Showing posts with label Software. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Software. Show all posts

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 3-User


Product Description

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 provides the world's most advanced PC security with premium protection from all malware threats. When you buy Kaspersky, you get more than just a box of software. You'll benefit from unique technologies that deliver the best protection, performance, and security utilities available. Raise your defenses against the ever-increasing threat of cybercriminals!

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #2 in Software
  • Brand: Kaspersky Lab
  • Model: KIS903121
  • Released on: 2009-07-23
  • Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP
  • Format: CD-ROM
  • Dimensions: .30 pounds

Features

  • Internet Security 2010 offers premium protection from viruses, spyware and all malware threats
  • Advanced up-to-the-second protection and threat intelligence
  • Built for fast, optimal PC performance
  • Comprehensive identity theft and phishing protection
  • Powerful anti-spam and two-way firewall

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description
The most advanced Internet security software with premium protection from viruses, spyware hackers and spam. Also includes comprehensive identity theft and phishing protection, parental and privacy controls, and superfast performance.
Automatically determine the safety of your applications and applies the appropriate security level. Click to enlarge.
Premium protection from viruses, spyware hackers and spam. Click to enlarge.
Vulnerability scanning helps guarantee that your applications are fully patches, up-to-date, and secure Click to enlarge.

With Kaspersky Internet Security, You Get:

  • Advanced up-to-the-second threat intelligence
  • Built for fast, optimal PC performance
  • Ideal for banking, shopping and surfing online
  • Comprehensive identity theft & phishing protection
  • Powerful anti-spam and two-way firewall
  • Parental and privacy controls
  • Free technical support

Here's What You Can Expect from Kaspersky Internet Security 2010:

  • Safely surf the web, totally worry free
  • Protect your private data, personal identity and banking information
  • Socialize securely with friends and family
  • Share pictures, videos, and documents with confidence
  • Email and IM without annoying spam or infected messages
  • Download and run new applications with complete confidence
  • Ensure all applications are fully updated and secure
  • Protect your family by blocking access to inappropriate online content
  • Maximize the full potential of your PC's resources and performance
  • Better gaming experience without interruption
  • Free U.S.-based technical support via phone, email, and chat

What Makes Kaspersky Different is What Makes You Safer--Check Out the Features You Will Find Only With Kaspersky:

Whitelisting & Application Control
Automatically determines the safety of your applications and applies the appropriate security level.
iChecker & iSwift Scanning
Adjusts scanning for superfast performance. Ideal for gamers!
Urgent Detection System
Instantly verifies every web address against the most current list of known malicious sites.
Security Analyzer
Vulnerability scanning helps guarantee that your applications are fully patches, up-to-date, and secure.
Safe Run
Runs any application or browser in a protected virtual environment or sandbox.
Virtual Keyboard
Protects your personal data, passwords and online banking information when using the Web

Customer Reviews

Solid Internet Security Suite Works Quite Well With Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit4
I own a 3-year-old Dell XPS 410 with an Intel Core 2 6700 CPU @ 2.66GHz, equipped with a RAID 0 650 GB dual hard drive, 4 GB DDR2 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB "Direct X 10"-compatible graphics card; for the most part, I have been displeased with the performance of my computer ever since my initial purchase... and this disappointment extended to the performance of my chosen internet security suite, KIS 2007-2010.

After several years of using the miserably sluggish, sporadically buggy Vista Ultimate 32-bit OS, I have recently upgraded my computer to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit (all I can say is WHAT A DIFFERENCE... for those interested, upgrade ASAP). After a clean install, I reluctantly decided to reinstall KIS 2010 and see how well it would perform with my new OS. I wasn't too impressed with KIS 2010's overall performance when I ran it on Vista Ultimate 32-bit (although it was improved over KIS 2009), but running it on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit is another story altogether.

The Good:

A newly-streamlined interface makes it far more user friendly than previous editions;

There's lots of smart configuration tweaks for experienced users;

It uses a lot less system resources to run than the last few versions;

It works extremely well with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit (which I have just upgraded to), with no slowdown or start-up hangs;

Firewall, malware and virus protection is among the best of any current security suite;

The "safe run" sandbox virtual environment is a nice new feature;

The free software upgrades means you only have to continue renewing your subscription, as opposed to shelling out twice as much for annual software upgrades.

However, there are a few cons:

My experience with KIS 2010 on Vista Ultimate 32-bit was erratic, as most of the time it would work well, but on occasion would tremendously slow down my computer's start-up time, sometimes to the point where I would have no choice but to re-boot the computer;

The spam filter needs work;

The interface could still stand to become a bit more user-friendly for novices in the settings section;

There is an issue with KIS 2010 that blocks the "Windows Experience Index" from completing in Windows 7 (UPDATE: a recent patch finally seems to have corrected the issue);

Scanning is fairly slow with large hard drives.

Still, for the several weeks that I have been using KIS 2010 with Windows 7 64-bit, I must say I am quite pleased with the smooth, quick and reliable performance it has exhibited, as none of the issues that marred KIS 2009 and 2010 while using Vista Ultimate 32-bit are occurring with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.


Overall, my recommendation is if you are using Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit, I'd give Norton Internet Security 2010 a shot before KIS 2010. However, if you (like me) are using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, Kaspersky 2010 Internet Security Suite does its job quite well and I would strongly encourage users to give it a try.
Bloatware that should be avoided2
I've used just about every security system in the world over the years and a year ago settled on Kaspersky 2009, which is easy to use, runs well, and does everything perfectly.

Then, in September, it came time to renew my annual license. I paid my money, and, instead of just renewing me, Kaspersky sent me their new program, 2010. I installed it with no problem. The interface is more complicated but not *really* hard to figure out. After a while, however, I started noticing that there were various sites that I couldn't get to on the Internet (I use Chrome as my browser). Then I discovered that some programs, such as Eudora and Agent were taking longer and longer and longer to shut down when I clicked the X in the corner. And that almost *all* programs I opened or *all* websites that I went to were *much* slower in starting up than they had been before. I tried getting help for various issues at the online Forum where various people send in their problems and other people, including, I guess, some types hired by Kaspersky, try to help them. I got various answers but not very good ones.

I finally discovered by reading a number of anguished threads in the Forum that *lots* of people were having terrible slow-down problems with Kaspersky 2010, even though 2009 had run smoothly. A few people said that the only way they fixed their problems was to uninstall 2010 completely and to reinstall 2009. Finally, after 2010 suddenly vanished from my screen and disappeared *entirely*, I used "Revo Uninstaller" (a *great, free* program, by the way, that everyone should have) to uninstall 2010 and then, using my CD that I had bought a year earlier, finally managed to reinstall 2009. It was hard, though, and took me several hours, countless reboots, and various clean-ups that hadn't been necessary when I first installed it a year ago. Now my system is once again humming along with 2009 and all the problems that I experienced with 2010 are gone.

Buying 2010 is like buying Microsoft Vista and installing it if you had previously been running XP -- a big mistake, and don't do it! It's nothing but a piece of over-priced bloatware that is full of bugs and should never have been released. Users of Internet Explorer 8, particularly: take warning! According to the Forum threads, it's *really* a problem with that browser!

PS -- For the Teckies: My computer is a Compaq Presario, with XP Home Edition, Service Pack 3, Pentium 4 CPU, 2.80 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM, running Google Chrome as the *only* browser on the system.
Solid protection, and better than the big players4
Count me as a convert. Aside from the fact that both Norton and McAfee are bloated and intrusive, Kaspersky has some really nice features.

One thing that's a big win for me is how the protection coverage works. Buying this package gives you a license to run the software, and virus database updates for a year for 3 PCs. At the end of that year, the updates stop but the protection level you had when it expired continues as long as you like. With the others (esp. Norton and AVG), your protection stops after the license expires, which is of course a total ripoff that you don't find out until you're 'hooked'. Then your protection turns into 'nagware', bugging you every five minutes until you renew. Up until my switch, I always cursed them under my breath then coughed up money to them (bad). In this game, Kaspersky comes off as the good guys.

You get standard virus coverage, along with some extras that should keep you safe against most malicious websites/emails/downloads/environments. Database updates happen automatically, and you can do all the scanning you might need to.

I'm a big fan of the "Vulnerability Scan" feature. It looks at your base Windows configuration and software versions, and suggests updates for software with known exploits, and config changes that make your system safer (like turning off CD/DVD autorun; you don't still have that on, I hope).

Downsides are that it's a little on the slow side. Even the 2010 version is lacking a little in the maturity department, as I've seen it get wedged a few times for no good reason. Still, I installed it on a machine I knew was infected with something fairly bad, and it was able to clean off the system and get it running again (saving a Windows reinstall). That alone made the software worth the price.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Norton 360 3.0 1-User/3Pc


DEAL TO DAY

List Price: $79.99
Price: $29.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.


Product Description


Norton 360 Premier Edition 3.0 eliminates the need for any additional security, performance optimization and data backup & restore products. Truly a breakthrough in PC protection, Norton 360 Version 3.0 provides a hassle-free user experience. It includes the strengths of Norton Antivirus 2009 with Antispyware for online threat protection and powerful features similar as those of Norton SystemWorks Premier Edition for backing up your data securely as well as continuously optimizing your PC for peak performance. Automatically fixes common PC problems Gets rid of unnecessary Internet clutter and temporary files. Removes stale Windows registry entries. Defragments your hard drive(s) for faster data writing and access. Files such as photos, music, contacts and financial documents can be backed up automatically to CDs, DVDs or external drives. Includes 2 GB of online storage Norton Pulse Updates - it automatically checks for new virus definitions every 5 to 15 minutes and downloads them in the background for continuous protection without performance sacrifices.



Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #2 in Software
* Brand: Symantec
* Model: 20005480
* Released on: 2009-04-02
* Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista
* Format: CD-ROM
* Original language: English
* Dimensions: .40 pounds

Features

* Norton 360 3.0 provides automated, comprehensive protection for your PC and online activities--the industry's fastest, lightest, most complete security solution
* PC security defends against viruses, spyware, botnets, and more, protecting your computer and all your online activities
* Identity protection safeguards you against online identity theft, letting you shop, bank, and browse with confidence
* PC Tuneup keeps your PC running at peak performance, which makes your computer run faster and helps keep it running like new
* Automated backup and restore protects your important files from loss--safeguards your irreplaceable photos, movies, music, and more.




Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description

Norton 360 Version 3.0 offers proven performance, delivering today's fastest and lightest all-in-one solution for protecting your PC and all your online activities. It protects against viruses, worms, hackers, and botnets, safeguards against online identity theft, protects important files, and keeps your PC tuned and running at peak performance. Completely automated and easy to use, Norton 360 works quietly in the background, with virtually no impact on PC performance, to provide comprehensive protection for everything computer users care about. By offering an unmatched combination of performance and protection, it helps you get the most out of your PC and your online experience.

New--Ultra fast and super light performance
Norton 360 Version 3.0 is the fastest and lightest all-in-one PC protection solution available on the market today. It delivers industry-leading protection for your PC and all your online activities while using significantly fewer system resources, so it won't slow you down:

* Startup time is less than 1 minute.
* Scans take less than 3 minutes.
* It uses less than 10 MB of memory.
* New--Rapid installation gets you up and running quickly in less than 1 minute.
* New--Norton Pulse Updates deliver up-to-the-minute protection against new threats every 5 to 15 minutes.
* New--Norton Insight scans only those files at risk, saving time and dramatically improving protection with faster, fewer, shorter scans.
* New--Smart Startup Manager turns off unnecessary programs to accelerate PC startup time.
* It automatically performs tasks in the background and during PC idle time to eliminate interruptions and minimize any impact on PC performance.

Industry-leading PC security
Our latest virus, spyware, botnet, firewall, and network protection technologies protect you and your PC at all times.

New--Botnet detection
Prevents others from taking control of your PC to access your private information or use it to host an attack on other PCs.

New--Norton Safe Web
Identifies unsafe websites and suspicious sellers so you can surf and shop with confidence.

Norton Identity Safe
Identifies fraudulent websites and validates authentic ones to protect your identity when you buy, bank, and browse online.

Password Manager
Automatically detects, stores, and secures logins and passwords so you can have highly secure passwords without having to remember them.

Secure, one-click login
Conveniently and securely fills in online forms at your request and submits logins and passwords to your frequently visited sites while blocking eavesdropping programs like keystroke loggers.

Browser Protection
Protects against Web-based attacks that use vulnerabilities in your browser to infect your PC.

New--Norton Pulse Updates
Provide continuous protection against new threats automatically.

Automated backup and restore
Flexible, automated, and easy-to-use backup and restore capabilities protect photos, music, documents, and other important files from loss.
* Includes 2 GB of secured online storage (with option to purchase more) (requires high-speed internet access).
* Easy-to-use set-and-forget features automatically back up your valuable files to a local hard drive or secured online site according to the schedule you set.
* New--Norton Drive lets you queue up important files to be backed up whenever your computer is idle, so backups won't get in the way of your computing experience.
* Supports a variety of local backup destinations, including external hard drives, Blu-ray Disc, HD-DVD, and iPod.

Network monitoring
Protects your network and alerts you when you connect to an unsecured wireless network.

PC Tuneup
Automatically cleans up unnecessary Internet clutter and temporary files, defragments your hard drive, and optimizes and maintains your PC to keep it running at peak performance.

New--Diagnostic recommendation
Checks your PC to fix common problems and provides recommendations to help you make your PC run better.

New--Smart Startup Manager
Turns off unnecessary startup programs so your PC starts up faster.

Free 24/7 support
Provides easy, one-click access to expert support at no charge via email, live chat, or on the phone.

Monthly report
Shows the details of your PC's activities, such as threats caught, tune-up tasks performed, and files backed up.

Ongoing protection
Keeps your computer protected from the latest Internet risks by automatically renewing your subscription at the regular subscription price (plus applicable tax), so you don't have to do it.

New--Real-time SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response)
Detects emerging spyware and viruses before traditional cures are available.

Network map
Provides a visual picture of your network and each device connected to it, allowing you to view the security status of all Norton products on the network.

Optional antispam and parental controls
Are available for easy download via the Norton Add-on Pack.


BUY NOW!





Friday, July 24, 2009

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade


Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #4 in Software
* Brand: Microsoft
* Model: GFC-00020
* Released on: 2009-10-22
* Platform: Windows 7
* Format: DVD-ROM




Features

* Windows 7 Home Premium (includes 32-bit & 64-bit versions) makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music--you can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV
* Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation
* Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
* Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8
* Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup




Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description
Upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV. Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. Do you use your PC for work, run Windows XP programs, or require enhanced security? Consider Windows 7 Professional.

Windows 7 is designed to make your PC simpler--to be more reliable, more responsive and to make the things you do every day on your PC easier. Click to enlarge.
Upgrade to Windows 7
All editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista qualify you to upgrade.

1. Choose your edition of Windows 7
Explore key features and choose the edition that's best for you. Be sure to check the expanded list of extended features in Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate. System requirements vary for each edition of Windows 7 because some features might require special hardware.

2. See if your PC has what it takes to run Windows 7
In general, if your PC can run Windows Vista it can run Windows 7. To make sure, download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to do a quick check. If you want certain features, such as HomeGroup or Windows Media Center, check to see if your PC has the hardware that's needed.

3. Check which operating system your PC is currently running
How you make the move to Windows 7 depends on your current operating system.

* Windows Vista
The transition to Windows 7 should be pretty smooth, although you may need to update your system to the latest service pack first.

* Windows XP (or any other operating system)
We recommend that you experience Windows 7 on a new PC. While we don't recommend it, you can opt to upgrade your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7. We recommend that you get help with this process from your local computer service provider. You'll need to back up your current files and settings, perform a custom (clean) installation, and then reinstall your files, settings, and programs.

Open files you use regularly in just two clicks with Jump Lists on the improved taskbar.
The best entertainment experience on your PC

Easiest Windows to use ever

* Simplify your PC with new navigation features like Aero Shake, Jump Lists, and Snap.
* Customize Windows to look and feel the way you like by changing themes and taskbar programs.
* Setting up a home network and connecting to printers and devices is easier than ever.
* Windows 7 Home Premium supports the latest hardware and software.

It's faster

* Designed to make your PC sleep and resume quicker.
* Takes full advantage of 64-bit PC hardware and memory.
* Connecting to wireless networks is fast and easy.

Best PC entertainment experience

* Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV with Windows Media Center.
* Blu-ray read/write support for data files.
* Includes integrated video and Dolby audio codecs.
* Offers large screen support.

Simplifies Everyday Tasks
Simple to use

Preview
Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail and full-screen previews of open windows.

Pin
Open files and get around your PC faster with the improved taskbar. You can easily pin programs you use often to the taskbar and launch them in just one click.

Jump Lists
Open files you use regularly in just two clicks with Jump Lists on the improved taskbar.

Snap
Windows 7 has simple new ways to manage open windows. For example, with Snap you can arrange two windows side-by-side just by dragging them to opposite sides of your screen.

Peek and Shake
Windows 7 lets you peek behind open windows to get a quick look at your desktop.

Windows Search
Instantly locate and open virtually any file on your PC, from documents to emails to songs, right from the Start menu, with Windows Search.
Easy to connect


Wireless setup
With Windows 7, setting up wireless connections is easier with consistent, one-click connections to available networks, whether those networks are based on Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, dial-up, or corporate VPN.

HomeGroup
Connect Windows 7 PCs on a home network in just four clicks and easily get to the photos, music, and files on each one--even share printers--with HomeGroup.
Easy to browse the web

Internet Explorer 8
Visual search helps you quickly find the information you want by adding visual cues and previews to search results from top search providers including Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Amazon, and others.

Internet Explorer 8
Use Web slices to conveniently keep up with changes on frequently updated websites, like eBay auctions or traffic sites, directly from the IE8 toolbar.
Easy to communicate and share

Windows Live Photo Gallery
Windows Live Photo Gallery makes share your photos to your favorite photo site easy.

Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail makes managing multiple email accounts easy.

Windows Live Family Safety

Keep your child safe by managing what sites they can visit and who they can send/receive emails and im communications from.
Works The Way You Want
Faster and More Reliable

Resume from sleep

We designed Windows 7 to help PCs sleep and resume from sleep more quickly by improving the way Windows 7 manages drivers, programs, and power.

Faster and more reliable
We reduced the amount of memory your PC needs for open windows and to execute commands to help it be more responsive to commands.

Fewer clicks and less interruptions

Windows Media Center
Turn your PC into a TV with Windows Media Center.

Windows Media Center
Watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV.

DirectX 11
DirectX 11 technology delivers breathtaking game graphics so real, it's unreal.
New ways to engage

Windows Touch
Windows Touch makes PCs with touch screens easier and more intuitive to use.
Media on your terms

Windows Media Player
More and more consumer electronics, from TVs to digital photo frames, can be connected to home networks. With Play To in Windows 7, you'll be able to easily send music, photos, videos from your PC to a networked device throughout your home.

You can enjoy the photos, music, and videos on your home PC when you're away from home with remote media streaming.
Work anywhere

Location Aware Printing

Windows 7 will automatically pick the right printer for you when you move from home to work networks.





Thursday, June 25, 2009

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007


Product Description

May be installed on up to three non-commercial home computers.
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #3 in Software
* Brand: Microsoft
* Model: 79G-00007
* Released on: 2007-01-30
* Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista
* Format: CD-ROM
* Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .65 pounds




Features

* Essential software suite for home computer users makes it a pleasure to complete schoolwork and other tasks
* Includes 2007 versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote
* Intuitive user interface that exposes commonly used commands; updated graphics and formatting galleries help you to easily produce high-quality documents
* Work with confidence and security thanks to the improved automatic Document Recovery tool and the Document Inspector tool, which removes personally identifiable information from your document
* Enhanced Help system includes online tutorials with step-by-step instructions; includes OneNote, a digital notebook that helps you gather, organize, and search many types of information in one place



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 is the essential software suite for home computer users and includes 2007 versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote. This system enables you to quickly and easily create great-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and organize your notes and information in one place, making it easier and more enjoyable for you to get things done.


The new streamlined workspace and easy-to-browse tabs make program features easier to find and use. View larger.


Insert graphics and charts such as these into your documents to make them more appealing. View larger.


Use the new diagram and improved charting tools to create rich and stunning visuals and charts. View larger.


Quick and easy-to-use table styles help your tables look great and consistent across Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. View larger.


The Document Inspector helps find and remove potentially sensitive "hidden" information from your documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. View larger.


Office OneNote 2007 enables you to gather, organize, and search almost any type of information. The powerful search tool is shown here, with results highlighted in yellow. View larger.
This updated version features a new streamlined user interface that exposes commonly used commands, enhanced graphics, and formatting capabilities that let you create high-quality documents, plus a powerful note and information organization tool, and more reliability and security with the document inspector tool and improved automatic document recovery. With these enhancements, Home and Student 2007 makes it a pleasure to complete schoolwork and other tasks at home.

Which edition of Office is right for you? View a comparison of Microsoft Office 2007 editions.

Create High-Quality Documents
Home and Student 2007 gives you access to updated graphics, formatting galleries, and an intuitive user interface that exposes commonly used commands. These features enable you to easily produce high-quality documents that will make you proud. Improved picture, charting, and graphics tools help you produce better-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations more quickly, while a large library of standard charts, quick formatting tools, and SmartArt diagrams make it easy to include rich and stunning visuals and charts. The results-oriented user interface makes it easier for you to find and use product features so you can enhance your documents according to your specifications. More stable bullets and numbers, SmartArt diagrams, and graphics and charting galleries provide you with a wealth of other formatting choices. Meanwhile, document themes help ensure a consistent appearance among the documents you create in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, to make working across the programs you use most more convenient. PowerPoint also features context-sensitive tabs and easy-to-use galleries that make it simple for you to include tables and other graphics in your documents.

Enhanced Reliability and Security Features
With an improved automatic Document Recovery tool and the new Document Inspector tool for removing personally identifiable information from your documents, Home and Student 2007 helps you work with more confidence and security. Thanks to these two features, you'll never have to worry about losing documents after a system failure or exposing your personal identification information or unwanted comments to others before sharing your documents.



Formatting galleries make it easier to find and apply formatting changes. View larger.
User-Friendly Operation
Packed with innovative features and improvements, Home and Student 2007 has a streamlined interface and an enhanced Help system, including online tutorials with step-by-step instructions, so you can quickly learn the product and find the answers to your questions. In addition, command tabs on the results-oriented Ribbon reveal commonly used commands that previously appeared only in lengthy drop-down menus. The Help system also offers a smooth transition between the Help menu in the Microsoft Office system and Help on the Internet (when connected). Larger, more informative ScreenTips provide help concerning commands, and the command tabs themselves are context-sensitive, changing automatically depending upon the task that you are trying to complete, so you won't waste time figuring out the appropriate command. When you need more guidance, online tutorials provide step-by-step instructions for common tasks.

Organize Notes and Information
Home and Student 2007 includes OneNote, a digital notebook that helps you gather, organize, and search many types of information in one place. This means you can consolidate typed text, images, audio and video recordings, digital handwritten notes, Web clippings, and more on the same page. OneNote also provides flexible note-taking tools to help you organize information the way you want. Categorize important projects or information in a way that makes sense to you, using an easy-to-use layout of notebooks, sections, and pages. Type or organize content anywhere on the page and track important items with customizable note tags. To help keep you on track, the powerful Instant Search feature helps you to find information you are looking for quickly. With it you can even search handwritten notes, the text in images and scanned documents, and spoken words in audio recordings.

Preview Changes and Spot Trends
Home and Student 2007 saves you time by making it easier to format your Office documents with Live Preview. This tool lets you quickly preview proposed changes to your document while you're working on it without having to repeatedly search through layers of menus. Taking a look at your proposed formatting before committing to it lets you experiment without risk and can help minimize future edits. Excel features highly visual conditional formatting with new data bars, more colorful gradients, and icons that you can use to format data based on specific rules, so you can more easily identify key data trends, which can help you study and prepare written papers or reports.

Create and Save Custom Slide Layouts
PowerPoint lets you create presentations with ease using prebuilt and user-defined custom slide layouts. With the custom layout feature you can quickly create the precise layout you envision without being bound by one of the prepackaged, standard layouts. You can then save your custom layout for use in future presentations.

Broader Distribution of Your Documents
Home and Student 2007's features aren't limited to the work you do at home; they extend to broader distribution of your documents and presentations. New support for Portable Document Format (PDF) and XML Paper Specification (XPS) file formats helps ensure increased distribution and sharing of your documents with users on any platform. This is particularly ideal for either sharing documents with friends and families, or for presenting information and assignments in a computer-integrated class.

From the Manufacturer
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 offers familiar programs with essential tools to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. The suite contains the following Microsoft Office programs: Word 2007; Excel 2007; PowerPoint 2007; OneNote 2007.

What's New?
The 2007 edition of this product includes many new features and benefits, including the ability to create great-looking documents faster. New graphics and visual galleries help you create more dynamic documents and presentations.

In addition, the suite enables you to find commands and help with ease. An improved user interface and help system make it easy to find the tools you need to get things done. Another key improvement is that you can now work more securely and confidently. An improved Document Inspector and automatic document recovery help to protect your work.

Familiar Programs, New Features
One of the many reasons to upgrade to the 2007 version of this suite is that you can format, present, communicate, gather, and organize your information in more dynamic ways with new versions of familiar Microsoft Office programs. Here's a preview of what each of these programs has to offer:

OneNote 2007
Gather nearly any type of information in one place and easily find the content you need.

Word 2007

* Create great-looking documents with enhanced bullets, text effects, and visual galleries.
* Access frequently used commands more easily with an improved user interface.

Excel 2007

* Create eye-catching charts using 3-D, soft shadowing, and transparency.
* Organize and analyze data with new tools such as Conditional Formatting for sorting and visualizing information.

PowerPoint 2007

* Create dynamic presentations faster with new themes, layouts, and styles.
* Add visual impact with new charts, SmartArt diagrams, and tables and quickly preview changes.

Customer Reviews

Major upgrade for Office5
While Office 2003 offered a refreshed look and some improvements in functionality, the basic structure remained the same. While veteran users were able to easily navigate the familiar menus, it had become increasingly difficult to locate some features (for instance, in Word, would you find "insert new rows" to a table in the "insert" or "table" menu?).

With Office 2007, Microsoft offers the "ribbon", a new and more intuitive way to access features that we used to find in the menus. While the features are basically the same, they are now grouped together according to when and how you would normally use them. These groupings are accessed by clicking on tabs, which are organized in the order you'd use them. The best way to get a better understanding of this change is to check out the screenshots, or download a free trial version of Office from Microsoft. While Office 2007 was released at the same time as Vista, you do not need Vista in order to run it. The program ran fine on my Windows XP laptop, which only had 512 MB of RAM, and it runs even better on my Vista laptop with 2 GB of RAM.

As for which version of Office to buy, this is the third time I've opted for the Home and Student version (which has had other names in previous releases, but is still being sold for $149). I need Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and this is the most cost-effective way to get those programs. I was disappointed that Microsoft dropped Outlook from the Home and Student version. In order to continue to use Outlook, I installed Outlook 2003 and haven't had any problems.

Instead of Outlook, you get OneNote, a program that uses notebooks and tabs to save and organize all sorts of files and documents. I haven't had much time to play with OneNote yet, but the more I use it, the more impressed I am with it. It looks like one of those programs that you can personalize to meet your own needs and not have to fight with it to get it to do what you want.

This is a significant upgrade and should allow all users, new and experienced, to work more efficiently and quickly.

Finding really hard to relearn1
The new look of the software is really confusing. I'm not a computer expert by any means, but I am knowledgeable enough that my family and friends call me to help them fix their computers and software problems, so I'm not a newbie either. I understand the basic idea that some things are on the screen for you to see, the things they consider to be the most important; but the things I use the most, like frame or underlining are now several click away and you can't customize the menus to what you like. They've put up what they think is important and that's it. If you use other features, you're out of luck... it's hunt and peck every time. You also have to learn to think the way they think. If you want to find a feature, it might not be in the menu set of screens you think. They may consider it a different type of feature than you think of it being, so you have start searching all the different sets of menus to find the feature you're looking for. Also, I like to copy and paste from boxes like this, when writing on the internet, for spell checking... well you can't do that anymore because when you paste back your text it appears in HTML format with all the weird stuff that goes along with it. It might be that I'm just too set in my ways and don't feel I have the time to learn a completely new software to do a simple letter. Maybe if I had the time to relearn everything I might find it easier, but I just don't have the weeks it would take to devote to the study of each product (Word, Excel mainly). I got the software and tried it for several months and went back to my old Word and Excel.

Stay Away as long as you can!1
They changed everything! In an effort to make it more user friendly, they've rearranged most of the controls. Menus are replaced by headings. It is difficult to accomplish what were easy changes before. Some of this will likely improve with use.

WORD 2007 is constantly trying to think for you, auto formatting as you type. However, it often isn't thinking what you are, and making it obey your commands is frustrated by the new headings. Particularly frustrating, when I "right-click" on a list to restart numbering at "A" (ie. after roman numeral II on an outline), WORD 2007 flatly refuses. My research paper is now formated:
I. Heading
A. subpoint
B. subpoint
C. subpoin
II. Heading
D. subpoint
E. subpoint
F. subpoint
III. Heading
G. subpoint etc....etc...
This is ridiculous and inexcusable! I also had to individually superscript 130+ footnotes. Somehow, in changing the font from the Widows default "Calibri" back to "Time New Roman," the footnote setting was altered and I have yet to determine how to restore it. However, if I open a new document it is fine, but I really don't want to retype a 30+ page research paper.

POWERPOINT 2007 works well enough, compared to the older version. They have added a few bell and whistles, but nothing that gets in the way.

If you have to buy a new computer you're likely stuck with the new MS Office 2007. But don't buy it until you have to. It is NOT an upgrade from the previous two versions




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