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Business & Office (Sales Rank)

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Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition / SalesRank : 4

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Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
Primary Contributor:Mac OS X

Amazon Price : $109.99 27%($39.96) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

DVD-ROM ( ) [ Microsoft Software ] [ Release : 2008 / 01 / 15 ]
EAN : 0882224526302 / ASIN : B000X86ZAS
[ ListPrice : $149.95 ] [ Used Price:$49.99 ]

Average Customer Review :

3.0stars [ See more reviews ]

How do you review Microsoft Office? It has become such a necessary part of computer life today that, no matter how much you want to try going without it, you really can't.

Having gone Mac earlier this year, I tried going without it, using Mac's cheaper Office like program iWORK. I was happy with this, but found there were still some programs (like EXCEL) that I still needed.

MICROSOFT OFFICE FOR MAC works. I guess that is all I need to say about it. It does what it has done for years, and now you can do that on the Mac.

The one glitch I have found, when I type something into Word and then copy and paste it elsewhere (such as a blog post) it loses all my formatting. All the spacing disappears. This doesn't happen with iWORKS's Pages, or even in previous versions of Word. I don't know if this is a problem with the Mac version or Office 2008 (which I have only used in this format).

So, if you have a Mac, and need the software, here it is.

4stars - "Office is Office...What Else Can You Say?" (Jim M.)

Despite some warnings in reviews here, I bought this update and ran into two problems the first week. My wife sent some Word docs to friends who couldn't open the new default .docx format. After she went to preferences and changed the default back to the earlier .doc format everything seems to be ok. I also received an excel attachment with a visual basic macro which would not run. I couldn't make this work. On the plus side it's nice to have several licenses so my wife and I don't run into problems when were both using Office at the same time and connected on our home wifi system.

3stars - "Office 2008 for Mac problems" (Chas)

Technologically speaking, we have an ecumenical household... Windows Vista on one desk and Mac Panther on the other. So I thought that upgrading the Mac to Mac Office 2008 would be a cinch. After all, the results of the Vista/Office 2007 upgrade were so "interesting" why should the Apple side of the house not be offered the same challenge?

It installed on the iMac with minimal trouble, but maximum time. Apparently Microsoft's Macintosh department is as feverishly obsessed with updates and fixes as the Window's side, so just doing the installation is not enough. You have to wait for the software to install, then check for updates and wait some more while they are downloaded and configured.

Truth be told, neither of us is completely thrilled with the more current versions of Office. The interface seems more convoluted and not nearly as intuitive, but perhaps with time it will become so. The added functionality with 2008 is good, although not groundbreaking. All the tools are there (you can read the product description for the details, I don't have to list them here... again).

Bottom line, if you want to upgrade your existing Mac, I would suggest that you shop carefully and buy this when it's attractively discounted. If you just got a new Mac, by all means, get it now.

3stars - "Better than most, but couldn't it be better still?" (Michael Meredith)
This is the first version I have used, so I can't compare with older ones. It's vivid colorful and fresh looking and has the programs I am use to using with my pc- just tweaked. I am just switching over to Mac at home. It was a bit slow loading.

This is the first version I have used, so I can't compare with older ones. It's vivid colorful and fresh looking and has the programs I am use to using with my pc- just tweaked. I am just switching over to Mac at home. It was a bit slow loading.

3stars - "If you like microsoft programs" (Jacx)

This seller should be taken off of Amazon. I'm not quit sure why they have not been taken off yet. I ordered this item on November 17, 08 and never recieved the item. I tried to contact the seller a few times and recieved no reply. I have contacted my credit card company in regards to this issue and hope that any one who has bought a product from this woman does the same. I repeat do not buy this product.

1stars - "Never recieved item" (Aubree Freeman)

H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Premium Federal + State + e-file / SalesRank : 3

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H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Premium Federal + State + e-file
Primary Contributor:Windows & Macintosh

Amazon Price : $44.99 10%($5.00) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

CD-ROM ( ) [ H&R Block ] [ Release : 2008 / 12 / 01 ]
EAN : 0735290102997 / ASIN : B001HOD50K
[ ListPrice : $49.99 ] [ Used Price:$53.78 ]

Average Customer Review :

2.5stars [ See more reviews ]
$For the second year in a row, TaxCut updates are failing on my Windows Vista machine. I am not the only one to have this problem. Some have blamed Antivirus software: http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showtopic=60138 But I do not think this is the issue. Last year I had a totally different AV software and I had the same failures. I have worked out a manual work around, although it is ridiculous. The updater that TaxCut uses seems unable to acquire "create" permissions for its own directories, regardless of the fact that the permissions are set OK. I have verified this by the log files which generate installer error 1321 (The installer has insufficient priveleges...) Apparently, the installer has no problem updating existing files, it just cannot create new ones. To work around this, do as follows: - In TaxCut, choose "Update after I close the program". - Close TaxCut and when Vista UAC asks permission to run the installer, click "Cancel". - Locate the installer (should be in C:\ProgramData\TaxCut\2008\Update) - Right click the file and choose "Run as administrator" - When you encounter the first error, note the filename and location - Go to the Start Menu and find Notepad. Right-click on the program icon and choose "Run as administrator" - Put some text in the Notepad file. I put " ". - Choose "File -> Save As" and save the file with the exact name and path that the installer complained about - Choose "Retry" or "Continue" in the installer (I can't remember the exact wording) - Repeat the last two steps for each file that needs to be created. I think there were 10-20 of them. Eventually, once you have created all the files, the installer will succeed. It does not matter what text you put in the file as long as you get the filename and path right. TaxCut will overwrite the file anyway. This is a ridiculous work around, but I already paid for TaxCut and got a good deal on my AV software because of it. If I can make it through this year, I am going back to TaxAct in 2009.$ 1stars - "Update issues with Vista for a 2nd year straight" (J. Royce)

I have been using Taxcut for at least 5-6 years now.

My first comment is in response to all the 1-stars on this product - all of which seem to be complaints about the state e-file charge. As I remember, the state e-file has never been included in the price. Federal e-file is always included but I always have to suck it up and pay for state. I suspect the people with these negative reviews have short memories.

I find it useful that information transfers from year to year with minimal changes. The interface is pretty good - not perfect - I find that little changes from year to year, which makes me wonder why I can't pay an upgrade charge rather than buying a new product each year.

Otherwise, no big complaints here - software works for me and is cheaper than going to an accountant. Plus, I can take my time and complete the paperwork over a week-or-so rather than trying to pull everything together at once.

One of these days, I will try an accountant to see if they can find any differences; but, I haven't found the time to try it yet.

4stars - "TaxCut Premium Federal + State + E-file - No change in State e-file" (perro de lluvia)

TaxCut is substantially less expensive compared to turbotax; and there are no deceptive practices to deal with such as spyware, "print" charges and new upgrade charges for forms previously included [e.g. TT deluxe does not support Shedule C filers such as 1099 recipients, upgrade to "premier" is required]. TaxCut is a very effective tax preparation software comparable to tt. I give this product a 4 star rating because I prefer the interview questions contained in tt, however, that is the only downside and well worth the satisfaction of firing Intuit for its deceptive practices [again] with turbotax.

4stars - "Perfect for ex turbotax users" (Infuriated ex tt customer)
Tax Cut sent me a copy of premium federal for free this year since I went back to turbo tax last year. Perfect timing guys, with the Intuit price increase, reduced investment support, and turbo tax's new messed up fee strcuture, tax cut looks like a pretty good option. Planning to take my turbo tax back to Best Buy today and get my $96.29 back. Thats 1/3 the price of a 26 inch flat panel HD TV.

Tax Cut sent me a copy of premium federal for free this year since I went back to turbo tax last year. Perfect timing guys, with the Intuit price increase, reduced investment support, and turbo tax's new messed up fee strcuture, tax cut looks like a pretty good option. Planning to take my turbo tax back to Best Buy today and get my $96.29 back. Thats 1/3 the price of a 26 inch flat panel HD TV.

3stars - "Free seems likely to make tax cut better than Turbo Tax this year" (R. Blood)

TaxCut offers individuals a powerful option for preparing an income tax return that is relatively easy to use. TaxCut assumes that you know little or nothing about income tax law. The software will ask a number of questions and will prompt you for information based on your answers. It will help tremendously if you gather as many of your tax documents as possible before starting. This software is significantly cheaper than paying a service to prepare it and much easier than doing in manually.

The e-file option has been around for some years and is a great way to get your refunds faster. But if you owe money, there's not as much of an advantage. Still, you get five free electronic filing so you might as well use one. In the unlikely event that you plan to prepare more than five returns, make sure you use the e-file for the ones due a refund and file the ones with money due manually. The program will print all the forms you need so it's easy to do and it will save you the cost of the fees for the additional e-files.

The one negative for this program is that the publisher used to offer free e-filing for the state return as well as federal but has dropped that for the 2008 edition. With a charge weighing in a whopping $19.95 for e-filing each state return, this is not a trivial fee. I would recommend filing state returns manually unless you will receive a refund large enough to make getting the check a week or so faster worth that extra money.

Please note that this version covers both Federal and State returns. Most people will need both, but if you live in a state with no income tax then you'll want to look at H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Premium Federal + e-file for considerably less money.

If you don't itemize your deductions and have a very simple return, you might be better off preparing the forms manually on your own. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you have a return with major league complications, you should probably go to a good CPA. For everyone else, this is really a no-brainer. It's inexpensive, easy to use, and accurate. I've been using TaxCut for quite a few years and would not even consider giving it up.

4stars - "Excellent tax tool" (Joseph Boone)

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition / SalesRank : 27

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Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition

Amazon Price : $158.49 68%($341.46) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

DVD-ROM ( ) [ Microsoft Software ] [ Release : 2008 / 01 / 15 ]
EAN : 0882224526531 / ASIN : B000XHE0Q0
[ ListPrice : $499.95 ] [ Used Price:$388.88 ]

Average Customer Review :

3.5stars [ See more reviews ]

I really like the new Word desktop publishing software and have had absolutely no problems using it on my Mac. I write a lot, so I have really exercized that package. I used the docx format and like the new image manipulation features, although I may have to convert to doc or pdf format to share with others. It also handled my old doc format documents gracefully. It was a good investment for a lightning deal. The package includes other software, like Excel, which is always good to have, but I can't say that I have tried any of the software beyond Word. The only complaint I have so far is that the update that I needed to take after installing the software was huge and even timed out on my first attempt. Thank goodness I have a broadband connection, or I would have had to order the update on a CD. That tells me that they released the software with inadequate testing.

4stars - "nice software" (T. Burkes)
Usefull if you have to connect to Exchange. Anoying (know) bug with the Toolbox and Space. No "visual basic", so NO MACRO in Excel.

Usefull if you have to connect to Exchange. Anoying (know) bug with the Toolbox and Space. No "visual basic", so NO MACRO in Excel.

3stars - "Everything you hate form Microsoft is here. And what you love too." (Mark Twain)

When I recently bought a new Intel-chip Mac, I was disappointed to find that my old software -- including Photoshop -- no longer worked with the new hardware. Darn. I also needed the get Microsoft Office (ugh) and when I heard about this new "special media" edition, I hoped that it would have a graphics program to replace what I'd lost. Unfortunately, the "media" features are mainly organizing tools -- set up a fancy photo album! manage your video content! -- which pretty much mimics the media management tools that a new Mac already has on it. Oh, well. But the package also includes your basic Office suite, which solves my Word problem. I'm delving into the media tools a little bit, but I'm hesitant to switch over from the Apple applications I already have -- they work just fine, and I'm not sure how much of the Microsoft stuff I actually need. The best news is that Clippy the Paperclip is dead... yaaaaaaaaaaayyyy!!!

4stars - "Some nice features, though not the graphics bonanza I'd hoped for." (Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com)

I think the reviews here have more than covered the pros and cons of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac... Personally, I'm frustrated with it as it seems to crash and then not relaunch quite a bit (currently looking for a patch)...But it is a necessary evil for me.... I do keep apple's "pages" and "numbers" on deck as a backup though...

Installation was much quicker than my last Mac Office install (student and home edition) a few months ago (for the sake of comparison I did remove that version before installing this one)...

Expression Media is extremely useful for digital asset management. It allows quite an extensive amount of customization, tagging, and multiple libraries and works with almost all file formats (docs, pdf, jpg, etc)...For me this is useful as I am a digital asset packrat. A year ago I switched from windows XP back to Mac...I wound up transferring all of the date from my XP to my mac...But I never got around to sorting through it... Expression Media is allowing me to organize that info into useful libraries and groups and tag quickly and effectively. Sure, I could do this the old fashioned way (I used to have a million folders for organizing my digital assets...not very efficient in the least) but this way is much cleaner, prettier, and more efficient...

The real plus with this sort of asset management, in this presentation, is the ability to communicate. It's much easier to locate and send the correct information to a recipient via email, and track the distribution...It also has basic photo editing built in...I cannot foresee disposing of iphoto (it's easy)- but importation is easy... I do not think thought I will use it for that but for documents, screenshots, pdfs and all of the information I have that almost suffocates me, this will be an invaluable tool...

My one concern, of course, is with the rest of the package constantly crashing and not being able to relaunch the software...

Off to see if there is a new update or patch....

3stars - "Good Digital Asset Management" (B. Caruso)

I like MS Office. It's a nice all-in-one package for everything you'd need in office software, and this edition even has the media management that comes in handy for the modern office. It's always fairly intuitive and let's face it: It's the standard. If you get documents in your office, they're in Word, Excel, or other MS Office formats. You kind of have to have this program suite these days.

I'm impressed with the 2008 version for Mac. MS has been pretty decent in their support of the Mac, which is interesting considering there's supposed to be this big rivalry between Apple and MS. I don't think the rivalry is as powerful as some would have you believe, because every MS product I've ever used for my Mac has been top-notch, and the same applies for MS Office 2008.

Now, while it is everything I'd expect Office to be, it does have some areas where it's obvious MS "held back" a little and made their Windows version more complete and polished. Does that take away from the product's usefulness? No, not really, unless you're a hardcore MS Office user. If you are, you might want to use the Windows version instead, either in Boot Camp, or via VMWare Fusion. You'll get a slightly better, more standardized experience.

A positive for this Mac version, though. Several updates came along after this was released, and those updates are free to those who purchase the 2008 edition. These aren't just patches, but new versions of software, and I thought it was pretty nice of MS to make that upgrade path so easy and available to the Mac users.

What more can I say? It's MS Office! You either need it, or you can get by using OS X native software for these functions. If you need it, there's just no substitute.

4stars - "Good, but not as good as the Windows version." (Nix Cadavre)

H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Home & Business + e-file / SalesRank : 19

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H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Home & Business + e-file
Primary Contributor:Windows & Macintosh

Amazon Price : $63.99 20%($16.00) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

CD-ROM ( ) [ H&R Block ] [ Release : 2008 / 12 / 01 ]
EAN : 0735290103017 / ASIN : B001HO6RP0
[ ListPrice : $79.99 ] [ Used Price:$58.50 ]

Average Customer Review :

3.5stars [ See more reviews ]

H&R Block's "TaxCut Home and Business" has been a great choice for me for several years, and each year they improve the product. I ordered the 2008 version today.

This package is remarkable. It includes software for your Form 1040 individual or joint tax return, plus programs to prepare your Corporation or S-Corp (Form 1120), Partnership (Form 1065), or Estate or Trust (Form 1041). State returns for all these is included. Employment tax return preparation (W-4, 1099 and so on) is also included.

For the personal return, electronic filing for federal is included (5 returns), but you will have to either mail your state return or pay a fee (reasonable by my lights) to file electronically. I don't think electronic filing is available for the business returns.

Anyway all this is in the package. Don't overbuy. If you don't have one of the businesses mentioned, just get the appropriate software for 1040 returns. But if you need to file for a business (Corp/Partn/EstTr) plus your individual return, this deal is hard to beat.

Let me end with a few cautions:

If you are buying "TaxCut Home and Business + E-file," you don't need to buy "TaxCut Premium + State + E-file." IT'S INCLUDED. I mention this specifically because they seem to be marketed together on this site.

The forms to be used for this year's income tax haven't been completed by IRS. They will be updating items during the first couple of months of 2009, and there's no way the software I'm buying today can include all of them. So I'll need to go to the HRBlock update site a few times (the software connects and links up) to get updates from both Fed and state.

With all tax software there is a learning curve, so "read the lines," think about what you're doing, allow adequate prep time, and review the results before you file. I think you'll be pleased.

PS - I used to work for H&R Block but have not for several years. I use the software because I think it's the best for the price.

5stars - "The best for the price" (csTrader)
H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Home & Business + e-file
Sure! Small businesses haven't figured out that MAC OS X is way to go. I'll go into the back room and find the virus-plagued Windows box so I can do my taxes.. H&B may be overpriced...but at least they recognize that not everyone has the Redmond ring in their nose.

H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Home & Business + e-file
Sure! Small businesses haven't figured out that MAC OS X is way to go. I'll go into the back room and find the virus-plagued Windows box so I can do my taxes.. H&B may be overpriced...but at least they recognize that not everyone has the Redmond ring in their nose.

1stars - "MicroCentric" (Doug M)
I received my TAxCut today and was thrilled to get it so fast. I have alot of work to get done in a short period of time. Thanks for the quick delivery.

I received my TAxCut today and was thrilled to get it so fast. I have alot of work to get done in a short period of time. Thanks for the quick delivery.

5stars - "a great deal for tax cut" (Jeri Hake)

H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Basic Federal + e-file / SalesRank : 25

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H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Basic Federal + e-file
Primary Contributor:Windows & Macintosh

Amazon Price : $18.99 5%($1.00) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

CD-ROM ( ) [ H&R Block ] [ Release : 2008 / 12 / 01 ]
EAN : 0735290103086 / ASIN : B001HO8TOW
[ ListPrice : $19.99 ] [ Used Price:$23.14 ]

Average Customer Review :

4.0stars [ See more reviews ]

4stars - "Excellent tax tool, but this version is limited" (Joseph Boone)

H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Premium Federal + e-file / SalesRank : 32

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H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Premium Federal + e-file
Primary Contributor:Windows & Macintosh

Amazon Price : $32.99 6%($2.00) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

CD-ROM ( ) [ H&R Block ] [ Release : 2008 / 12 / 01 ]
EAN : 0735290103031 / ASIN : B001HO6Q7O
[ ListPrice : $34.99 ] [ Used Price:$28.99 ]

Average Customer Review :

3.5stars [ See more reviews ]
Difficult to load on vista. Used TurboTax last year and I now wish I had bought that program instead.

2stars - "taxcut" (M. E. Happy)

4stars - "Excellent tax tool" (Joseph Boone)

For years, I was a Turbo Tax customer and for years I've seen them bump up the price each tax season. This year, they tried to pull off the most ridiculous stunt since DIVX when you paid to watch movies after you bought the disk.

After paying a premium price for Turbo Tax, Intuit put into place a fee to create and print additional tax returns. Let's compare this to Microsoft Word. They would charege you for the software, then pay an additional fee for each document created! Now, Intuit recently abandoned this price gouging ploy, but it caused me to look elsewhere for tax software, and I purchased Tax Cut.

Pound for pound this software is every good as TT, including a step-by-step interview process. It lacks the "glitz" of TT. but what the heck, its tax software. Plus you get one free e-file, something TT always has charged and additional $15.

Save same money, buy this software. Its every bit as good and less expensive.

4stars - "Switched From Turbo Tax...Glad I Did" (Hurricane)

MacSpeech Dictate / SalesRank : 87

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MacSpeech Dictate

Amazon Price : $161.99 19%($38.00) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

CD-ROM ( Mac OS X Intel ) [ MacSpeech, Inc. ] [ Release : 2008 / 02 / 15 ]
EAN : 0806709380876 / ASIN : B0014KJ6EQ
[ ListPrice : $199.99 ] [ Used Price:$149.99 ]

Average Customer Review :

3.0stars [ See more reviews ]

I just received MacSpeech Dictate a few days ago and installed it on my MacBook. I must say I'm impressed. It has exceeded my expectations. I honestly don't know why there are so many negative reviews of this product. It is amazingly accurate (I'd say 90%+) and I can speak at a nearly conversational pace. The only words that seem to trip it up are unusual words that you'd expect to be a problem. I had IBM ViaVoice from a while back, and this is a quantum leap in performance. ViaVoice was more of a "gee whiz" product, MacSpeech is extremely functional

The setup process was about five minutes (as claimed) and the learning curve was very shallow. About the only complaint I can register is that the SLA only allows you to install it on one computer at a time. I'd like to have it on both my MacBook and my iMac, but I'm not going to buy 2 copies. Otherwise, this app rocks!

5stars - "Exceeds my expectations" (scottincarmel)

I am not sure why everyone is writing bad reviews because of their installation problems and problems with the software. My disc was fine and installed normally and quickly.

As for the application its self, it takes about 10 minutes to get used to your voice, but after that, the program recognized almost all of the words that I dictated in a relatively fast pace. The only words it did get wrong was end in stead of and, which was probably my fault because of my pronunciation.

Overall this is a great product, and I would recommend it to any student, who is just an ok typer, but needs to write a lot on the computer.

5stars - "Very good product with a bad rep" (W. Cadge)

I bought the software product as an adaptive device, expecting it to work fairly well and recognizing that voice recognition software is still somewhat in its infancy. The software has thus far exceeded my expectations. Installation and voice training took all of 30 minutes. I did get the post profile crash initially, but figured out it was because the microphone is not recognized by the software correctly initially. The crash reporting mechanism is somewhat laborious and unclear.

To get to the meat of the subject, I used the software to dictate a paper for a course. It took a little getting used to speaking punctuation, but eventually I got into the flow of it and I would say that the software performed with 90-95% accuracy. Some of the software's problems with recognition were simply my problems with not speaking clearly. As I adapted my speech, the software performed more effectively. This did not required me speaking in any different manner, but rather focusing more on the words I was speaking. One suggestion that the software has, and I highly recommend, is to not pay attention to the screen while dictating. Unnatural pauses are placed while you wait for the software to catch up to what you say, making it difficult for the software to pair word groupings. The software WILL catch up. Watching the screen and pausing also tends to destroy one's train of thought, which then changes what the software interprets as having been said.

I would definitely recommend this software to anyone who struggles with sitting in one place or typing for extended periods of time. I would caution and remind purchasers to take the time to get through the voice training offered by the software. I went through all three sets of training twice and it had little trouble with accuracy.

4stars - "Better than expected" (JMW)
the software was for my sister in a hursing home.
she can't type very well, nor speak very well.
the software really helps her.
MacSpeech Dictate

the software was for my sister in a hursing home.
she can't type very well, nor speak very well.
the software really helps her.
MacSpeech Dictate

4stars - "review" (W. wright)

I purchased this product to get me through a temporary disability due to a severely broken left hand. I went with it based on the strength of recommendations by users in reviews like this. They sounded a little too good to be true, but I figured I would give it a try because I was truly desperate for help.

Now I cannot stop telling everybody that they should have one, regardless of whether or not they have a physical impairment that hinders their typing. MacSpeech Dictate is remarkably accurate in rendering one's speech into text that rapidly appears upon the computer screen. I am astonished at this, considering how quickly the training is to get the program to recognize one's voice -- a mere few minutes. A key virtue is that it works with any software application. Yes, you have to keep an eye on it for errors, but it is far easier to correct a few errors than to type the whole thing out by oneself. The effectiveness of this product forbodes a day when computers will no longer require keyboards!

My colleagues all ask me if the software can transcribe interviews -- I gave it a try, but without the ability to train the software with the interviewee's voice, the results are less than adequate. However, one can listen to the interview phrase by phrase, and then repeat them aloud using MacSpeech Dictate, and speedily transcribe it into the computer. And you can set up a voice profile for a research assistant who could do this step for you!

5stars - "works beyond my expectations!" (Lisa Ismy, Technophile)

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition Upgrade / SalesRank : 101

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Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition Upgrade

Amazon Price : $104.99 65%($194.96) OFF
amazon.com availability ： Usually ships in 24 hours

DVD-ROM ( ) [ Microsoft Software ] [ Release : 2008 / 01 / 15 ]
EAN : 0882224544733 / ASIN : B000WS1590
[ ListPrice : $299.95 ] [ Used Price:$310.58 ]

Average Customer Review :

3.0stars [ See more reviews ]

I purchased MS Office 2008 for a PowerMac G5 (with OS X 10.5.6). It's much slower loading than Office 2004 and doesn't appear to offer anything new of substance. I don't like the new interface much, but I'll get used to it. It does, of course, work better with the new file types, but I resented being forced into an upgrade by Microsoft -- especially one that performs worse (sound like Vista anyone?).

3stars - "No Reason to Upgrade" (Kevin Kinneavy)
I upgraded from Office 2004 for Mac. Software installed seamlessly, integrated well with OX 10.5, no problems. I'm very satisfied with the product and how easy it was to install.

I upgraded from Office 2004 for Mac. Software installed seamlessly, integrated well with OX 10.5, no problems. I'm very satisfied with the product and how easy it was to install.

4stars - "Quality Product" (L. Kerchner)

After reading the negative reviews, I hesitated, but PowerPC-based 2004 ran so slow on my Intel Mac that I upgraded anyway. Many of the bad reviews focussed on font problems, so I did not load the new fonts, and that seems to have prevented some of the headaches. I changed the Normal template to use good-old Times New Roman. The new Word pushes Cambria and Calibri in your face, and I still haven't figured out how to de-preference them everywhere, but otherwise, no problems by not loading the new fonts. Anyway, the interface is clean, makes better use of color, and at least Excel and Word run much smoother than with 2004 (haven't played with Entourage and Powerpoint yet). If you were already using palettes in 2004, the interface changes are minor. Quibbles in Word include: Can't figure out how to turn off Elements Gallery bar in page view; doesn't seem to allow compressing pages together in page view (dropping header and footer whitespace) like you can in the Windows version; doesn't remember what you had open within the formatting palette when you reopen files (for example, you always have to unfold Bullets and Numbering b/c it folds back up between sessions); different color palettes depending upon whether you access from menu bar or floating formatting palette. These are fairly minor issues. I didn't use the programming capabilities that have been left out in this version. There are new file formats (for example, Word defaults to .docx format) that may create compatibility headaches, but it is easy to reset the default format setting to use any number of higher-compatibility formats. I found the compatibility checker confusing, but easy enough to choose a format based on its name/postfix. At first glance, Expression Media seems like a souped-up variation on iPhoto w/ better user access to meta-data. Haven't worked out the merits yet. Expression Media is a separately loaded program from the rest of the Office package. If you want the scoop on Expression Media, MS has an online forum.

4stars - "Cleaner than Office 2004" (Bakamono)

As a life-long user of MS Word (I've written over 3 million words with MS Word), I switched to a Mac in August and naturally bought MS for Mac 2008. This is the most cumbersome product I've ever used.

One word to sum up the product: CRASH.

Many typical key sequences trigger a MS shutdown. For example:

1. If I stop a print command, the program crashes.

2. If I use the "auto correct" feature, the program crashes.

3. If I update a graph, the program crashes.

4. If I add a row, the program crashes.

AND (I assume) MANY MORE THINGS TRIGGER THE CRASHES.

Why, Microsoft, why? I want to use your products, but this quality is embarrassing.

1stars - "No Support for Microsoft products for Mac & Shutdowns" (Terry Banker)

I installed Office 2008 on a 1.25GHz G4 iMac with System 10.4.11 . Since other reviewers have discussed the features and functionality of Office 2008 thoroughly, I am going to focus my review on the experience of upgrading from Office v.X to Office 2008. I'll also comment on Expression Media because it's what sets the Mac Office Special Media Edition apart from the other versions of Mac Office.

Background:
*I have experience with several versions of Mac Office, beginning with version 4.2 . I also have used Office 98, Office 2001, and as mentioned above, Office v.X before upgrading to Office 2008.

*The way I use Office has changed over time. I made extensive use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in graduate school and in various professional settings through Office 2001. Now I mostly use Excel to do basic financial analysis and Word to write personal documents.

Installation:
*Installation is straightforward, using Apple's familiar Installer mechanism. I prefer this method to the old drag-and-drop installation method because OS X is so sensitive to where things are installed.

*The installer program automatically finds older versions of Office and allows users to delete them easily.

*Many customized settings can be transferred from previous Office installations, including dictionaries, autocorrect lists, and proofing tool settings.

*Once Office 2008 is installed, several updates must be downloaded and installed. Microsoft should have made this process more user-friendly. Users must manually shut down other applications, including the Office 2008 Installer, before running the update installer.

Pros:
*Office is now a Universal Binary so the same program will run on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.

*An Uninstaller is placed in the Office folder automatically.

*Office will check for updates automatically on a schedule chosen by the user. No more messing around on the Microsoft website, hoping you didn't miss a Service Pack or Critical Update.

*Users can now turn the feedback sounds on and off. If hearing a chime, a popping bubble, or some other "cute" noise every time you did something drove you crazy, you will greatly appreciate this long overdue feature.

*Speaking of unnecessary cuteness, Clippy the Paperclip is gone! Yesssssss!

Cons:
*All the applications startup and quit slowly on my G4 machine. Office v.X applications started and quit virtually instantaneously (yes, I realize v.X was written specifically for PowerPC processors). Saving files is slow as well.

*Office 2008 uses a new file format that is not compatible with other versions of Office. If you send documents to people who are not fully up to date, you have to save a second version or limit yourself to working with the older file format.

*It's good that Microsoft no longer just ports Windows Office to the Mac. Nonetheless, there are user interface inconsistencies both within and across the applications which keep Office from feeling 100% Macintosh.

*Silverlight, Microsoft's attempt to compete with Macromedia Flash, is installed by default.

*No macros in Excel! Bad, bad, bad move. And no support for Visual Basic.

Expression Media comments:
*EM is a standalone application, not a fully integrated component of Office. Installation and activation is a separate process from installing Office and requires entering a second product key.

*Mac Office ships with EM 1.0 . Users must manually download EM 2.0 from the Microsoft website after installing the earlier version. This is inconvenient but not a gigantic obstacle if you have a fast Internet connection.

*EM is a good tool for managing projects that use data from many sources. For example, somebody putting together a presentation that includes text from Word, numbers from Excel, slides from PowerPoint, music from MP3's, and images from digital photographs can organize all the necessary files in one EM "catalog." All the source material for the presentation is then viewable in one place.

*EM doesn't create new copies of documents, thankfully, but its catalogs can become very large. As a test, I created two catalogs with digital photographs--a 3.5 GB set resulted in a 25.8 MB catalog and a 1.5GB set created a 113.9 MB catalog. I'm not sure what accounts for this very large discrepancy but it's clear that EM isn't for people with limited hard disk space.

*Home users probably will find EM to be overkill for their needs. If you just want to keep track of your music and photos, iPhoto and iTunes are more than adequate. Having said that, I'm going to use EM to manage all the e-delivery documents I receive from banks, brokers, and the like. It will be a lot easier than digging through lots of Finder folders and subdirectories.

-----
Bottom line: Office 2008 doesn't hold any surprises for experienced Office users. For the most part, everything still operates in the way to which you are accustomed. If you own a PowerPC Mac and use an older version of Office, you should carefully consider whether you want to upgrade or not. The benefits of the new features may be outweighed by the inconvenience of the slower performance and/or the need to adjust your workflow.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because Expression Media is a useful tool.

4stars - "Upgrading Office on an old iMac + Expression Media comments" (corrivo)

Quicken Personal Finances 2007 for Mac / SalesRank : 93

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Quicken Personal Finances 2007 for Mac

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CD-ROM ( Mac OS X ) [ Intuit, Inc. ] [ Release : 2006 / 08 / 13 ]
EAN : 0028287013902 / ASIN : B000GI0HR2
[ ListPrice : $69.95 ] [ Used Price:$53.99 ]

Average Customer Review :

2.0stars [ See more reviews ]

As a PC Quicken user, I loved the program. But using the Mac version, I am completely unsatisfied and lack any confidence in the accuracy of the application.

It seems that the program tries to out-think itself and it "matches" entries that it thinks are the same and doesn't enter them in the register. For example, if an entry is a $100 withdrawl on one date, another $100 withdrawl is "matched" and the entry doesn't go into the register. It has done this with my salary direct deposit too because the amount on the entries are the same.

What good is a product that you have to verify all the time and put in manual entries to correct?

What in the world was Intuit thinking when they wrote this piece of garbage?

1stars - "Terrible Disappointment" (One Woman's Opinion)
I've used Quicken for PC before and now that I have a MAC it's even better.

5stars - "Happy, Happy, Happy" (Sea Shell)

This is an awful personal finance product! It is as if they designed Quicken to be a nightmare! Syncing Quicken with my internet accounts rarely works without major problems. Quicken constantly miss categorizes my expenses---It keeps assigning my gym membership to Auto: Fuel every month! Although I've spent plenty of time in the manual and trying to tweak the program it is still a nightmare. Perhaps I'm a moron--but I feel that a personal finance product should be moron friendly. I would have been better off with pencil and paper. Quicken is way overpriced for the value you receive--none!! Intuit deserves to go bankrupt!

1stars - "Not worth It!!!" (Luke Avedon)
If you are updating a previous Quicken file be sure to back up your data on a CD before installing this version on your computer. It has serious bugs and can wipe out all or part of your data. Intuit is issuing update on this version online to correct the problems but it may not correct the flaws.

If you are updating a previous Quicken file be sure to back up your data on a CD before installing this version on your computer. It has serious bugs and can wipe out all or part of your data. Intuit is issuing update on this version online to correct the problems but it may not correct the flaws.

1stars - "Warning!" (Long Suffering)

I was wary of trying this when I saw all of the bad reviews, but after buying and using it for 4 months, I don't regret purchasing it. True, it seems a little disjointed, but once you remember that you use the program by using the top menu bar and do your navigation that way and through the little windows on the screen, one gets used to it. But remember, this software wasn't written for Leopard. I had no problem what so ever using it.

4stars - "Better than most think" (The Patriot)

Bento 2 / SalesRank : 222

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Bento 2

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CD-ROM ( Mac OS X Leopard ) [ FileMaker ] [ Release : 2008 / 11 / 14 ]
EAN : 0044866034991 / ASIN : B001K6PA1C
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Average Customer Review :

3.5stars [ See more reviews ]