Features

• Financial management system for businesses
• Import data from popular office software
• Easily manage accounts payable and receivable
• Customize reports, prices and more
• Automatically track information for taxes and reporting

Reviews (36)

The Good and the Bad
I have been using quickbooks since 1996. If you are a small business and do all of your accounting on one specific computer, then this is most likely the best of the lot. The alternative is to go to a much higher accounting software cost bracket.
I find many of its functions intuitive. The principal draw for upgrading (from version 2002) is the better invoice design facilities, which previously have been a bit archaic in their limitations.
Before critising too much, users must realize that this is a complex product, which has a lot of ins and outs, which is why no one else has created anything better yet. It takes experiece. The bad is the style that inuit has adopted for their uninvited advertising and sales gimicks.
Intuits greed factor is rampant, which does nothing to kinder customer loyalty. When the day comes when a software company has the skill to put together something better, which can also imports quickbook file formats and can effectively market it in a way that respects business professionals, their customer base will rapidly dwindle.
Being a professional software developer, i can only say that they need to clean up their code base. The program is slow to load, and does not look like it would handle a business that grosses over a million per year on moderate ticket size sales.
To bypass their email servers, simply print your invoices or receipts as pdf files, and email the pdf files.
Hopefully someone from intuit will read these reviews and do a rescue for their company. In the software business, you can never rest on your laurals, and in this case those laurals are withering.

My personal wish list: the ability to have transactions move across companies. For example if you set up your personal finances as one company, and your business as another, and you give your self a pay check, or move money from one business to the other, then it would be nice if an easy to use pop up box, could record the transaction for you in both companies.

Intuit does it again with a great accounting software packag
Other than a few accounting classes in college, I'm no accounting expert. Intuit has always helped me feel like a CPA and this new release makes it even easier.

This is great for a small business as both myself and my partner can look "at the books" at the same time and make changes without any problems.

The biggest thing I like about this new edition is the Loan Manager. I like seeing all the loan information in one place and doing a payment from the loan manager is quick and easy. I like how it instantly shows you how the loan payment effects the entire loan. This is a great addition to this version of Quickbooks.

With all of the business related travelling, the Vehicle Milage Tracker is also a great addition. And the Cash Flow Projector was a nice feature to play around with as well.... very nice!!

Also, one of my favorite improvements is how well it intereacts with Microsoft Office. The ability to turn an invoice into a .pdf and instantly mail it off has been a huge time saver. I read it also works great with importing and exporting to Excel. I haven't played with it, but it is nice to know that is there when I need it (I'm sure I will some day).

If you already have Quickbooks, you should most definately go with this product. If you are starting a business, I would suggest this product over any other small business accounting software.

QuickBooks Pro 2004 brings "slop-ware" to the forefront.
My company was "sunsetted" by Quickbooks so we had to upgrade. Pretty much everything went wrong. The install loaded spyware on our computer and overwrote many of our security settings. You have to have Internet Explorer set to "medium security" even if you don't use QB 2004 on the internet. Riddled with internal "adware" and "buy-me" where you think help menus might be. Don't use this version if you have a choice. Take a look at PeachTree.

The good news is that the very basic functions still work and that most of the useless and annoying "enchancements" can be turned off or gotten around.

send a big pile of money to intuit
i am sorry to say i have used quickbooks pro for 6 years
the interface is good, software is great, BUT the never ending
FOR A FEE gets overwhelming, i own a small business and did my own books with QB pro, enough was never enough, got a question, better have $70.00 in one of their approved bank accounts or just get in line again, and hope you can understand the person on the phone ,,,,, LOOK carefully before you bind yourself to any accounting software, intuit will bind you and never let loose.. until you buy your way out
tomh

Not perfect, but still better than keeping books by hand
Yes, this product has hidden costs like tech support, yearly tax tables, and upgrades, but it is still better than doing bookkeeping for a small business by hand.

Some of the other fees one doesn't think about are:

1. Printer checks, invoices (if you choose to use perforated forms or letterhead), and envelopes for both. No bank will supply QB checks for free...and they aren't cheap either.
2. To email your invoices you have to subscribe to "online billing" for a fee...However, I found that one can simply print the invoice, scan it and email it as an attachment.
3. To do direct deposit for payroll, one must subscribe to "payroll direct deposit" for a fee. (I haven't figured out a way around this one yet.)

Yes, there were some unpleasant tech support people--like there are everywhere, but I found the option of buying a year of tech support (appx. $350.00 ) to be very helpful for the first year I used this product. Support is available via phone, IM, and email. I found IM to be the best method. By the end of that year of support I was asking questions that stumped tech. support, or I was able to think of a better solution myself, so this product is not hard to figure out...but it does take some figuring out. And it is nice to have the cushion of support while you learn. (The manual is valueless-use the help button or better: buy "Quickbooks for Dummies".)

With all those costs, you can expect to drop about $1000.00 up front just to get this program up and running.

Hints:
DO NOT EVER load any balances in QB for payroll or customers. You should go back and do every single transaction individually and backdate it the original date of the invoice or payment or whatever. Run your old payrolls one pay period at a time-print them on blank paper with the old check number. You MUST use the payroll liabilities feature to pay all payroll taxes--you can adjust the amounts to match what you have already paid before using QB, otherwise your balances and calculations in QB will be messed up all year like mine were. Even if you have to load a YEAR'S worth of transactions, it is better to do them one item at a time rather than load balances. Start at or as close to your fiscal year as possible for conversion to QB.

DO buy tech support for six months or a year: it was well worth it, especially for 1099s and other headaches that one doesn't do everyday.

SURPRISE: 1099s will print for only ONE accounting code--I found that out the hard way. So for 1099s, USE ONE MASTER ACCOUNT, if you need several 1099 codes, list them as subaccounts of the master account. I.E.: 1099 Contractors, and have 1099 drafting, 1099 engineering, 1099 transporting as subaccounts.

You HAVE TO have internet access to use this product. Try to have a highspeed connection to the internet, it takes up to 30 minutes to d/l the updates and tax tables via 56K dialup.

DO NOT USE the "enter bills" and "pay bills" portion of the program. Just write the checks manually to vendors-that way you only have to do the work once.

Make no mistake, if you buy this or any other accounting program for that matter, you will cease to be a bookkeeper and become a baby sitter for a computer! ... Read more

Features

• Easily create Adobe PDF files—create PDF documents with one-button ease from Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Windows users can also convert to PDF from Access, Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Publisher.
• Enjoy improved performance—with improved performance you can quickly convert, collect, and organize Adobe PDF documents.
• Create Adobe PDF documents from Microsoft Outlook—Collect, convert, and organize Microsoft Outlook e-mails into searchable Adobe PDF documents. Include attachments, links, and bookmarks sorted by sender, date, or subject.
• Assemble documents—create a single Adobe PDF file from multiple sources—including Web pages and e-mail—to deliver one professional document that anyone can open using free Adobe Reader 7.0 software.
• Protect sensitive and confidential documents—control documents inside and outside the firewall, online and offline.

Amazon.com Review

Microsoft Office XP's empowering document design tools, integration of voice recognition functionality, and impressive network- and Web-based sourcing capabilities should be enough to convince those interested in saving time and consolidating effort to take the leap.

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 ... Read more

Reviews (109)

Great product!
Microsoft Office XP is a large improvement over Office 2000. Not only is the [slightly] new interface more refined, but the smarttags and more features are great. The difference between Office 2000 and XP is very similar to that of Office 97 and 2000; there are suttle changes that you do not notice until you actually need them. And when you need them, they are great to have! If you are upgrading to Office XP, then you should definately get the Special Edition (I have no idea why it is called that; it should just be called premium). I use Publisher and FrontPage almost everyday, as well as the normal Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access (basically, I utilize every part of Office XP). I highly prefer this product over Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, or any other competitors. I am aware, there has been some concern over the Product Activiation Wizard; frankly, I do not have a problem with it. As long as it does not disclose personal information (which it does not), I don't think it's a big deal. I think that it is a good way for Microsoft to keep people from installing multiple copies of their software. Don't get me wrong; I do not like Product Activation at all, but I think that people are overreacting about the privacy concerns of it. Another thing people might be concerned about is compatibility. As far as I know, the only products whose files cannot be opened in previous versions of the same product is Publisher; a new format for saving the file was introduced in Office XP and therefore it is not compatiable with Publisher 2000 or earlier. Other than that, I definately think that Office XP is the best office suite I have used!

Office
Well, actually I like Excel and hate Word. The other programs included I have little or no use for.
I use Excel all the time for engineering calculations, including writing VBA macros to automate things that I can't do easily in the cells. It's very useful, like having a calculator that remembers everything you've done, writes it down, but allows you to change inputs and recalculate everything automatically. Unfortunately, there is a bug in the help files, so I can't get Visual Basic help anymore. The IT guys at work fixed the regular help but never could get the macro help to work again. Very annoying.
Word is terrible compared to WordPerfect. What I used to be able to do with a couple of keystrokes, now takes minutes of navigation thru menus and dialog boxes. Outline formatting, numbered lists, etc. are especially frustrating in Word because nothing is obvious. You shouldn't have to get a college degree in word processing in order to learn to write a specification and get the formatting correct. One annoyance is that paragraph formatting is hidden in a selectable little space at the end of the paragraph, so if you try to delete the last few words by hitting shift-end and delete, you will delete numbering, formatting, etc. of that paragraph. Also, the thesaurus that came with WordPerfect was much better.
In general, Microsoft Office tries to be everything for every possible user, automates many tasks to do things that it thinks I want to do even though I don't, and makes it hard to figure out how to undo them.
I am using WordPerfect wherever possible and trying StarOffice.

Real problems with this one..
Installed the upgrade over Office 2000 on a well equipped XP Professional system. Liked it well enough but after an online update, File->Open began taking 20-30 sec per level to navigate to the file. Unfortunately, installing this package seems to put the 'better' file menus in and everything came to a crashing halt. Worse news is that it wouldn't uninstall nor reinstall/fix (something got corrupted). A Msoft A+ beat on it a long time then finally reinstalled XP (unfortunately an all too common occurance, for lots of reasons) and all was well until I installed Office XP again. The problem recurred but this time, a system restore cleaned it up. Still using Office 2000. Now using Office XP as a gold coaster. I've heard of this happening on other systems.. something in the networking maybe.. We're using a Linux server w/Samba drive. Works great with everything else..

If you want to write...
Microsoft Word on XP is the industry standard and next to Quark Express one of the most important tools of the trade.

Nothing comes close to Microsoft Word. MSWORD is as important as the invention of the pen and most importantly is compatible with nearly everything. Open up any written document. Save to any written document type. The import feature is almost flawless.

Thank goodness I get a university discount
When I saw the cost of this, my jaw dropped. I didn't think it would cost so much for Word, PowerPoint, FrontPage and Excel.

I went to the university bookstore at my school to see if I could get any kind of discount on it. Thank goodness Indiana University has a contract with Microsoft!

About the program now that I've complained about the cost enough...

WORD
This is the program I use the most because for being a word processing program, it is very versatile. I can write term papers and what not with it, but I can also credit news letters complete with graphics. I have also used it to create invoices with neat graphics.

FRONTPAGE
I know HTML (one of the languages webpage makers write webpages in), so I pretty much only use this program when I'm trying out something new, like frams. I have also used it to figure out HTML codes for colors, frames, and tables. I had a college instructor who used it to do her entire webpage and it looked pretty good.

EXCEL
I used Excel to keep track of the money I was spending on gas for 6 months, how many miles I was traveling, where I was traveling, and the cost of gas. I know it sounds like of nerdy, but it really helped me save some money on gas, knowing exactly where to stop when I was on a trip. I also has how many miles I was putting on my car in that 6 months (10,000+ miles), which explained the wear and tear.

POWERPOINT
I am just beginning to learn this. I didn't realize what a valuable program PowerPoint was until people in some of my college classes gave presentations with it. Man, my poster board presentation was nothing compared to theirs. It is actually a pretty easy program to learn, but the 'little extras' like the animation and extra graphics can take a bit of time.

OUTLOOK
I use this program to check my school e-mail because I have AOL at home. I like not having to go to the university's website, navigating my way to the mail page, signing it, and going through at least one more link, just to get to my e-mail. This program goes straight to my mailbox with no links, no navigating.

ACCESS
When I tried to use access to create a database of my CDs, I had a lot of problems. It is probably the only program in this software suite that I think is a total waste of disc space. I have had to use it before, but for me, I can just use Excel to make lists, it is much easier to use.

I am really glad that I have Microsoft Office. It has made school a lot easier. I can e-mail documents to my school account, download them, and know they will work with the school software. That saves me from having to reformat the assignment whenever I want to work on it at school. ... Read more

Features

• Create PDF files with the click of a button from Microsoft applications and AutoCAD
• Create a single Adobe PDF document from multiple sources, including portions of Web pages and previously combined Adobe PDF documents
• Use the included Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0 software to create PDF forms that look like the paper forms they replace
• Easily attach source documents such as spreadsheets, multimedia files, images, and drawings to an Adobe PDF document
• Enable anyone with free Adobe Reader 7.0 software to use highlighter, sticky note, pen, and other commenting tools

Features

• Create rich-media presentations that deliver better communications -- whether you're doing marketing presentations, online learning or executive broadcasts
• Improved audio and video options give you a wealth of backgrounds, templates and special effects to include in tyour presentation
• Enhanced SMart Tags make it easier to manage and track different aspects of your presentation or project
• Advanced multimedia support makes it easier to transfer Powerpoint files to a CD
• Cross-platform compatibility with support for Macintosh and Netscape users

Features

• High-quality software for home design, remodeling, and landscaping
• Inspire your designs with Better Homes and Gardens design planning center
• Create a virtual walk-through; design and visualize in 3D
• Automatic material list for project-cost estimating
• Library of more than 4,300 items; 70+ training tutorial videos included

Reviews (5)

Frustrating and not worth the money
The number of bugs in this program is unbelievable. After using it for 6 months, I have spent hundreds of hours fixing problems due to software bugs or restarting the program after it crashes. I'm running it on a new computer with XP, a faster processor and far more memory than the minimum that the vendor requires.

The print functions do not all work. For example, one function allows you to print a cut-out of your design, which you can then cut with scissors, fold, and tape together. That would be great...however only 3 of 4 walls will ever print. I have never therefore been able to use this function. Even more frustrating is the bug that does not actually save your work even if you have saved prior to shutdown. I have re-drawn the same features 4 times in one plan, simply because the program will not save the changes, or it will only save some of the changes.

Also, the hardware key (dongle) takes up one of my USB ports and only works if I reboot my computer after inserting it. Even then, sometimes I have to remove and replace it multiple times.

I wish I could recommend an alternative.

DIY Home Remodel
I am not an architect or builder. But I consider myself handy and cheap. My motto is give me a book (or program) and tools and I'll do anything. My remodel consists of adding a garage and increasing the size of a single story home. Me and my conscripted nephews plan on doing most of the work ourselves. I originally bought the Punch software and was very satisfied with the intuitive ease of use and the 3D design renderings. But when the rubber meets the road and permit requirements become reality, this software was the most affordable one I could find to bypass the professional services usually required for that process. While not easy, meeting the goal of saving that considerable expense has made it worthwhile. Now if I can just figure out a way to build things square...

very stable and is fast to work with
I tested the cheap old version - 3D Home Architect deluxe 3.0 just for getting a feeling of this kind of software.
I then spent quite some time looking around at the Internet at e.g. Punch, IMSI floorplan and finally chose to buy Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Pro 6.
I chose the product because it is the actual upgrade to Home Architect and it is made by a company that also makes professional products - which in my mind makes them able to use theirs skills while making a stripped version from the professional product.

After getting the product my I could confirm that this is a professional home design product with very good documentation. And the program is easy to use and it very fast to draw a sketch of the house and later easy to adjust if needed.

No crashes and the 3D workes fine.

I have only tested the software om my new PC with 1GB RAM, Pentium 4 -3GHzHT and ATIRAdeon 128MB graphics - so I do not know yet whether it has good performance on my old PC.

I chose the Pro version (5 times more expensive) instead of the suite because I needed conversion from DXF and some of the other things that are extra in the Pro version - see the comparison matrix at the manufacturers site.

I think that if you don't need the extras - which I guess most people won't - then the suite is the right product for you!

/Jan

The Best Pro-sumer product out there!
I've used a couple of the consumer products in the past; most notably, 3D Home Architect (v4 & prior) by ART and Architectural Series 18 by Punch. Both these products were probably the best in the <$100 market for the home user. 3DHA was sold to Broderbund and they messed up v5 so bad that I've never seen so many unanimous negative reviews for a piece of software. AS18 v6 is showing its age, although they have a newer AS3000 which I have not seen.
Fortunately, ART stayed together and started creating professional products (Chief Architect line)and now has home and semi-pro products marketed under the BHG label. The home user product is Home Designer Suite 6 and the semi-pro product is HD Pro 6 - which I am now using. ...
I went with HDP6 and absolutely love it! It blows away all the home user products. It's fast, stable, has a ton of features and is very configurable. Everything I wished I could do in AS18 is easily done in HDP6. I'll just give one example to illustrate: Exterior walls can be configured to have up to 10 layers. Starting form the inside you can define sheetrock, studs, sheathing, Tyvek and then siding. That's only 5 layers. Each layer can then be described more fully by width, material type, color, etc. This is typical of the rest of the program.
I know the Pro version is 3-4X the cost of the typical home user product but it can handle custom homes with ease. If cost is an issue, try HDS6. I would expect the core designing tasks to be identical, minus some options. They have a 30 day, no-questions asked, money back policy which got me to try it. Needless to say I'm not returning it and I doubt anyone else would if they try it.

This is the best product I have ever seen!
I was on the beta test for this program. This product blows away every other consumer product I have ever seen. Don't even bother with any of those other cheaper products, it's just not worth the trouble. It's like comparing a Geo to a Hummer. There is no comparison! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

GoodAuto Routing, Not So Good Database
I've been using a Garmin E-Trex for some driving navigation (not it's main purpose) for some time.Having wanted something better for driving, I saw this as an inexpensive solution to use my laptop and have large screen GPS navigation.In short, the active navigation direction (including voice) work pretty well, the large display (my laptop) is great, but the database and route management tools lack.

Having only used this H/W & S/W (the included Street Atlas) for a few days, I'm sure I haven't figured it all out.Still, I quickly found that the database only knows about one of the several Home Depot stores in my area.I looked for the hotel I'll be staying at on an upcoming trip, and it is not in the database.A two year old street in a newer nearby residential street is not present.In each of these cases, my Garmin MapSource s/w had these elements, and the level of detail and accuracy are better, too.I've found work arounds by creating waypoints where I know things I'll be going to are located (Delorme won't let me move an existing waypoint that I've created, so if it's not right, delete and recreate).I'll probably use it for such things as our RV traveling, but when I want to find the nearest hardware store... well most anything, I'll pull out my little E-Trex. ... Read more

Features

• Page layout utility
• Output PDF files directly from QuarkXPress without buying third-party software
• Layout spaces with synchronized text
• Improved, interactive tools for Web page design
• Improvements to output features, including As Is Color Space and DeviceN

Reviews (8)

A Design Resume Absolutely Must Have Quark
I learned how to effectively use Quark in the first 2 weeks of my college Prepress class, and anybody in the design world knows that if you can't use it you're a novice. It's itelligent, straight forward and an essential program for any graphic designer to master. All the complaints about this program are the result of non professionals who are either unwilling or unable to learn how to use it properly. "In Design" - what a joke. I love Adobe products, but let's get serious. If you can't use Quark, you might as well start applying for a job designing the Church Newsletter, because you can't get a top level design position without knowing this program. If you are studying to be a designer - trust me... learn it, know it, love it!

QuarkXpress 6.0 is a joke
I am actually writting this review while on the phone with their tech support group in India. I can barely understand the person and the can you believe that you have to call them to reactivate the software every time we go from Daylight Savings Time to Daylight Time. That is twice per year. There is a bug in their authentication/serial number system, which by design includes the DST flag for the local computer in the activation routine.

This is crazy...After paying full price for two copies, why do I have to spend 30 minutes per machine twice per year to reactivate their product to help them control piracy, of which I am not a part of.

Sounds like class action suit time...We should all sue for the time lost just in reactivating their products.

I used to be happy with version 3.x and 4.x.

Stress Is Not Worth It
This is the most poorly designed software yet from Quark. First, installing it can prove to be a terror if you have to ever reinstall it. Quark has set up a monstrous procedure where you must call them or attempt at their website to activate the software, which can force you to wait 2 to 3 days before you can use it. The orginal from the factory is actually their demo. Not just that, but the length of the activation code is 47 numbers and even though you get them right, they won't work on their website application/registration/activation page.

Now, let's assume you get that far. Once into the working Quark you'll find you spent a lot of money for nothing more than what Quark 4.1 offers except for a "clear vision" extension and some minor bells and whistles. They advertise that you can "build web pages" using Quark, clearly deceiving you to believe you can "translate existing Quark documents" to web pages. Forget it. You have to redo or build from scratch. It's also very old technology and is not the kind of page you want to post against the newer W3C rules. You'll play with the deveil in the end.

Best to use the older version if you still have it. If you've never used Quark and are tempted to buy it to try it...go to Adobe's Indesign first or pick up an older copy of Adobe's Pagemaker.

Finally, Quark's support service is AWFUL. They just aren't there for you when you need them, unless you pay them a lot of money for a "service agreement." If you do get hold of someone, they are in a foreign country and barely understandable and worse, they are reading something or blaming you for their product not working correctly. Quark has changed from its original service company to the newer modern insult-the-customer business style.

Thumbs down on this one.

InDesign Is a better choice
I've been using QuarkXpress for 8 years and was a dedicated Xpress user until the release of Quark 6.0 (which I purchased). The pdf feature and the high resolution preview of eps files and OSX compatibility as well as it's familiarity made me give it a try. I've been using Xpress 6 for about a month now and I'm not impressed. Customer support is weak at best and it is almost impossible to register because users have to enter a serial number and a registration number and a one hundred digit activation code (I'm not kidding 100 numbers and letters). Quark claims it's software will activate automatically on-line. It doesn't if you have a firewall. Many of the new features Quark claims to have added are extensions that must be installed separately (high res preview for eps images being one of them). Quark 4.11 users will be upset to learn that 6.0 will only save down to version 5.0 and there isn't a plug-in to fix this oversight as Quark claims. The icing on the cake is that if you change computers or if your system has trouble and you need to re-install QuarkXpress 6 you'll have to call Quark and get a new activation code. Be prepared to wait a week or two. Now if you've wasted enough of your valuable time you've probably been like me and bought a copy of InDesign. Yeah I have to learn a few things to be as fast as I was in Quark ..but it'll be worth it . The best part of InDesign is that I registered Photoshop, Illustrator, GoLive and InDesign with one serial number and I was up and running (at half the price of QuarkXpress).

We'll be Watching You!
I love Quark's software. But it does have its quirks. First, most of its latest improvements seem to be in tweaking an aggravating activation system that is frequently corrupted and requires reactivation. So if you're operating off a notebook and can't reactivate, you have to call Quark, wait forever for a new code to be generated, and painstakingly type it in.

Second, Quark has gone through great lengths to make its web design module work better, but I never use Quark for web design, so that only makes the program bigger and klunkier.

Quark 6 does do multiple undos, for which it deserves kudos; however, it's maddening to find out that not all actions are undoable. Write down the ones that aren't or you'll be sorry.

Finally, one computer, one program. Forget about having this baby on your home and work computer or your desktop and notebook.

My advice? If you have Quark 5, keep it and cherish it. If you don't, get Quark 5 off EBay and let some other sucker upgrade. And finally, if you want to come over to the light side of The Force, get Adobe's fabulous InDesign. Not only is it better behaved, it has no activation and you can put it on both of your computers. It's also more stable. For me personally, I'm staying with Quark 5.

Good luck. ... Read more

Features

• Essential tool for research, writing, and publishing
• Create instant bibliographies; organize references and images
• Build libraries of any size; new reference types and fields
• Add, edit, and display references in any language
• Search online bibliographic databases

Product Description

iWork '05 ... Read more

Features

• Integrated iLife media browser and photo masking
• Create, present, and publish work quickly and easily
• Cinema-quality slide presentations; streamlined, yet powerful word processing
• 40+ professionally designed templates with multiple page designs
• Freeform graphics canvas; easy-to-use text styles, charts, and tables

Reviews (16)

Don't Underestimate This Program.
A number of reviewers have commented upon how easy this program is and, I suppose, in one sense it is, especially if you stick to using the templates.However, as one who has had occasion to work with "Adobe Pagemaker," this program can do sophisticated page layout and, as such, there will be a learning curve for the inexperienced.

But, the User Manual is good and there are good books coming out, like one from Visual Start in July, that will help people learn.

It is wrong to think of this program as a word processor "in competition with" Word."MS Word" is a robust word processor; "Pages," as its name implies, is a page layout program.Having also worked with "MS Publisher," the real point of comparison and not "MS Word," "Pages" far exceeds "Publisher" in capabilities and yet for relatively simple layouts is as easy as "Publisher" to use.

I have not as yet put any real strain on the program, but at first blush, on my Powerbook G4 1.5, speed of operations is just fine.Yes, as a few reviewers have pointed out, some of the palettes could be more elegantly combined.One tends to get a clutter of open palettes.But, these are refinements that will be made in future editions, I am sure.

Bottom line: If you want to layout pages with a lot of the sophistication possible in the more expensive "Quark" and "PageMaker" programs; if you want to be able to export your documents to universal portable PDF file format and print out beautiful documents; if you want to pay, basically, only about $40 for these benefits ["Keynotes," the other half of iwork represents another $40], then buy "Pages."

And, if you are a novice with respect to not only page layout programs but also to very robust word programs like "Word," don't expect that everything will be simple.You will have to learn, but you will be rewarded relatively quickly.

I almost didn't buy it....
I thought, "I have MS Office for the Mac, why do I need iWork?" Was I wrong!

Okay fine I suppose I don't really NEED it. But it is a great program, and worth the price. The ability to export my work as a .pdf file is worth the price by itself. The Pages interface is much better, cleaner than Word. And the templates are suprisingly useful. I created a web page by costomizing a template and exporting it as HTML. I twas easy and quick and the result looked great. Most of the people I work with are PC users and because they were unfamiliar with pages the web Page looked fresh, not like a modified copy of someone elses work.

I use my Mac for research mostly and the ability to save documents as .pdf files is very valuable as they are searchable. With Tigers ability to search the text within a .pdf I can now save my work as a .pdf and later find everytime a particular work appears in the fines I've created. This has made cross-refrecing very easy and fast. I now use a program called Pyramid to create a "mind map" of my work and create links from the "map" to refrences in the .pdfs.

I don't use Keynote as much. I t more visially appealing than Powerpoint and pretty easy to use. The ability to use Quicktime movies in the presentation is helpful and the ability to export as a Powerpoint file is nice.

Great program if Microsoft can develop an imitation
Keynote and Pages, the two applications included in iWork, were flawless under the Panther operating system. The Keynote app has always suffered from its inability to share with PC users. Oh yeah, I know I can convert a Keynote file to Powerpoint, .swf, QuickTime, or PDF, but the problem is that, especially when converting to PowerPoint, Keynote loses all its buttery-rich goodness. It's a PowerPoint problem, I realize, but without a Keynote viewer, there's no way around it. Thus, Mac folks must rely on Microsoft for slide presentations if they don't want to lug around their Mac laptop.

Also, installing Tiger will mess up the purchased Keynote templates you have saved. Even reinstalling them won't help.

My humble advice is to wait a couple of years until Apple fixes the bugs in Tiger, then MAYBE think about using a Mac. Until then, I'm switching back from a Mac to a PC.

Big time winner!
iWork comes with two programs, Pages (a word processor) and Keynote (Apple's version of PowerPoint).Both of these programs are very simple to use and very effective.Without a doubt, there are better programs available, but their cost several hundred dollars more and for the average user don't provided more bank for the buck.

When I first turned on Pages I thought "How cheesey!"But as I got to using it I found my first impression was totally wrong.It's simple appearance is very deceptive.This is a word processing program that can do everything that is needed for ordinary personal documents and beyond.You have to be willing to explore the program to discover its gems, but once you learn were things are you will find it a very fast and easy to use.The real value of the program is its desk top publishing.The 40 some templates let you create profession grade newsletters, journals, resumes, invitations, marketing brochures, and many other kinds of documents.This is worth the price of the software alone.It seamlessly works with your iPhoto, iTunes and iMovies.This is one powerful piece of software.With it you can produce commercial grade color brochures or newsletters at an entry level price.

Keynote makes wonderful multimedia presentations, and like Pages is seamlessly integrated with iPhoto, iTunes and iMovies.If you are using graphics or want to import photos into your presentation, Keynote is significantly easier, quicker, and simpler to use that PowerPoint.You can't miss with this program.You can even save you presentation as a PowerPoint, Quicktime, or PDF file or post it on the internet for all to see with the easy of a single click.

I have used both Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and keep them on my hard drive but rarely use them.As my skill with Pages and Keynote has grown I have found them to be more than sufficient in producing quality documents from personal letters, teaching handouts, to professional grade overhead presentations.
For the cost, iWorks cannot be beat!And you will not be disappointed.

iWork `05 System Requirements
- Macintosh computer with a 500 mhz or faster Power PC G3, G4 or G5 (G4 for PowerBook); G4 or G5 recommended
- 128 MB of physical RAM (512MB recommended)
- 8 MB of video memory (32MB recommended)
- Mac OS X v10.3.6 or later
- QuickTime 6.5 or later

Pages is a disappointment
I had high hopes for Pages, Apple's new Word Processing Application, but these hopes were shattered once I tried to design a newsletter with it.

I find the interface unintuitive, unlike most Apple software, and the templates are not easily customizable. What's more, the application continues to mysteriously "erase" work that I have done, even after I have saved it.

Apple, I know you can do better than this... ... Read more

Features

• Word processing with innovative new tools
• Improved reference tools; dynamic reviewing capabilities
• Keep text, pictures, logos, and other important info right at hand
• Soft drop shadows; decline auto corrections, numbering, and bulleting
• Search and flag relevant info; record audio into documents

Features

• Reads data in any customer defined XML schema, without reformatting; you can manipulate XML data sources using charts, tables or graphs
• Spreadsheets can be saved in a native XML file format, searchable by a program using industry standard XML
• New visual XML mapping tool maps user-specified XML schema to fields in an Excel spreadsheet
• Analyzes data better, with enhanced collinearity detection, sum of squared deviation calculation, normal distributions, and continuous probability distribution functions
• Enhanced Smart Tags appear only when you hover the mouse over a defined range of cells

Reviews (1)

More Possibilities with your Numbers & Data
Excel is a XML mammoth because of the integration with the language. The ability to migrate data between different storage sources and extraction of information to make it flexible in different scenarios. Tables can be transferred back and forth between applications such Word with ease. Excel can continually use the tables from documents as a data source for further expandability. It's the flexibility for data exchange that makes Excel 2003 very powerful. ... Read more

Features

• Create a forecast of income and expenses for the year ahead, based on your existing QuickBooks data with the click of a button.
• Build a professional, accurate business plan more easily than ever.
• Track inventory assemblies and finished goods.
• More easily apply payments, such as overpayments, underpayments, credits and refunds.
• More easily merge QuickBooks data into Microsoft Word [2000, 2002 or 2003] letters and envelopes for quick, professional mailings to customers, vendors or employees.

Features

• Powerful tool for managing business and personal finances
• Create customizable estimates and invoices
• Generate business reports and graphs, including Schedule C
• Track accounts receivable and payable
• Includes all features in Quicken 2005 Premier

Amazon.com Product Description

Learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency.

This comprehensive program provides up to 550 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists or drills. Previews, exercises, and tests accompany every lesson, and there are automated tutorials throughout the program. Graphical speech recognition displays your voiceprint and compares it with the native speaker to help improve your pronunciation. (Ages 6 and older) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This is a good start
I have completed both level 1 and level 2 and I have learned quite alot, but, I cannot yet claim that I speak or write the Italian language fluently. This is a good course, and worth the money if you are very serious about learning Italian, but it is only a good beginning. It will not teach you much about verb conjugation or how to build a proper Italian sentence. Italian is a tough language to learn for the English speaker and it requires a huge amount of study, and many different types of study sources. This course is probably the best of its type available, but as with all of them it can only take you so far.

Awesome Learning Tool!
I have had some knowledge of the Italian language so I am not a total beginner, but pretty close to it. The reason I purchased this software is that I found myself loosing the little knowledge I had. How this program works is through picture recognition along with coinciding speech. For an example they will show you a picture of a bird in different sequences such as: flying, swimming, and the color of the bird etc... They also show people doing similar actions. By picture recognition, repetitive patterns, and hearing the words, you do learn the language. The pictures do build in a methodical way and eventually you do learn to form the words, and then into sentences. But, there is no explanation in the how and why the grammar works. The word "the" is different in Italian with respect to masculine, feminine, plural, and the program does not explain this aspect of the language. You learn merely by rote imitation. This indeed is how a child learns to speak a language. A nice feature to this software is that the native speaker does speak in a slow pronunciation, in some parts of the program you can really slow the speakers voice down and hear every syllable. The program allows you to record your voice so you can hear your progress. Learning in this way is fun and I do not find my mind wandering. ... Read more

Features

• Create a forecast of income and expenses for the year ahead, based on your existing QuickBooks data with the click of a button.
• Build a professional, accurate business plan more easily than ever.
• Track inventory assemblies and finished goods.
• More easily apply payments, such as overpayments, underpayments, credits and refunds.
• More easily merge QuickBooks data into Microsoft Word [2000, 2002 or 2003] letters and envelopes for quick, professional mailings to customers, vendors or employees.

Features

• Feature-rich, compatible office productivity suite at a competitive price
• Powerful word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications
• Compatible with Microsoft Office, PDF, HTML, XML, and more
• Intuitive Publish to PDF feature; no need for additional PDF software
• Maximizes efficiency; versatile and easy to use

Reviews (5)

Great Alternative to MS
First off I don't own a business or anything I am just a poor student that needed an office program for school. After using Word and MS Office I needed to upgrade (this gets expensive year after year). So I decided to try Corel Office. It does pretty much everything Word, Excel, ect... does. And you can publish to PDF which is a bonus. Its a great alternative to MS and is a good value for the money.

Not so suite when you think about it
WordPerfect is a nice word processor. But there's nothing really the matter with MS Word either. They're only word processors after all, and both do what any word processor should do. So the question is, how does the rest of Corel's suite compare to Microsoft's offering? The answer is the same as its been for years: not too well. Excel, Access and Power Point are just plain better than Corel's Presentations, Paradox, etc. Do any businesses actually use Paradox or Presentations? I have not encountered any that do. The compatibility with MS has improved a little, but this begs the question why not buy MS Office in the first place? Then compatibility is no longer an issue, and you get applications that 90% of the business world is using anyway. So the key for me (I chose MS Office over WordPerfect) was not the word processor (WP and MS Word are both good) , but the other applications--the spreadsheets, presentation software, etc. Corel just isn't in the same league as MS when it comes to these.

WordPerfect 12: A New Hope?
Having now had WordPerfect 12 installed for some time, I can say that Corel has done well in their target area of improving compatibility with MS Office. There really isn't much else new about this version, but improving WP's ability to co-exist with MS Office may be what is needed to keep this once-great suite going.
Why consider WP12 if you're looking for an alternative to MS Office? Put simply, StarOffice/OpenOffice just isn't ready yet. Every part of the WordPerfect suite is more polished, more powerful and more flexible than the equivalent component in SO/OOo. Of course WP12 has Reveal Codes, which neither SO/OOo nor MS Office has, but even in features that they have in common, like Publish-to-PDF, WP's version is more professional than the SO/OOo equivalent.
QuattroPro sometimes gets a bad rap, but it is a very powerful spreadsheet, with its own Pivot Tables (the equivalent of Excel's CrossTabs), and it offers 1 million rows and 18,000 columns, far more than ANY of its competitors.
Paradox is the sort of database app that makes its MS Office "equivalent" look like a child's toy, if you are prepared for the steeper learning curve.
Of course the heart of the suite is the incomparable WordPerfect itself, and version 12 is not an embarrassment to its predecessors. Even though the only major improvements have been to compatibility with MS Office (significantly better in WP, QP and Presentations), there have been some other useful bug fixes and refinements.

The really exciting thing about this release is the evidence that Corel (now owned by Vector, and in a much healthier financial situation than it has been for years) has renewed its commitment to the suite, and is being realistic about what is needed to protect WP's niche in the market. Planning for version 13 is apparently already under way, as is a trial of a version for Linux, so WordPerfect is definitely here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Having used both OpenOffice and StarOffice for over a year now, I can honestly say that, if you are looking for an enterprise-quality, professional business suite alternative to MS Office, WP12 is a much better choice. The quality difference is especially noticeable in the respective spreadsheet applications, with QuattroPro being several orders of magnitude more powerful and useful than Calc.
In summary, if, for any reason, you want an alternative to MS Office, WP12 is it. Sure, it's not free, but the competitive pricing structure for upgrades make it a very economical choice, and the quality of the product is such that the cost is money VERY well spent. WORDPERFECT LIVES!

WordPerfect Office 12
I'm a die-hard WordPerfect user, so consider the source!

That said, one important note not present in Amazon's info: WPO 12 also works in Windows 98 SE ... try that with MSO later versions!

Several fixes have been observed (compared to WPO 11), including (and important to me) that using Wp's Publish to PDF again saves multiple colored text on the same line correctly again (it worked OK in Wp10).

Great product, particularly for those wanting improved round-tripping with MS Word files, opening or saving as.

Too little, too late for a once great product
Earlier versions of WordPerfect have suffered from file incompatibility with MS Office applications. WordPerfect Office 12 *finally* has great file compatibility features. In fact, just click an icon on a toolbar and you can save to the MS Office application of your choice.

PROS
* Solid file compatibility with MS Office---finally!

* Paradox is an easy tool for learning about relational databases; it is far easier to use than Access, though not as powerful

* WordPerfect drawing tools are superior to MS Word drawing tools

* WordPerfect is still better for laying out complex documents, including outlines and multiple columns

* The 'reveal codes' feature alone is nearly invaluable--why didn't MS copy that somewhere along the way?

* It costs less

* Can create PDFs (without buying Acrobat) from the WP print menus

CONS
* Corel, WordPerfect's maker, is in financial trouble--will bug fixes and upgrades be available?

* Excel is more powerful (ie., Pivot tables) and has a better interface than Quattro Pro

* PowerPoint is head-and-shoulders easier to use than Presentations

THE SKINNY
Hey, WordPerfect, what took you so long to get the file compatibility!? Your market share is almost zip. Methinks it is too little, too late to resurrect this once great product. I was one of the last WordPerfect loyalists, and I switched to MS Office for good 4 years ago!

* If you are a WordPerfect loyalist, the file compatibility features alone make this a required purchase

* If you don't want to spend the money for MS Office, this is a good alternative

* BUT, OpenOffice.org is a *free* alternative to MS Office with good file compatibility. The interface isn't as nice as WordPerfect's--but *free* goes a long way ... Read more

Features

• PC and home-network protection against viruses and blended threats
• Personal firewall; privacy protection; W-Fi intrusion detection
• New anti-phishing, home-network control, and vulnerability assessment
• Improved spam filtering; enhanced spyware detection and removal
• Comprehensive virus security and integrated protection; easy to use

Features

• Create a forecast of income and expenses for the year ahead, based on your existing QuickBooks data with the click of a button
• Build a professional, accurate business plan more easily than ever.
• Track inventory assemblies and finished goods.
• More easily apply payments, such as overpayments, underpayments, credits and refunds.
• More easily merge QuickBooks data into Microsoft Word [2000, 2002 or 2003] letters and envelopes for quick, professional mailings to customers, vendors or employees.

Amazon.com Product Description

Learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency.

The Rosetta Stone Level I program offers a comprehensive course of study for beginning learners, leading to intermediate proficiency. The program contains over 3,500 real-life images and phrases in 92 lessons and more than 250 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. There are reviews, exercises, and tests for every lesson with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older) ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The best way to learn
I have looked at nearly a dozen different Spanish programs, but this program really mimicks the way a native tongue is learned. Any program that says that you can become fluent in a language in 2 months is lying to you. How did you learn your native language? Did your parents give you an English grammar book when you were a baby and have you conjugate verbs? Of course not! You heard your parents, their friends, and relatives speak it to you over and over and over again. Through that, you began to pick up words and phrases and were able to associate them with their meaning. But it took you quite a while didn't it? You weren't speaking your native language 4 months after you were born, were you? But over time you became fluent.

People who live in other countries usually become fluent in that language in about 6 months to a year, depending on the language. And that's with hearing it 24/7, speaking it, reading it, and having no choice but to understand it. They are immersed in the language. That is what Rosetta Stone is trying to do. It is immersion. You see the picture, see the words, and hear the phrase or words associated with them. And this way, you never forget it. It's much easier to remember that caballo is horse when you have seen a picture of a horse with the word superimposed on that picture while a native speaker is saying it.

It is going to take a while. There is no such thing as fast-food language. You have to be patient and you have to be dilligent. Repetition in the program is excellent, but the dilligence of the learner is the key to seeing results!

The Most Excelent Program
The Rosetta Stone product is a wonderful way to learn a language. It uses your intuition to teach you and you can choose whether you want to learn to speak, listen, or read and write. You may advance in one area more quickly than in others and more than one user can keep track of their scores. The ease of the program and the ability to quickly learn the language is wonderful. The only drawback to this program is that it does not start with conversational spanish. It also does not break down the verbs and grammar, etc. The books discuss these things, but you travel through the program and learn the way you would if you were having to hear the language (or read it). I love it and so does my 10 yr old. I am not a natural at languages, but have recommended this program to all of my friends. I also have dealt with the company and found them to be wonderful at tech support and in getting me answers to questions.

Not as good as I was expecting
This programs is good listening practice,and offers somewhat useful speech practice, and writing practice, but thats about it. There is no grammar practice at all. In Spanish this is critical. Learning verb conjugations are boring, but you simple have to understand them, same with pronouns ect. The Speech practice and writing exercises are simple repeating, and writing the Spanish you hear. This will do little for your ability to speak, because your going to have to translate the English to Spanish in your head, and vis versa. How can you say anything If you don't know for sure what the words and phrases mean.This is the way children learn right. (...). Want to say I want this or I need that, your out of luck, because this program does not show, or explain how. Everything in this course is third person. You get ton's of the boys are jumping, the girls are running ect. If you go to a Spanish speaking country how useful is this going to be? Like your going to strike up a conversation about someone else with a native Spanish speaker? No verb conjucations for I, you, we!!! A small problem considering you will use these verb conjucations at least 70-80% of the time in the present tense.If you get this course you need a dictionary, a verb conj. book, and if you can afford it the pimseur series, or Barron's FSI (IF you don't have the money). After about half way into the course I stopped, because I felt like I was on a vocabulary treadmill, learning new vocabulary words and little else. That's when I orders some good workbooks like Spanish the Easy way, The the practice makes perfect books, and wishing I would have bought these books first, as I use them and the pimsleur course, and put this course on the backburner. Anyway I will say that sadly this course is by far the best software program available for learning languages, but it's lacking and way overpriced for what you will get out of them. If you want to learn how to speak the language this is not the course for you. If you want to work on listening comprehention, and vocabulary building than you may like it.

For those with much time and litte ability
For those who have never been able to learn a foriegn language this might work. It's tediously repetitive, introducing material at such a slow rate that even the most mentally challenged should find is easy going. Perhaps this explains its popularity in the State Department.
The pace of the course is so slow though that anyone trying to use this to learn a language at a reasonably rapid rate is going to find it little more than frustrating. After a few hours you will finally be able to put together sentence like 'The men are dancing.' That's absurd. Adults dont'NEED to learn languages like children do. We can learn them much more quickly and more efficiently.
All of the exercises provide the user with crutches. One is never forced to come up with the phrase in a foriegn language. One merely has to choose from among those provided. The written exercises are merely dictation. The accent reduction exercises are really exercises in pure mimicry. In short the software is very low-powered. There is no fancy AI here. It's really very crude.
At this price the quality is simply not adequate.
So that reduces the demographic for this product to mentally challenged individuals with a great deal of liesure time, and a great deal of money. If you fit into that category, you might give this a try. Otherwise find something faster, cheaper, better.

My Favorite
I have purchased several different Spanish training courses but the Rosetta Stone is the one that I spend the most time with. I think the program does a fine job of synthesizing the natural process by which all humans learn their native languages. The price is a bit steep, but after working with level one for quite some time I went ahead and purchased level two as well. I figured that based on how much use I'm getting out of it, the money spent on The Rosetta Stone was money well spent. ... Read more