macro) support and range of features... especially in
Excel. As others have suggested, Exchange support is a secondary issue.

OTOH, if she's more oriented to Languages, social sciences, writing or the
Arts Office 2008 might be the better option.

Frankly, I'm glad I can enjoy the luxury of of having *both*

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[schraderclan]

She's definitely more of a social science/English person (like her
mom) so I will stick with the 08.
Thank you so much to all of you -- you guys are GREAT.

 

[CyberTaz]

Thanks for the roses - we try to offer whatever we can & hopefully some of
it works;-)

Most of us benefit as much from what's discussed here as those who ask.

Good Luck to your freshman!