*Everything Anyone Needs for a Fraction of the Price*
Written: Apr 30 '02 (Updated May 04 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Almost all the features of Microsoft Office.
Cons: No Powerpoint equivalent, lacks specialized features.
The Bottom Line: If you are about to upgrade your Microsoft Office package to XP, don't bother - this is much better.
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| freelancer1's Full Review: Ability Office 2000 |
Updating to Ability Office 2002 cost me a fraction of what I would have had to pay to get similar features on Microsoft Office XP, and I can still share files across networks with Microsoft users. I use my office package for everything anyone else does – word processing, creating databases, making presentations for work – and I haven’t had the slightest glitch yet. Best of all, I saved about $490.
Please note that all of the following refers to Ability Office 2002, not 2000.
What The Package Includes
Ability Write – The 2002 version supports full table creation – a huge improvement on Write 2000. This means that if you want to put a table into a word-processed document, you can create it from scratch in Write without importing from a different program. You can also save and print to PDF format, which means it’s completely compatible with programs not made by Ability. I’m pretty sure that this lets you save in Rich Text Format as well (and if you can’t, you could just cut and paste into Microsoft Notebook). This means you can use the documents as virus-free e-mail attachments (Word files can be infected, these can’t).
Ability Spreadsheet – This is compatible with Excel 97 and 2000, so you won’t have any trouble transferring tables from program one to the other. The same is true with the rest of the Ability Office package. Spreadsheet is no more difficult to use than Excel, and it does graphs too.
Ability Database – Features as excellent queries system for filtering data (component-based, in case you were wondering!). I’ve also been told this can combine with Spreadsheet and Write for a number of presentation formats, like mail merge from the database into a letter. The query function is easily as good as Excel’s, if not better.
Ability Photopaint and Ability Draw – I’ve put these together because they overlap in so many ways. Photopaint is of a similar standard to Adobe Photoshop and the photo editing works well and loads fast even with the large files from my digital camera. The brushes, selection tools and layering functions are all there too. Both programs seem to support most file types (jpeg, bitmap, gif…).
What, No Powerpoint?
I’m afraid not. But using all the integration these programs allow, you won’t have much difficulty in creating basic presentations. If you use Powerpoint frequently, though, you might find even this integrated method a bit lacking.
Why You Might Be Suited To This
Most people will find everything they need in this package. Admittedly it lacks high-end functionality, but you can always buy more specialized programs to work beside Ability Office. Let’s face it – most of us don’t use half the features of Microsoft Office anyway. People used to using Microsoft Office at work (like me) who want a cheap alternative for their home PC will have no trouble adapting.
The Interface
It’s almost exactly the same as Microsoft Office’s – I learned to use it in about five minutes. Ability Write, for instance, has the same symbols for new document, save and print and the only difference I can spot is…umm…nothing, really.
Why You Should Buy It
If putting Bill Gates a few dollars out of pocket isn’t a good enough reason for you (and it was for me!), then you could consider the savings you’ll make by buying Ability Office 2002 instead of Microsoft Office XP (see Specifications for figures on that one). It’s an excellent product and you should at least look into it if you are about to update your old Microsoft Office software for a newer package. Personally, I’m very glad I did.
Specifications
Cost - I paid $70, but if you can get it for this price you'll have done very well indeed. This compares to about $560 for Microsoft Office XP, and all you lose are a few of the more specialized features that most of us don’t use. Even if you end up paying a bit more than $70 for Ability Office, I'm sure you'll still make a huge saving.
Minimum System Requirements – Windows 95 or equivalent, 32mb RAM, 40mb hard disk space.
Where to look - www.ability.com will tell you everything you need to know.
Other reviews in Software by Freelancer1:
Adobe Photoshop - http://www.epinions.com/content_62732668548
Recommended:
Yes
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freelancer1
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Location: USA
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