Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 Complete package

...believe the next version of Microsoft Office will ape. But there is something so familiar and easy about Office. It feels good to use and hard to leave. The stability issues of the past are gone - I have had no problems at all in well over a year of frequent use (though I do not use Outlook much at all).

I do not feel the need to describe each application in detail, since this is done better by Microsoft themselves on their website ...
...computers before having to phone Microsoft to convince them that the fourth activation is actually the third because you've removed one of the others…

It appears that the standard version of Office supplies only one license, in which case, at a third of the price and with three licences, Student and Teacher Edition is NINE times better value! Find it a bit cheaper still and you might reach an order of magnitude. Astonishing - it's ... more

Functionality, compatibility and familiarity are the keys here.

This is THE office suite, as used by the vast majority of private individuals and companies all over the world. Use this, and everyone can read your Word report, view your PowerPoint presentation and see your Excel accounting, even if they do not actually use Office. There are cheaper or even free office suites around which do fine jobs indeed, especially Open Office, which can actually save as PDF from within each application, something very useful which I believe the next version of Microsoft Office will ape. But there is something so familiar and easy about Office. It feels good to use and hard to leave. The stability issues of the past are gone - I have had no problems at all in well over a year of frequent use (though I do not use Outlook much at all).

I do not feel the need to describe each application in detail, since this is done better by Microsoft themselves on their website or sites such as Amazon. Suffice to say I think these are the best versions so far both in terms of stability and functionality. The power available in Excel especially, which most people will never fully exploit, is quite excellent. I also like the customisable nature of everything, from the menu items to individual toolbar buttons. In fact, almost everything you can see on the screen in every application.

The Student and Teacher Edition contains the same full versions of the 2003 editions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook as are found in Office 2003 Standard, at around a third of the price. Strangely, no proof of eligibility is required for purchase or use. Some people may take advantage of Microsoft's lax stance on who benefits from this discounted software but that is not for me to comment on :) Even more amazingly, each copy can be installed on up to three computers before having to phone Microsoft to convince them that the fourth activation is actually the third because you've removed one of the others…

It appears that the standard version of Office supplies only one license, in which case, at a third of the price and with three licences, Student and Teacher Edition is NINE times better value! Find it a bit cheaper still and you might reach an order of magnitude. Astonishing - it's like buying a Ferrari for about £10k.

Installation is very fast and easy. Updates are available from Microsoft's website and for the most part are equally smooth. The built-in help should cover most problems and queries, otherwise there is the extensive Microsoft Knowledgebase.

When I bought this in summer 2004, there was an offer inside to purchase a single copy of Access 2003 for less than £20. This may well have finished, but it was an extraordinary offer to get such a powerful relational database for so little, since it normally costs around £200 on its own.

Certain people will still not accept it due to the Microsoft badge, but this is an excellent product, the de facto standard in office productivity suites and a bargain to boot. 

...less