ActiveWin.com: Microsoft Office 2003 Beta 2

Well we have reached the end of the preview. Here are my final comments, notes and grades for Office 2003 Beta 2.

The test version I have obtained is in no way prefect and error-free. Outlook still crashes frequently. I do hope the errors can be sorted out when the final version comes out. But on the whole, this looks like a mature family of applications. Word, Excel, PowerPoint used to work fine and they work great now. The completely revamped interface serves as an eye-candy for existing home users, although that may not be the best reason to upgrade. Nevertheless, home users will welcome the new Outlook release, which has added in a whole new bunch of features that will aid users in their work. At the same time, enterprises will finally have a reason to upgrade with the addition of so many new features in the existing Office applications, not to mention the release of OneNote 2003 and InfoPath 2003.

It is still too early to tell what the final version may look like, because Microsoft is still updating the software and listening to customers’ opinions. But from the looks of this test version, I am sure this will be one of the best versions of Office.

Specs & Package
Overall Score	N/A
Version Reviewed	Microsoft Office 2003 Beta 2
Release Date	Beta 2 Out Now, Final due late 2003
The Good Points	Extensive feature set Suitable for enterprise deployment Easy to use
The Bad Points	Extensive documentation is required for use of advanced features
Reviewer Specs	Pentium 4 2.53 GHz Intel D850EMV2 Motherboard Windows XP Professional 512 MB PC800 RDRAM DirectX 8.1 19" Sony CPD-E400 Trinitron Monitor nVidia GeForce 4 Ti 4600 Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum Adaptec 19160 Adaptec AHA-2400a DVD Pioneer 106s (16/40x) Yamaha CRW3200S Alcatel SpeedTouch USB Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro Microsoft TrackBall Explorer
PC Required	PC with Pentium 133MHz or higher processor; Pentium III recommended. Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or Windows XP or later operating system. For Windows 2000 and Windows XP: 64MB or RAM (128MB recommended) for the operating system plus an additional 8MB of RAM for each application running simultaneously. 245 MB of available hard-disk space with 115MB on the hard disk where the operating system is installed (hard-disk usage will vary depending on configuration; custom installation choices may require more or less hard-disk space). CD-ROM drive Super VGA 800 x 600 or higher-resolution monitor with 256 colors Microsoft Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse or compatible pointing device.