Works Suite Updated

Works Suite, a bargain-priced bundle that includes most of Works (Microsoft’s low-end productivity package), Word (Microsoft’s professional-level word processor), and consumer applications such as Encarta and Money, has been updated. The Suite bundles more than US$180 worth of Microsoft software for US$79 (after a US$20 mail-in rebate), and it is sold through retail outlets and bundled by OEMs with consumer-oriented PCs.

What’s in the Suite?

Works Suite 2005 includes the basic spreadsheet, calendar, and database applications found in Works 8, which was released in Aug. 2004. Improvements to these applications from previous versions include color-coded calendars that can be more easily shared among multiple users, automatic backup, and a preinstalled PowerPoint viewer.

Instead of the basic word-processing program included in Works 8, the Suite contains Word 2002, the version of Microsoft’s professional word processor that shipped with Office XP. Microsoft chose not to ship the newer Word 2003 with Works Suite 2005 because Word 2003 requires Windows 2000 or later. This would have made it impossible for existing Suite users with older OSs, such as Windows 98, to upgrade to Suite 2005. (According to Microsoft, a sizable number of existing customers upgrade the Suite every year or two.)