Ultimate Vista and Office 2007 at an ultimate price

By Stan Beer
Monday, 29 May 2006 19:17

Home IT

There's no word better than "ultimate" to convey the impression that you're getting nothing but the best. However, when it comes to Microsoft's new software, whatever you end up getting is going to cost you heaps.

A quick glance at the word processor component of Office 2007 indicates that it promises to be a pretty slick piece of software. It will take some getting used to with that ribbon instead of menus across the top, but it's slick. With Office 2007 Ultimate, users will be able to buy every piece of office productivity software that Microsoft makes in one package. We always thought that was the idea of having an office suite but anyway, with Office 2007 Ultimate, you get pretty much the same packages you got with Office 2003 plus one or two or other applications such as Groove collaboration software.

And all those bits and bytes can be yours for just US$679, the price of a fairly handy desktop computer.

Likewise, reports have already been flooding in about how good the new Windows Vista is, with its vastly improved security and user friendliness. Now there is going to be a Windows Vista Ultimate, which will include just about everything, such as Windows Media center, Tablet PC support, integrated search (Google and Dell are sure to love that one), plus a heap of other things most of us would never use for just US$450 or so.

So to summarise, if you want to buy a new desktop PC loaded with the full versions of Vista and Office 2007, you'll probably be paying more for the software than the computer. Windows users who want the added security, features and usability of a new generation operating system will have little option but to go with Vista when they buy their new computer. Office 2007, however, is a different story.

For most users, Office 2003 will do them just fine. They're used to the menus and the 5% of the package functionality that they use, so paying $500 or so for an upgrade to Office 2007 Ultimate, or even $200 or $300 or so for a lesser version, will not be all that attractive. Some new computer buyers on particularly tight budgets may well opt for Open Office.org 2.0, even if Microsoft reckons it's 10 years behind their latest product. What it boils down to is that if you can get a product that does the job just as well, or even almost as well at no cost, then why would you want to spend US$679 on a disk of software rather than a 7-night stay at a tropical resort?