Features

• Craft great-looking documents with confidence
• Record sound right into notes while typing
• Discuss changes in real time with MSN Messenger
• Improved reference tools; dynamic reviewing capabilities
• Enhanced views for organizing thoughts; improved track changes

Features

• Instantly converts PDF files into Microsoft Word documents and forms
• Delivers an exact rendering of the original document's content
• Unmatched ease-of-use via the PDF Converter Assistant
• PDF passwords and encryption; PDF thumbnail preview and page ranges
• Processes PDF image files into Microsoft Word documents

Reviews (5)

Don't throw your money away on this product
The activation process for this product ties hardware configuration to the serial number. Then if you upgrade your hardware, you can not re-install this product on a new configuration (even after uninstalling from older hardware). Then try to get a hold of Scansoft, $19.95/phone call and $9.95/e-mail. Poor product performance and poor product support.

Bogus technical support
Technical support is HORRIBLE. They want to charge me $9.95 to just tell them about a "glitch" in their software....incredible.

This is a decent product for the money. It is not perfect and sometimes converting documents it does not always come through perfectly. I can live with that.

What bugs me is that there is a glitch with this software and how the plug-in works with Outlook. On the second start of Outlook the plug-in buttons for this - and my other plug-ins are gone! I uninstall this program and everything re-appears and works just fine. The issue is with this software.

In reality it is no big deal right? I just tell the company and they work on a fix....however, just for the right to tell them I have to pay $9.95 for that. What a crock..

Is this what Scansoft is all about? They cannot even take user feedback on the issue without a charge? You'd think Scansoft would want to make its product even better and fix the glitches.....but I am not paying $9.95 to tell them about their error. Really stupid Scansoft.

This product is HORRIBLE!! Don't Buy It!!
I tried using this product on some PDFs and it just would NOT convert them properly! I called tech support and they said sometimes it doesn't work too well why don't you buy our more expensive Omnipage product. They would not return my product nor give me free tech support with this product. After charging me $20.00 per incident on tech support they were unable to resolve my problem. They just said well "It does not work sometimes, buy our Omnipage product instead". Horrible customer service over there. ScanSoft truly exemplifies poor customer service.

Finally a way to break free from PDF hell
This product is really great.period. I hated working with PDFs because Acrobat Reader didn't allow me to do anything with the file. Adobe is pretty smart giving away Reader to promote the technology, but stupid for trying to rape you if you want to buy a full version of the product. ScanSoft's product works really well for me and is reasonably priced. Adobe is in trouble...

Excellent Product. Cheaper and Better than Adobe
This product gives all the PDF features that Adobe does not provide and at a fraction of the Adobe price. In addition, it is much easier to use than any other Adober software. In addition its compatibility and integration with Microsoft makes it an Adobe Killer. No other PDF integrates so well with Microsoft.

A must have if you have to deal with PDF. ... Read more

Product Description

Adobe InDesign CS2 Upgrade from Pagemaker .Design professional page layouts using unparalleled support for native Adobe file formats, sophisticated typographical controls, and rich creative options, including transparency effects, flexible table creation, object and text styles, and more. Achieve greater efficiency through tight integration with the Adobe applications you use every day, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, GoLive, and InCopy software. Preview and adjust separations, overprinting, and transparency flattener settings. Then reliably output pages to print or as Adobe PDF files using professional controls, including comprehensive printing options, trapping support, color management controls, and print and Adobe PDF export presets.Browse, organize, label, and preview graphics and InDesign documents, templates, and snippets in Adobe Bridge. Drag and drop assets from Adobe Bridge into layouts easily and efficiently. Search for files using metadata, such as keywords, colors, and image resolution. Apply and globally upd object-level formatting more efficiently using object styles. Save a wide range of graphic, text, and frame-level attributes as object styles to create more consistent designs and speed up production tasks.Adobe Photoshop and Adobe PDF layer support. Selectively display layers and layer comps in Photoshop files, and layers in Adobe PDF files, to experiment with different design options or use multiple variations of a file in your layout, all while linking to a single file. ... Read more

Product Description

Adobe InDesign CS2 Upgrade from Pagemaker .Design professional page layouts using unparalleled support for native Adobe file formats, sophisticated typographical controls, and rich creative options, including transparency effects, flexible table creation, object and text styles, and more. Achieve greater efficiency through tight integration with the Adobe applications you use every day, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, GoLive, and InCopy software. Preview and adjust separations, overprinting, and transparency flattener settings. Then reliably output pages to print or as Adobe PDF files using professional controls, including comprehensive printing options, trapping support, color management controls, and print and Adobe PDF export presets.Browse, organize, label, and preview graphics and InDesign documents, templates, and snippets in Adobe Bridge. Drag and drop assets from Adobe Bridge into layouts easily and efficiently. Search for files using metadata, such as keywords, colors, and image resolution. Apply and globally upd object-level formatting more efficiently using object styles. Save a wide range of graphic, text, and frame-level attributes as object styles to create more consistent designs and speed up production tasks.Adobe Photoshop and Adobe PDF layer support. Selectively display layers and layer comps in Photoshop files, and layers in Adobe PDF files, to experiment with different design options or use multiple variations of a file in your layout, all while linking to a single file. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

WinWay Resume Deluxe can help you write the perfect resume and cover letter in record time with easy-to-use resume software. Choose from thousands of Ready-To-Use resumes for virtually every career, plus more than 100,000 powerful job-winning phrases. Then select from multiple designs for a resume that really stands out.

From entry-level to executive, recent graduate, military, career change, career advancement, frequent job changes, and many more--there’s a resume for everyone. Plus, cover letters are a snap. Our Letter AutoWriter offers ready-to-use paragraphs for your cover letters, ad response letters, interview follow-up letters, networking letters, cold call letters, resignation letters, and more.

Valuable Internet features to help maximize your job-searching efforts. Find more opportunities in your area to get a job that is close and convenient. Search millions of job openings online instantly. Easily post your resume to multiple Web sites and even build your own resume Web page. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Brilliant Software!
WinWay Resume is simply outstanding. This program definitely does the trick. It's easy to use, extremely straightforward, and had a pre-made resume (I'm a cost accountant) that I was able to adapt to properly show my experience. And it has a Resume Auditor which is incredibly cool. It found all kinds of mistakes in my resume - and I'm sure glad it did. Not just typos, but things like date gaps between jobs. The tutorials were really helpful, too. It teaches you how to negotiate a better salary and how to present yourself during an interview, which turned out to be a good thing for me since it's been 12 years since I had to interview. Anyways, I recommend it wholeheartedly!

Helped me get a Job
My company has been laying people off every month so I decided it was time to update my resume. I just got Winway Resume Deluxe 10.0 and I must say it really helped me put together a beautiful looking resume. It helped me to write my resume quickly and more professionally than I EVER could have done on my own. And the Resume Auditor feature worked like a charm! It's kind of like a spell checker for your resume and it found some big problems woth my resume that otherwise would have just gone unnoticed (by at least me but maybe not my prospective employer). When I read reviews here on Amazon, it seems like Winway is the only software with a resume checker. If your company is laying people off like mine, this is a great insurance policy. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Resume Maker Deluxe 2004 Version 11
Much better than I anticipated. Frustrated at first, because I too could not import my resume from a MS Word document, & had to enter the data myself (poor me). BUT, it is was well worth the effort! Pleasantly surprised with this OUTSTANDING product that was worth every penny. My only regret is not using this software sooner. One caveat: my computer is rather new, and I have a very fast Internet connection. Therefore, I am not sure I can recommend this product to everyone.

Don't bother
Package clearly states it imports resumes. When you get to that part it tells you that if you want to import it will have to be plain text (i.e. no Word docs), with bullets and formatting removed. Well, that's pretty much just not importing.

Secondly, the program hangs on XP all the time. I have a brand new machine, with patches. And I updated Resume Maker right off. Still hangs.

Really, this is a waste of money. I'm giving up on it and going back to Word. All the other 'features' (sample resumes, etc.) can be found at many websites.

Best Product on the Market and Reasonable Price
The new ResumeMaker 11.0 is very good, I especially like the interview segment because it gives concrete examples. I work in a busy high school and this allows students to work independently. I also like the fact that you can now go in and edit fonts, spacing etc. As I have said this is the best product on the market. It still amazes me that the price is so reasonable. Our students always have the most professional looking resumes to present to employers when using this software program.

New ResumeMaker 11.0 is awesome
The new ResumeMaker 11.0 is awesome, I especially like the interview segment because it gives concrete examples. I work in a busy high school and this allows students to work independently. I also like fact that can now go in and edit font, spacing etc. As I have said before you have the best product on the market. It still amazes me that the price is so reasonable. Thank for allowing me to preview the ResumeMaker 11.0. Our students always have the most professional looking resumes to present to employers when using your software program.

It just doesn't get any better than this software!!!!!
I came to this site to leave a A+++ review on this product, and before I did I saw some negative comments from other people who had written how disappointed they were.. You know I have been using computer software for a lot of years, and all I can say is these bad reviews must be from people who don't have a clue.. Not only has ResumeMaker been super easy to use, but it landed me a job within a week!!

I guess you just can't please everybody, but then there are those who would complain about getting out of bed in the morning.. In fact I had purchased another product called Winway Deluxe (Resume Program)beore this and was so dissopointed I gave it away... After talking to a saleman at a software store, he had stated ResumeMaker Pro. was the only one they hear positive feedback from satisfied customers, so I bought a copy. Boy am I glad I had talked to a person who sells software for a living, and could give me straight up adive..

All I can say is do your home work and you will see what I am saying, and if you want something easy to use go get ResumeMaker Pro.. JB Everett, WA ... Read more

Features

• PDF Create! and PDF Converter for Microsoft Word combined
• Create industry-standard PDF files; password protection
• Convert PDF files into editable Microsoft Word documents and forms
• Easily extract charts and graphs from PDF files for use elsewhere
• Automated batch creation; merge documents; watermarks and stamps

Reviews (3)

Awesome!
PDF Converter 2 Professional is an awesome product! I have been using it for a few weeks and it leaves Acrobat in the dust. I creates PDF files much quicker and with a lot less set-up and hassle. Why hasn't somebody created a product like this before?

Better than Adobe!
Our company has searched high and low for an alternative to Acrobat because we didn't like Adobe's arrogant take-it-or-leave-it attitude about pricing. We couldn't find a product that offered the same functionality from a reputable company until this came along. This PDF Converter product offered the features that almost everyone in our company needed and was much less expensive than Acrobat. When we pilot tested it, everyone found it easy to use. Based on that decision alone we swapped out Acrobat for PDF Converter and saved about $100,000. Now I think I need a raise!

PDF Create rocks!
PDF Create rocks! As a student, I don't have much money and couldn't afford to spend $300 for Acrobat. My teachers wanted papers sent to them electronically in PDFs so I had to go to the library every time I needed to turn something in and use their computer to create one. It was really inconvenient, plus I couldn't go to the library late at night because it wasn't open. One of the staff told me about this product that would create PDFs for $50 from ScanSoft. I bought it and figured I'd just return it if it didn't work out. After I installed it I found it was really easy to use and saved me from having to go back to the library to create PDF files. It's the best $50 I've ever spent. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Show business loves its archetypes. One chestnut that won't go away is the image of the feverish screenwriter, hunched over a word processor, ideas flying so thick and fast that the chore of punctuation would invite creative disaster. Hollywood Screenwriter is a script-writing program that promises to simplify the mundane stuff--like proper script formatting--so creative juices can flow freely.

The only keys a writer needs to move between script elements in this program are TAB, ENTER, and (. Since scripts have a logic and order that's fairly standardized, the program can intuit what's next, placing time of day after scene headings or formatting for dialogue or a parenthetical after a character's name. This is a less-complicated program than some of the more expensive screenwriting programs out there, but it doesn't do as much as those other offerings either.

Hollywood Screenwriter is designed for writing spec scripts: speculative screenplays designed to get the attention of stage or screen producers. This program will help you format your script correctly, ensuring that it won't get tossed out based on appearance. But if someone decides to produce your masterpiece, you won't be able to make a production script with this program. Then again, if that happens, you might feel flush enough to go buy one of those spendy programs that does A and B pages.

No other place clings to dated stereotypes of how things are done quite like Hollywood does. Included in Hollywood Screenwriter's instruction manual are painstakingly detailed instructions on how to assemble a script correctly. Which begs the question: Are there really people out there who would reject a possible Oscar winner because it's not punched by a three-hole press and bound by two solid-brass Acco No. 5 brads? --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Great starter program
For a quarter to a fifth of the price of the full programs, you get a fine spec script writing package. Like Movie Magic 2000, Final Draft and Scriptware, you get the TAB and ENTER system of entering Scenes and Character Names. You'll lose some of the higher end features (like card view) but for basic script input (especially for spec scripts) Hollywood Screenwriter will probably do what you need, especially if you're a beginner.

You do need to download the latest updates from Screenplay Systems, especially if you are using Windows Me, 2000 or XP (othewise you might get an "Error 32 Message"). You should also look at the new spec script formats that can be downloaded from Screenplay System's web site. They allow you to stop using Character CONT'Ds in your scripts, as this is becoing outdated.

Hollywood Screenwriter doesn't have as many export options as its bigger brother, Movie Magic 2000, but it *does* have RTF and ASCII, which means it should interact with just about any Windows word processor or Screenplay software.

For the price and features, Hollywood Screenwriter is a great program. Check Screenplay System's comparison chart for feature differences between it and Movie Magic 2000 before buying, but there's a good chance that if you are writing a spec script, Hollywood Screenwriter will do the job.

Disappointed
I bought this to import a script from MS Word and have been very disappointed. It's not very intuitive, lacks a clear description of the elements and has limited help functions. I am used to using MS Word and found this very frustrating. I just wanted a simple program without all the bells and whistles of the more expensive products, but am disappointed in this. Perhaps it could be different if I was starting from scratch and hadn't imported my script.

Great product, great Tech Support!
I entered the Project Greenlight screenwriting contest three years ago and needed a program immediately so I could retype my screenplay into the exactly perfect formatting of "standard industry format," which was a rule of the Project Greenlight Contest (a rule they never enforced). I didn't have money to buy a program at that time and discovered that Hollywood Screenwriter had a free trial period so I downloaded it.

I somehow missed the part where either the free trial did not allow saving or if it did, I didn't understand how to do it. I had no problem whatsoever using Hollywood Screenwriter, it was easy to understand right from the start. But the deadline to enter the contest at Project Greenlight was only one more day away and there I was, stuck with a screenplay that I could not save to the required .pdf format.

I got in touch with Tech Support and these guys were absolutely wonderful and supportive of me. They emailed back and forth with me for half the night, trying to figure out how to get my script to .pdf format. They finally hit on the idea of saving my script to .rtf then going to Adobe for their free conversion to .pdf. Although the Adobe conversion alters page breaks, that's not Hollywood Screenwriter's fault.

I will never forget how nice their Tech Support was and how much effort they put into helping me and I was only using the free trial version! There are many companies out there who wouldn't go to all that bother even for their paying customers.

If there is any part of this software's interface that you don't "get," or if you have any problems at all, be assured that their Tech Support will go to any lengths to help you. I wouldn't worry about the interface, though. As I stated, it is very easy to use, very quick to learn.

Not having to worry about formatting really frees up your creativity. I do recommend this product.

A cheap program with some big gotcha's
Sure, this program is [cheap] compared to [the expensive] Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 or Final Draft, but this program is so loaded with technical glitches and gotchas that I can't recommend it unless you're planning to write and print a single short screenplay for a school assignment or something like that. The documentation says you can export your text into other programs, but you can't! So whatever you write is locked into this limited-feature program forever, unless you want to retype it all. There are lots of other things promised by the manual or box cover but not delivered in the program. If you have any fantasies of actually writing and selling a screenplay, don't buy this product. Save your money and buy one of the industry standard programs instead.

I know why the other reviewers hated this product-I LOVE IT
This software is great for writing scripts for movie you want to sell or make yourself! It is so easy to use just press TAB and ENTER to go to diffrent sections of the script. The reason why other reviewers disliked this product was because they didn't have the upgate. Just ... download a small upgrade so it will work on all the computers it says it will and will not give you an Error 32 message. This program is great for all users! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Microsoft Word X features components like toolbars and navigation buttons that have been redesigned for greater readability and to help users quickly move from one feature to the next. New icons have been added, using anti-aliased graphics for a cleaner appearance, and they have Aqua-enabled mouseovers for enhanced usability. And just like Mac OS X, Word X uses animation to improve discoverability. Word X is fully compatible with Word 98 Macintosh Edition, Word 2001 for Mac, and Word for Windows 97, 2000, and XP.

Tools include multi-selection, which lets you command-click multiple selections of text within a Word X document and apply formatting, spelling, searching, or any other operation to the chosen selections. Word X's Clear Formatting function is a simple tool that removes an open document's formatting. Word X also provides the power to add stunning graphics to documents by letting you set a specific percentage of transparency to any drawing or shape available in Office Art.

Available only for Office for Mac, Data Merge Manager simplifies the process of using data to conduct a mass communication, via e-mail or traditional mail. Other features include the ability to get to critical contact information from the Address Book directly from Word X's Contact toolbar, making common tasks such as addressing a letter much simpler and faster. You can also preview published documents in the default Web browser directly from Word X, and build nested tables, tables with an integrated header row, and tables with diagonal lines through cells. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

$35 support from day one
Purchasers of Word X for Mac should be aware that Micrososft does not warranty their product. I purchased Word X software from Amazon about a month ago and had problems with printing out a document. On seeking help from Microsoft I was told that Microsoft does not warranty Word for Mac and that a minimum thirty-five dollar fee would be required for their help.

The first blockbuster application for OS X version 10.1!
I'm basing this review on the word X test Driver version, available on the Microsoft matopia site. From what I've seen so far, this is one very good app--everything has been made to work with the Aqua interface, the layout is quite easy to learn and use quickly, and I find myself using it more and more everyday. Of course, in the Test Drive doesn't have all of the features included--you can use the project gallery for the basics, but you'll have to wait for printing to be enabled, for example. The best part--when I redid my resume and send it as an attachment, I don't hear the old "resend it as a Word doc!" complaint anymore. I'll upgrade to Word X for sure! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Works 7.0 is home productivity software for your PC. The suite includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, and calendar. And, Works 7.0 has new, professionally designed templates, and a new tool to help organize common projects. The software is even easier to learn and use, but flexible enough to let more advanced users jump right into what they want to do.

Works helps you make professional-looking documents and get tasks done quickly. Keep track of up to 32,000 records with Works Database. Organize and track expenses, home inventories, and collections with Works Spreadsheet. Make planning and managing projects easier with the new My Projects organizer. Get quick access to your schedule, to-do list, and Works tools via the quick-start Task Launcher home page.

Quickly format documents and get professional-looking results with the Format Gallery. Hundreds of updated, customizable templates help you with personal budgets, sports organization, schoolwork, and more. Easily share and edit files with Word and Excel users. Quick Tours guides you step-by-step through each component. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Works 2003, if you are desparate!
If you are really cheap or totally bankrupt when it comes to buying a set of productivity tools, here's a saviour or option. This is really low end software and I really don't recommend it, but it is commendable enough to do simple task such typing a one page document, adding numbers in the spead sheet programme. But the database is just not good at all. It's unreliable and not powerful to handle complex task such as creating complex queries or even reports. The product cost forty dollars but if you have an extra thirty dollars, buy Star Office 6.0, if you were to compare that to Works, Star Office would look more like Microsoft Office. It is a full featured productivity suite that includes a satisfactory word processor, spreadsheet, presentation graphics and drawing prgram. The only time I can recall when I really appreciated Works was version 4.5, that was the ultimate works, the Wizards were intuitive and easy to use. It guided you along the way, this really made Works more friendlier and useful than recent versions.So as I said before if you have the extra 30 dollars go for Star Office you won't regret it or just save and buy WordPerfect Office or Microsoft Office.

Under-rated, over-criticized
I have used MS WORKS from about the time it was born, when it was quite primitive and sometimes unstable. But I have continued to use it, primarily for databases, because it has become progressively more stable and easy to use. These are not all small and simple databases--many include several thousand items, each with 20 to 30 fields of data. It is easy to "find" single items or to assemble groups of items ("filter"), and to print customized reports. So if you don't need (or want) the super sophistication of ACCESS, I have found WORKS to be a friendly and helpful--and inexpensive--alternative.

Everything I need for less than $50!
Microsoft Works sometimes gets a bad rap. If you never used it, you may not know that includes a database, spreadsheet, word processor, and more. What's even better, is that the spreadsheet and word processor are compatible with Microsoft Office. So you can save files so that they can be opened in Microsoft Office AND you can open files that someone else sent to you if they were created in MS Word or Excel. This is perfect for the work I do for the humane society that I volunteer for as well as planning my daughter's girl scout troops activities and camping trips.

Very Nice, Very Cheap
I put MS Works on all systems that I make for other people. It has everything they need, and it dosen't break the bank. The only thing I don't like is that there is no Presentation software, or PowerPoint clone. Then again, if they included that, MS Office sales would go down A LOT!!!

passable for general use but...
Originally I thought the idea of offering a set of the most popular applications at an affordable price was great. Recently, however, computer makers have started to offer MS Works as the standard suite on new machines.

Users who need more than very very basic features will need to buy more dependable softwares such as those contained in Office. The word processor in Works, for instance, doesn't have most of the special characters that are necessary to transcribe foreign languages (French etc.). So the cheap price of MS Works ends up being a way to save money to computer makers and to squeeze out extra money from buyers who will need to upgrade to better products anyway. ... Read more

Features

• This unique tool gives you a new way to jot down notes for your self, organize them and keep track of things in your day-to-day life
• Take notes anywhere on the screen -- you can even handwrite notes or draw diagrams for yourself, using a pen input device on your laptop or tablet
• Record audio notes you can synchronize to your written notes, to make you never miss anything
• Put pictures, text, and other information from a Web site directly into OneNote 2003 -- just drag and drop
• Create multiple notebooks, folders or pages, and search through them

Reviews (16)

Microsoft OneNote = Easier Life!
Being a college student on the go, a notebook computer is essential to my academic success. I have been fortunate enough to be a Beta Tester for Microsoft OneNote, and this program is amazing. Designed for Tablet PCs, it still works great on my Desktop and Notebook.

I am capable of typing all my notes as the professor lectures. Many students enjoy paper and pen due to the ability to draw and sketch as needed. OneNote allows you to use mouse or touch pad to enter charts, graphs, or sketches right into the notes. Notes are easy to print, save, share, and sort with OneNote.

In the past I always wrote my notes and had to try to pay attention to the professor, read the overheads, and write straight and legibly so I could read the notes for later. I always had to try and read three different things at a time. Now, I can just type away while looking at the professor and overheads allowing me to pay better attention to the professor.
Why is this better than Word? Because it is designed with the power of Word, but with all the easy to access tools needed for Note taking. Colored Pens tools, fonts, bullets, outlines, all easily accessible from the Menus.

While I love my Notebook computer, I love it even more with OneNote!

Microsoft OneNote, making College Students Life easier!!!

Not impressive.
Onenote came with my new laptop (so I didnt have to put down almost $200 on it) I find as college student, it's too much of a hassel to type instead of writing the old fashion way. I used Onenote to take notes on a movie for a class and it was a hassel. Also there's no way to save. If you want to type your note save money and use Word instead.

More than One Question for OneNote
Above all, a notetaking program is supposed to make it easy to organize and find notes. With that purpose in mind, certain omissions in the program startle.

Ordering notes within a section is as easy as it should be, but why did Microsoft make it hard to organize across sections and even harder to organize across folders? You can transfer a note from one section to another, but you cannot transfer it to a specific location within the section in a single operation. To transfer between folders, you have to use ordinary drag and drop. Software is supposed to make these processes easy, not complicate them with an anachronistic imagry of paper sections.

Organizing and reorganizing is of the essence for notetaking, and the Office suite, of which OneNote is part, has a multi-clipboard. Why did Microsoft omit giving OneNote access to the Office clipboard, when OneNote is the Office product that needs it most. The functionality is already present in Office; Microsoft had to go out of its way to omit this functionality for OneNote.

The saving grace of OneNote is that the underlying technology is very powerful. It gives you the ability to take notes by various means and to put them anywhere you want on the page. The core technology is powerful, but the feature set MS has chosen to develop lacks a rational foundation and appears impulsive.

Simpleminded approach to notetaking
MS OneNote 2003 program is not completely ready for use on the tablet. Even though
the Journal notetaking software that comes with Windows XP Tablet Edition is simple, it
is better than OneNote. OneNote tries to organize notes through a series of vertical and
horizontal tabs, which would be a great idea if it didn't get in the way. Instead of helping,
these tabs actually make notes difficult to retrieve. Also, while tabs may be useful for
traditional notebooks, the usefulness of tabs does not carryover to the tablet. It was
simpleminded of Microsoft's OneNote product managers to carryover traditional
notebook features to the tablet.

Microsoft OneNote 2003
Help! What happened to my order placed for this product Microsoft OneNote 2003, last Wednesday (Australia time)on my VISA card?
Adrian Turnbull
160 Arcadia Road
Arcadia
NSW 2159
AUSTRALIA.
Please email reply. ... Read more

Features

• Reverse Dictionary - find words by meaning or by looking up related words
• Glossary Treasury with nearly 800 divisions and 80,000 entries
• Almanac with entries for holidays, sports terms, science and more
• Helps arrange your words in a logical, categorized structure
• Automatic Web updating of the Word Menu database

Reviews (2)

Good idea, needing attention to basic details.
This is a very comprehensive resource of categorised words and their meanings, which is easily navigated and understood. Loaded onto a laptop, one has a lot of power easily to hand.

The Fractal Browser looks like a good idea and would be a visually attractive feature for school kids. But I would have been happy to ditch this feature in place of having a standard dictionary browsing option outside of the categorised options, and still retain links to the corresponding categories. Another aspect of the Fractal Browser is that the links are images with quite fine text. This doesn't respond to the browser 'Text Size' selector in Explorer. So monitors set at higher resolutions than 800 x 600 will be problematic for users with less than good eyesight. Users of IBM Thinkpads will not be able to get around this. This is also a problem with respect to the category tree.

A good product in principle and at a very reasonable price, but falls a little bit short in the overall design, with too much attention to the deluxe features, I think.

Searching for words is straightforward and the history feature is useful, but if you aren't sure of a word's spelling it can be tedious to find it, by trial and error, unless you know its category and go manually browsing for it. Google smarts would be useful here, and worth a few dollars more.

Five stars!!!! BUT...
It's amazing! A real partner if you like the sound and taste of the words and definitions; The Fractal Browser help to see the word in its context, that is just one the top features. Writers, screenwriters, language lovers, scholars, will love it. BUT... the software has a bug when you install it in the Spanish Versions of Windows XP and Windows NT: The Split Results View doesn't appears. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Excellent Time-Saver
Writing a screenplay can be a very daunting task, especially for someone who is not familiar with the format. Before purchasing Final Draft, my previous screenplays were written in your basic, custom-formated Microsoft Word document.

Final Draft 6 does it all the formating for you. A function called "SmartType" finishes off character names for you, so you don't have to keep typing in names. This is wonderful when you have two or three characters talking to each other in a string, so you can quickly type the conversation, as if it were going on in front of you.

When I transferred my previous screenplays into Final Draft, it took about an hour or so to reformat a 106-page document correctly. Final Draft was able to interperate about 80% of the formatting correctly, getting confused on mostly transitions and telling the difference between some scene headings and actions. Although, it knew exactly what was dialogue just by where it was placed in the word document, which I thought was remarkable.

Some of the templates for actual T.V. shows are a little silly, but they serve their purpose: giving you the raw format for a certain show, which can vary greatly depending on the series. If you have your own show you've created, you can save a blank document with the initial beginings of the script as a template and be able to have a fresh document ready for your next episode.

Final Draft is a great purchase for the novice screen writer learning the format, and a wonderful time-saver for the somewhat-established to established veteran.

Final Draft 6 Needs Revision
Even though it remains the Hollywood standard, Final Draft 6 leaves a lot to be desired. For lack of a decent alternative, I've used this application for the better part of a decade, and it remains clumsy to use and well behind the curve of technology.

The big issue: Onscreen text looks atrocious. After a year on the market, Final Draft 6 still doesn't use Mac OS X's technology to render beautiful anti-aliased text. Third-party fixes, like Silk, work only halfway to solve Final Draft's shortcomings. But should an application that costs $ need fixing at all? Unacceptable.

And beware of WYSIWYDG, or "What You See Is What You Don't Get." You might find the perfect font in the Font Menu, but good luck applying it to your screenplay. Worse, there are occasional text hiccups, where the text-rendering is garbled and screen redrawing is skewed.

'Authorization' remains a nuisance, too. (Bet you didn't remember to 'deauthorize''before a system reinstall or upgrade.) I know of no other software that requires such an unwieldy process just to stay running smoothly.

Final Draft 6 is still better than a typewriter or a standard word processor for writing scripts, but not by much. Considering the steep price, maybe it's time to revisit the competition.

Quirky program made useless by copy protection
Buyer beware: Final Draft incorporates an archaic copy protection scheme that will drive you nuts. Every other category of computer software did away with this kind of user-unfriendly copy protection scheme in the mid-80s, but the screenwriting software vendors persist. You're probably better off using Microsoft Word (which is far more robust) and using a simple formatting utility when you're project is finished. If you have any hard drive crashes or hardware upgrades and you forget to de-install Final Draft you will lose your install keys. Tech support is scarce and the online help system is only good for the most basic information. While it should make your life simpler this product will make your life hell. Avoid it like the plague.

Best investment I've made for writing.
I purchased Final Draft a couple of years ago, and it was the best investment for writing I've made yet. I had loads of story ideas in my head, but had no idea how to write a screenplay or teleplay, and didn't have the patience to read a book about it.

I am a VERY basic computer user and feared formatting software would be nothing short of a nightmare, but within a month I formatted three one-hour teleplays, started on a screenplay, and knew how to navigate the software fairly well. The Smart-type feature is a lifesaver, and the various view, outline, and report features are incredibly helpful and save loads of time.

There are a few features that were more complicated to learn, and as an absolute novice I had some questions that I couldn't find answers for in the program, but overall - I'm thrilled with it and use it everyday.

I'd recommend this software to anyone, rank amateur or paid professional ,who's looking for a user-friendly, helpful, and reliable formatting system.

There's a reason the whole world uses it -- it's the best
Final Draft is simply the best there is. Screenwriter is buggy [I borrowed an install from a friend], Scriptware is a joke [based on the demo I tried] and Sophocles doesn't even run on my Mac. If you follow the directions it does exactly what it says it's going to do. It's a professional-grade tool [even though I'm not a professional-grade writer - YET], it's got 24/7 help [that I haven't even come close to needing] and everyone I know uses it [and I do work in the industry]. As far as I can tell the people who have problems with it aren't using it right or they have crappy computers.

Don't mess around with other programs. This one is the one to use. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Microsoft Works Suite 2002 combines six complete products, including the latest and complete version of Microsoft Word, for one price. The Works Task Launcher brings all of these home software applications and online resources to you based on the task you need to get done. Works Suite is the easiest way to get and use all the software you really need for your home PC. Included software is: Word 2002, Money 2002, Encarta 2002, Picture It! Photo 2002, Streets & Trips 2002, and Microsoft Works.

Microsoft Works gives you the essential tools you need for your home PC: word processor, spreadsheets, database, calendar, address book, e-mail tools, and more. Easily manage your personal finances, budgets, and spending down to the penny. Use the rich photo-editing tools in Works Suite to correct, organize, and enhance your images to make them great pictures and fond memories. Help everyone in the household learn more and do research for school. Make traveling a breeze and take the stress out of road trips by mapping your route, printing directions, and finding points of interest, restaurants, and hotels. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Microsoft Works Suite 2002
I just bought this program and installed all the programs but Picture It! and Streets and Trips. I almost didn't buy this set of programs because of the bad reviews the other reviewers gave it. I had no trouble installing Word or any of the programs for that matter and if you can't install Words, it's true there would be no word processor for Works. I'm running Windows XP(which I love! After years of constant lockups with Win 98, I no longer have this problem, althought fair warning, drivers for some older hardware can be a real problem),a 700 mhz Intel processor, 128 megs ram, and a 6 gig harddrive. Almost time to build myself another new computer, since yes, all these new programs take up a lot room and I could really use more space, but with that a little more horsepower would be better. I do not believe that Works Suite 2002 is made for XP, but maybe that helped ???! I'm just trying to be a little more fair.

Word 2002 ... You can't beat that!
The new version of MS Works, designed for the SoHo market, includes Word 2002, the word processor included in Office XP. ... Works 2002 also includes Money 2002..., Encarta 2002, Picture It! Photo 2002... and Works 6... Put it all toghether and you wil see that this is a very good price for all these products.

Make sure it was in your box!
I ordered a Gateway computer last October, and decided to install some updates this August. The updater asked for the disc and to my surprise, it wasn't with the software Gateway included with my system. I thought it was the 'Applications Disc', but it wasn't. I contacted Gateway and they informed me that they could have only provided it to me if I had notified them within 30-90 days of receiving my system. Therefore, I have to buy it all over again, especially since my version of Word won't work because I started to install the update without the disc!

Just a warning to everyone, make sure you have everything you're supposed to have right away. I'd even take your Gateway computer to a Gateway store and have them verify that everything is included. Or just don't buy from them at all.

So besides not working if you don't have the disc, This Suite is pretty decent, I really like the Streets application (but it doesn't work if you don't have the disc)

Word 2002 - if you upgrade to it say goodbye to macros!
Microsoft Word is a very good word processor, but if you use to work with macros, I strongly advise against upgrade to Word 2002. This version of the most famous word processor seems to be a step back instead forward. At least my experience with it says so.

In older versions of Word you are able to record macros by performing a sequence of actions. In Word 2002 you can do the same, but with one important difference: macro does not remember font attributes like underline, italic, bold, style, font etc. If you're a PC guru you may probably be able to repair such incomplete macro by entering Visual Basic Editor, but if you aren't, you'll probably be helpless.

Word 2002 has also some other bad characteristics. One of them is the size of its files. A 34 Mb Word 97 file fattened to enormous 49Mb in Word 2002 and a 55 Kb file to 70 Kb.
Another is a fact that almost all of the Spelling&Grammar and Auto Text options are turned on by default. If you're not an English or an American, you need to do a lot of clicking before you can begin to work with Word normally. And poor you if you don't know what to turn off to make auto corrections and other disturbing features disappear. Try to imagine what happens if you write in Slovenian language with the English spell checker turned on! Microsoft should bear in mind that only (small) part of the world is English speaking and writing.

There are also some troubles with cut and paste (Clipboard memory seems to be unreliable).

PS
I gave Word 2002 4 stars for its basic word processing features, but only 1 star for its macros and reliability.

software user from chicago IL from user in Seattle,WA
Hi, Very interesting about office/word 2002. We just installed XP and I can't print from Word now. No problems with anything else just office 97 and I installed the drivers? So is there any word or office system that will work? I need to study Excel for a job? Software user in Seattle, WA. THanks! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Works Suite 2003 provides six Microsoft software titles for your home PC for one low price. Works Suite brings together the full versions of Microsoft Word, Works, Money Standard, Encarta Standard, Picture It! Photo, and Streets & Trips all in one, easy-to-use package.

Works Suite puts a ton of tools at your fingertips. Hundreds of new, stylish templates are available to quickly start and complete virtually any personal or organizational task. The My Projects organizer gives you step-by-step help to complete small or large projects like planning an event, family reunion, fundraiser, school project, moving, and much more.

The software gives you better ways to organize the household, manage finances, edit and enhance photos, send greetings, do research, and get directions and maps. The quick-start Task Launcher home page gives you quick access to your schedule, to-do list, and most recently used Works Suite programs. Manage personal finances and track investments with Microsoft Money. Plus, edit photos, create fun photo projects, and easily share memories with Picture It! Photo. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Neat Programs....however
I installed this suite on an IBM with a stripped hardrive and only Pro 2000 operating system present . I could not have been happier. Word provides much more versatility than the Works word processor and is wonderfully integrated as a companion to task launcher and enhanced spreadsheet capability. Digital photography is fun with Picture It! however I ended up using Pixela from Sony most of the time as a more convenient application for my camera. Encarta is always first class and Money took a long time to update my records for the year from scratch...but was easy,accurate and intuitive to use. I just bought a new computer with Home Edition XP and am terrified to install this suite which duplicates many areas of XP...but I really miss using Word and will tough it out with some of the problems others have experienced. This is a great product!

Installing Ms wks Suite 2003
A suggestion to install ms wks Suite 2003 Simply right click NortonAv icon on btm right of taskbar. then click disable auto protect. After installing software restart cpu and NAV will go back to auto protect automaticaly.If it doesnt simply right click Nav icon again and then click enable auto protect

Microsoft works 2003
I loaded Word 2002 only. It caused the processor to run at 100% all the time that word was active. It would take 30 to 120 seconds to type one character then another or to click on a tool bar item and have it open. All service packs were installed, and didn't cure the problem. When I deleted Works from My computer it caused all WMF files to show up in oriental letters. This program like most Microsoft software it is over priced, buggy and a waste of money. LONG LIVE WORD PERFECT! My computer is running Win. 2000 PRO, service pack 3, 512meg of memory and an AMD 750 Processor. Also jpg. wmf, gif files would no longer work with thumbnail views.

Great Product
Great product for the price .MS Money is kinda tricky to set up but once you get it, youll find it is well worth the money... Ms works,word,Encarta great products in this fine software package.. Product was ordered on Sunday was shipped on Monday and recieved on Wednesday....great service

BE PREPARED TO CALL MICROSOFT FOR HELP.
I had a lot of trouble installing this product on my new HP Notebook with Windows XP. Works Suite kept saying I had Norton Antivirus running, even after I shut it down. I called Microsoft Help (no 800 number) and talked to them for 17 minutes. They got the programs to install, but then MS Outlook was getting error messages every time I opened it. So I restored my computer to an earlier point and that got rid of the MS Outlook error, but then all the shortcuts to the Works Suite programs disappeared and I could not open them. Good luck with this program if you have Norton AV or MS Outlook. ... Read more

Features

• For Windows-based operating systems; 1-year warranty
• Scans up to 500 pages of text in 7 languages
• Able to read EAN 13, EAN 8, UPCA, UPCE, code 39, code 128, and Inter 2 of 5 barcodes
• Reads print sizes from 6 to 22 points in 5 type styles
• Infrared and USB data transfer

Reviews (9)

In terms of value, best productivity suite available
Like some of the other reviewers, I'm rather surprised at the number of negative reviews that Appleworks has received. While it is true that Appleworks is not as powerful as Microsoft Office, it is much less expensive and clearly represents a better value. The word processer part of it (the part that most people will use) is more intuitive and easier to use than Microsoft Word. True, Word is more powerful; but it costs $350 and requires a manual to use. I have never needed to use a manual to use Appleworks. You have complete control of your documents and you don't have to summon up the help application to figure out how to do common tasks like formatting paragraphs or adding links. Those who have mastered the complexities of MS Word and who require its special features may not like Appleworks. But for the rest of us, it more than meets our needs.

Also, one thing more: I have never had any trouble with Appleworks' translators from cwk to word format. I'm not sure why so many people have reported having trouble with it. I translated an entire book from Appleworks to PC MS Word, preserving the formats and special lettering instructions without any trouble at all. In any case, this wouldn't be a problem if people would show more courtesy to non-MS users (Macs and Linux) and not insist on sending them doc formatted files. PDF and rtf are far better cross-platform alternatives.

What's not to like?
Ok, I'm am sure that there are features in Word or Excel that some of you might use and the key word is might, but for the other 98% of us. Apple Works is a complete program that is full featured and easy to use. It can save and all of latest Microsoft Office file formats and that is half the battle most of the time with some of the attachments that I receive. Other than that I've been using it for about two months now and it has done everything that I have asked it to do and done it with ease. I have no problems with crashing or quiting unexpectedly under OS X. I start it and it runs and runs and runs. It's a great value even if just to open and looks at an Excel spreadsheet or Word doucument.

Chris

Great Value Suite of Software
I have been using computer word processors extensively since 1986. In 2001, I switched from being primarily a PC user to being a Mac user. And Appleworks is one of the programs I use the most.

I cannot understand the reviews on this page which slam Appleworks (especially the OSX version) for not being compatible with MS Word. I covert files back and forth from PC to Mac with no problem whatsoever. The best printer I have access to is on a PC at work. I usually write documents at home, convert them to a MS Word document, and email them to myself at work. Then at work the next day I print them. No problem.

There seems to be one glitch if you save files as a rich text file. The translator doesn't know the following characters: " '

But if you save it as a MS Word for Windows 98, 2000, ME file, you don't have this problem.

Apple, keep up the good work. The average Joe or Jane should not have to pay hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to get a solid word processor.

Tom Paine
Benton, LA
ATPaine@Lycos.Com

AppleWorks is crap
I have hoped and prayed for a Microsoft alternative. Unfortunately it is a Microsoft world, if you want to communicate with that world on a Mac use Office for Mac, it is brilliant. As much as I tried to move towards Works, I purchased it first, I could not, the spread sheet program in Works alone leaves you on a deserted island.

Save your headaches if you share any files than jump up to Office for Mac, however much that disgusts me to admits, it is a superior product.

why upgarde
Editorial review claims Appleworks 6 will translate Word documents with Dataviz translator. Last phrase is the key. Appleworks 6 does no more translation than did Appleworks 5. If you want to manage in the PC world, either buy a PC or buy Dataviz Maclink Plus. Appleworks 6 offers nothing special for compatibility in spite of the misleading editorial review. ... Read more

Features

• New language features like Term Swaps and Impulsive Responses, plus many more
• Create your own unique scenesand illustrate your story points with character arc, theme, conflict, tension and plot points
• In-depth breakdowns of over 60 films, novels, plays, and short stories offer guidance and inspiration
• StoryGuide Paths take writers step-by-step through the writing process, from initial idea to finished treatment
• New structure templates enhance the writing experience by giving practical suggestions