The Final Say! Gameplay N/A Graphics N/A Sound N/A Value 9.0 Microsoft Works Suite 2003  - reviewed by Tory Favro Review Date: 09 December 2002 Review Score: 9.0/10  Distributor: Microsoft

Perhaps one of the most comprehensive packages for the home office user or student, Works Suite 2003 is a must for those wishing for quality software at an affordable price. The primary focus of the product is actually on the true works range itself that comprises of the following software: Works Word Processor Works Spreadsheet Works Database Calendar e-mail and Internet tools My Project Organiser The new version of Works that is in this package is Version 7.0 and seamlessly integrates elements from the core Office series in a more streamlined fashion for the home user. Quite often Works has been viewed as the very poor cousin to it's older brother in Office Professional, however this is not the case. Putting it quite simply, the Works software is slightly stripped down versions of core software being: Word Excel Access Outlook Calendar

By examining these products however over several weeks now, I am more than please to let readers know that even after putting this product through it's paces, I cannot fault the integrity of the software. It is perfectly suited to most tasks, only faltering slightly when accessing menus that were present in the full version Word, Excel etc...

The nice thing about Works is it's ability to accept .doc files and other standard file types, staggering only when there are formatting options used that are not present in that particular program. In any case with Microsoft Word version 2002 being included in the package there will be few programs when accessing word processing. This in my opinion is absolute value for money and almost worth the purchase alone considering that Word by itself often ranges into the hundreds of dollars for the standalone product.

Works Suite 2003 also included even more bang for your buck with Money 2003 to sort out your personal finances, Microsoft Encarta (standard edition) for learning and general information and Microsoft Picture It Photo 7.0 for image editing and digital photography.

I do believe that the home PC user would be crazy to overlook Works Suite 2003 for the sheer potential of the software to be the complete home productivity solution at the very affordable price of approx $229.00

It is unfortunate that many users feel there is a stigma involved with the Works series, as that is brought upon only by misunderstanding what the software can do for the user. I give this software a very high recommendation and suggest that readers who are looking for software for the home PC give it a try..

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