Upgrades of MS-Word and MS-Excel

[N.MacLeod@xxxxxxxxx (N. MacLeod)]

A few months ago Microsoft (finally) released new versions of its popular
Mac word processing/dtp (MS-Word) and spreadsheet (MS-Excel) programs.
Buying into every new version of a program is a pricey proposition though
and I wonder if anyone out there who has seen the new versions of either
would care to give the rest of us a run down of the improvements that might
matter to a paleontologist (e.g., improved ms editing tools, improved
ability to handle embedded graphics in MS-Word; better charting tools, and
a wider selection of statistics macros in MS-Word).  The bottom line, of
course, is whether or not those of us who use these programs can continue
to call ourselves "productive" if we don't upgrade and/or whether the
upgrade cost/program improvement ratio is favorable.  So, what's the inside
paleontological scoop on these (or any other) new software releases?

Norm MacLeod


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norman MacLeod
Senior Research Fellow
N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (Internet)
N.MacLeod@uk.ac.nhm (Janet)

Address: Dept. of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
                     Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

Office Phone: 071-938-9006
Dept. FAX:  071-938-9277
----------------------------------------------------------------------------