Mac users can choose from iWork '08, the free OpenOffice 2, or tools with free online components including ThinkFree, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and Zoho Office. Indeed, rivals to Office for Mac seem like a bargain, even though they offer fewer tools. Still, the fees feel hefty next to the $80 Apple iWork '08. Microsoft offers a variety of upgrade options. Fortunately, those who have recently purchased Office for Mac 2004 can upgrade for free. The $500 Special Media Edition handles Exchange and adds Microsoft Expression media management software. At $400 or $240 to upgrade, the full Office for Mac feels pricey, even though it includes Exchange support. The least expensive option is the $150 Home and Student edition, formerly Student and Teacher, which lacks support for Exchange and Automator. You'll need a Mac with 1.5 GB free on the hard drive, running at least OS 10.4.9, with 512MB of RAM and a 500MHz Intel or PowerPC processor. That said, the new document types are smaller and purportedly more secure than their predecessors. Although we're glad that Microsoft offers free converters, we find the forced extra steps annoying in Office 2007. That means that for now, should you save work in a new Open XML format in a hurry, someone with the older software won't be able to open it. Free file conversion tools won't be available until up to 10 weeks from now, or eight weeks after the applications are available in stores.

We're not thrilled about this being the default option, even though you can save your work in the older DOC, XLS, and PPT formats. Office for Mac saves work in the same new Open XML formats used by Office 2007 for Windows. This is handy if you rely on Entourage but don't want to run it all the time. The new My Day tool for Entourage floats on the Mac desktop, widget-like, displaying calendar items and to-do lists. Now you can save to PDF, and Automator actions are supported. There are more welcome and substantial changes as well. These are premade templates with 3D and translucent designs. For instance, Office for Mac features the same templates and Smart Art graphics as the Windows counterparts, including 3D and translucent designs. By and large, most of the changes focus on attempting to help users craft more attractive documents.

Microsoft office 2008 for mac upgrade