Office upgrade -- 2004-2008

[highland99]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Processor: Intel

I'm thinking about purchasing the Mac Office upgrade (2008) for my father's upcoming birthday. He and my mother presently use Office 2004 on their iMac.

The question I have is in relation to the changes made to Office 2008. Does anyone know if they are similar to the massive changes made to Microsoft Office on the Windows side (with the release of Office 2007)?

Meaning, my parents are a little bit older and a little bit more set in their ways. I'm not sure they want to be forced to learn new ribbons, new buttons, etc., in association with a brand-new version of Office.

Again, just wondering how different Office 2008 is from 2004, especially to someone who may not be all that excited about having to learn a bunch of new features.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CyberTaz]

Based on what you describe the situation to be I'd recommend that you pass
on the Office 2008 package & wait until the next release. Although 2008 has
not undergone the radical UI revamping which Office 2007 did there are some
differences that take a little getting used to. If they're comfortable with
2004 & it meets their needs there really isn't any compelling reason to
upgrade at this time. If there are features of 2008 that might be appealing
that's a different story - have a look at the Mactopia site to find out more
about what 2008 has to offer.

I would, however, suggest that they keep 2004 updated & install the
converters which enable 2004 to read/write in the new OXML file format
native to 2007 & 2008 - they're available here if you need them:

<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=6b9238e1-cf69-48c
4-bf2d-c4a8aceee520&displayLang=en>

Office:Mac 2004 will continue to be supported for quite a while yet.

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

 

[highland99]

Thanks Bob for the info!