MICROSOFT WORKS SUITE 2004

Microsoft Works Suite (£110 inc. VAT) is a package of applications aimed at the home user, in much the same way that Office is targeted at the professional. Its strength is the breadth of the package, with Works 7.0 at the core and Word 2002, Encarta 2004 Standard, Autoroute 2004, Money 2004 Standard and Picture It! Photo 9 added on. Works 7.0 is often supplied on a new PC or laptop, as it includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, calendar and address book, so it has a decent list of features that can be attractive to the new computer owner.

However, it’s far less powerful than Office and, unforgivably, it uses file formats that are generally incompatible with Excel and Word, but if you have little intention of transferring files to or from your home PC that won’t be a problem. Works Suite stands or falls by the additional applications, which almost double the price of Works. The most important of these is Word2002. Although it isn’t quite the latest version, most of the new features in Word 2003 relate to group working and those aren’t of much interest to home users. Encarta, Autoroute, Money and Picture It! are all solid, worthwhile applications, and we calculate that the elements of Works Suitewould cost £300 if bought individually.

Microsoft has taken the step of integrating all the packages into one easy-to-use interface. It would have been easy to include all the applications without integrating them. However, using the Works interface as a central point to access every piece of software should make first-time users feel more comfortable with the package. We were sent the DVD version of WorksSuite to review, and it so happens that this is the first time we’ve seen an application on DVD.

It costs the same as the CD version, but installation is much easier as you only have to work with a single disk. Common sense says that you need a DVD-ROM or combination drive, otherwise it’s a stack of CDs for you, with a full installation requiring a total of 1.5GB of space. As individual products, there’s little to get overly excited about with Works Suite 2003. However, the extras that go into it will be attractive to the home user.

PRICE: £94/£110 (EX/INC. VAT)
RATING: 7
KEY FEATURES: WORKS, WORD 2002, ENCARTA 2004, AUTOROUTE 2004, MONEY 2004, PICTURE IT! PHOTO
OS COMPATIBILITY: WINDOWS 98/98SE/ME/2000 SP2/XP
CONTACT: 0870 601 0100 WWW.MICROSOFT.COM/UK