Microsoft Office XP Standard for Students and Teachers [Old Version]

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 network security settings then modified remotely while antivirus 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

This version is only available for students and teachers and will not be able to be upgraded in the future.

Amazon.com Product Description
Microsoft Office XP Standard is designed for users who need only the core desktop productivity tools. It offers several new features for simplifying productivity and enabling collaboration by extending Office beyond the desktop. Office XP Standard includes the core Office XP programs: Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Office XP works with you, whatever your needs. Whether you're working on your PC, intranet, or the Web, new context-sensitive smart tags pop up with the options you need, when you need them. No more digging through menus to find the right function. And tasks that once required multiple steps are just one click away with the new task pane. Take advantage of all the features in Office XP applications to get more done in less time. Collaborating with a team is also easier with Office XP--time-consuming routing procedures have been eliminated. Now, just click Send For Review to make short work of combining revisions from multiple reviewers into a single document.

Your work is safe with Office XP. AutoRecover saves documents at regular intervals while you work. You no longer have to worry about losing hours of work from a power outage, either. The Document Recovery feature is designed to save and recover your work-in-progress, with the ability to invoke a corrupt-document repair-and-recovery feature in the event of an error or a failure to load a file. Note: This version is for students and teachers only and will not be able to be upgraded in the future.

The bottom line for me was that, in exchange for a little loss in flexibility, I have a complete office suite for a very reasonable price. I had no problem registering or activating it, but understand that others have. I likewise understand that I can't move it to a new machine. My other qualm is that there is essentially no operating information, so if you have a problem in a program, you have no documentation to refer to, which meant for me, that I needed to buy the program information books at additional expense. It's a tradeoff, but for most personal or student users, it is still a bargain.


Mostly the Same Software, Mostly a Better Value   November 18, 2003
NP (United States)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful

If you're looking to buy any of the programs in Microsoft Office and also happen to be a student or teacher, this package is a great way to get them.

Before you buy this package, make sure your school doesn't have a special deal on it (or its sibling packages)! Large universities are especially likely to have an arrangment where students and teachers may purchase all sorts of Microsoft software through them, at a fraction of even the "... for Students and Teachers" price.

Even though you can't upgrade this package, it's still great for people with slim pocketbooks. Students may wind up having to buy a full version of Office someday, but in all probability there will be a new version of it out by then. Teachers face a rosier future - instead of upgrading, just buy the new academic package. It'll cost the same, or less, and you won't have to deal with the potential instability of upgrading if you don't want to.

As far as the software itself goes, it's the standard by which other productivity packages are judged. It's the latest version of Word, Excel, Outlook, and Powerpoint... there's not much else to say. I certainly don't need Access, and I've found that the majority of my peers don't use it either.

Microsoft's activation schemes are irritating, but you probably already knew that.

Don't forget to consider all the options, though! There are several free Windows-compatible productivity suites out there - notably OpenOffice.org - that can do some things as well or better than Microsoft Office. Consider giving them a try before you purchase Office; most people don't stand to lose anything except an investment in software they don't end up needing.

Ultimately, this package is a good choice for academics who need the funcionality, support, or generally "safe" feeling of the latest Microsoft Office package. I've had a good (if uneventful) experience with this software, and I don't feel any qualms about recommending it to those who are eligible to use it.