Microsoft Office XP Standard Upgrade [Old Version]

In keeping with Microsoft's much-ballyhooed .NET strategy, Office XP introduces several features that utilize the vast infosphere inhabited by the 21st-century desk jockey. Smart tags beckon underneath recognized objects like misspellings or symbols, offering a stock quote here, a synonym there, or "Would anyone care to configure my auto-correction list?" The task pane looks similar to Microsoft Internet Explorer's Explorer Bar, and acts like an open tool chest pulled up alongside each application in the suite, providing readily configured searches for information or multimedia files. Putting up a team Web site that tracks projects and serves as an information hub requires only the use of one of the included templates, ready to be customized and uploaded to the server.

The Send for Review feature further streamlines the collaborative process by allowing the sender to view revisions made by multiple parties within the framework of the original document. Outlook now features a color-coded calendar and easier meeting management, along with instant messaging and variable e-mail account access. All user system errors can be tracked globally, and then network security settings modified remotely while anti-virus and debugging IT resources are diverted accordingly.

After firing up Microsoft Word, typing "Dear Somebody," and hitting the Enter key, we made a startling discovery. Up popped Clippy, Microsoft's publicly pink-slipped office assistant. Clippy might have aptly announced, "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated," but instead predictably observed, "It looks like you're writing a letter." Once the groans of disbelief had subsided, we quickly right-clicked and banished Clippy to the silicon ether, presumably forever. --Dominic Johnson

Amazon.com Review
After the most painless installation yet of a Microsoft product, Office XP Standard immediately starts to make a favorable impression. Not only does tighter code mean faster startup and shutdown times for each program, but many smaller tweaks have been introduced to improve functionality across the board.

The focus of this release is on making Office smarter, by providing better collaboration tools for organizations and more customization tools for individual users. The new smart tags are a clever way of automatically matching data in documents to tasks, such as inserting an address when you're writing a letter in Word, or copying and pasting data in Excel. This is extremely welcome, as is the ability to customize AutoCorrect (i.e., choosing which errors you want the program to correct automatically). Also new are task panes, which are essentially a cross between a wizard and the Help system. Using the drop-down menu format, these panes make relevant commands easily available, thus achieving faster results.

In addition to cross-product improvements, each application in the suite has had an overhaul. Outlook has seen many tweaks that improve usability and productivity, notably, AutoCorrect works as you type, and improved ease in setting up mail accounts. Outlook 2002 also includes support for Hotmail, so you can manage this account in the same place as your other e-mail accounts. PowerPoint contains a plethora of enjoyable new effects, including some useful new applications like the organization chart creator. Word and Excel make good use of smart tags and task panes. Some other useful new features include a merge function in Word for incorporating other users' changes, a word count display for those late-night essays, a drop-down menu in Excel with commonly used functions, and an extremely easy-to-use set of diagram creators.

Office XP Standard will improve productivity and results across the entire application suite. The improved functionality, especially with smart tags and task panes, will save users considerable time in creating quality documents. --Colin Neal

Amazon.com Product Description
Microsoft Office XP Standard puts the features you need within easy reach at all times. New context-sensitive smart tags pop up with options you need--right when you need them. No more digging through menus. Tasks that once required multiple steps are just one click away with the new task pane. The new version of Outlook in Office XP Standard condenses all your personal and professional e-mail into one central location, even your Web-based e-mail accounts like Hotmail. With AutoRecover, your work is saved at regular intervals while you work. PowerPoint includes animation effects and custom slide transitions. An editable print preview assures that your printed slides and documents come out right the first time. Office XP Standard also includes Word 2002 and Excel 2002.

The Developer version added (still adds, since you can buy it now) added developer editions of SQL Server and Exchange, plus Source Safe, Code Librarian, and various other useful and sometimes well-buried stuff. I'm not sure why Office Developer isn't just folded into a slightly downpriced MSDN Professional, but then Microsoft still hasn't matured on the level of licensing and packaging. The Office suite is, however, a mature product that has been improving enormously since the 2000 release. If only Redmond would lose their fascination with Byzantine licensing and Rubik's Cube bundling (cool! We can sell it this way, and THIS way, and THAT way, and for these people we can probably get them to pay for THIS THAT way ...), people might stop complaining and realize the products are much-improved.

2003 continues the march onward in quality. If you're considering XP Developer, you're likely better off looking at an MSDN package to get the same tools.


One Word: [BAD]   September 18, 2003
C. Johnson (Lawrenceville, GA)
13 out of 19 found this review helpful

Our office made it mandatory for us to upgrade to Office XP....I have had nothing but problems since. Thankfully, I only have to deal with this piece of garbage at work. I definetely will NOT be buying ANY XP branded product for my home computer.

First of all if you thought Word was slow, wait until you try Word XP. It takes nearly 5 minutes for a large document to load in Word XP while Word brought it up in a few seconds. And when word finally does load your document, it has stupid comments all over your document (which is probally why it took so long to load). The first time I tried printing a document with Word XP, it took nearly 90 minutes for it to even get to the printer! When the document FINALLY printed out, I found that it printed out ALL the comments which DOUBLED the size of my document. I figured out how to turn the comments off, but have not figured out how to turn it off permantly. So everytime I load a document, I have to turn the comments off and hope that the drop downs that do this actually work!

Also when I first loaded word, outlook or excel there was this annoying "pop up" at the top corner of your screen that had something to do with hands free typing. I permantly killed this window too because I DON'T NEED THIS [stuff] MICROSOFT!!

Also another feature I don't like is when you copy more that one item in word, it brings up another annoying clipboard window that Microsoft assumes you want. This window displays EVERYTHING you have copied and covers up part of the window you are working in. I never have and never will use this clipboard so there is no reason why it should keep popping up. Apparantly Microsft "forgot" to add a way to permantely turn this off from office. I ended up having to go into the Windows registry to do it.

Finally there are bugs galore. The buttons and drop downs sometimes stop working for no apparant reason. Sometimes when trying to open certain documents from other office programs you get error messages, and when trying to open Help, you occasionally get messages saying "Error opening help"! Go figure.

Top these errors off with the ever annoying autoformatting "feature" in Word, Excel and Office and you have a complete waste of money.

Bottom line, Don't waste your money on this. You are MUCH better off with what you have now. I have discovered, that Microsoft tries to FORCE you to do things the way they ASSUME you like to do things. They just keep adding more "features" that intefere more than assist you. You will spend a lot of time undoing what they force you to do. You will also spend a lot of time trying to turn off their useless and annoying "features" just to type ONE document. Heck you may be better off with a typewritter since you have the freedom to do what YOU want instead of wasting time undoing what Microsoft automatically does for you.


A critical upgrade   August 3, 2003
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

XP Professional carries the basic office into a far more integrated structure of flipping data, graphics, and presentations from one format to another without any Office family squabbles. No system is perfect, but this beats out the clunker systems from the "competitors"