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(More customer reviews)I was a little taken aback by the packaging of this product. It comes in a box like any other software package, but inside the box was a small instruction brochure, and another package which contained the program on a USB flash memory stick. No discs. At first, I didn't get it, and then I realized they mention netbooks a lot all over the (too large) package, and realized this was a marketing decision to get their product "in" with the netbook crowd; No need for an optical drive with the USB stick.
And it works as advertised. Plug in the USB stick, and you get the typical Windows "what do you want me to do?" prompt. Use Autorun and it installs Corel Home Office in no time at all. While I'd prefer a disc, I can live with this media, too.
Unfortunately, the "for netbooks" philosophy didn't stop there. One installed, running the program within Windows 7 on a regular 15" notebook computer was a disappointing experience. The program works well enough, and seems to handle MS Office files with no real problems; However, it has the annoying habit of opening in it's own non-Windows styled window, and anchoring itself to the upper left corner of the screen. This small window remains the same size, and will not allow resize, reshape, or any dimensional changes. Selecting "Full Screen" just makes everything in the window fill that window. It's as if they decided to completely disable the ability to run this well on anything with a screen resolution higher than 1024x768. I couldn't drag the window using standard Windows interface functions. It even lacks a proper window frame, and has no buttons for minimize, maximize, and close window in the upper right corner, like EVERY WINDOWS PROGRAM EVER.
What were they thinking?
I can't see using this on anything other than a netbook, unless you like your office documents to be anchored to the top left corner and want to get used to a completely new interface. It's a shame, too, because I like the actual program; It looks good and works well with documents. It's just a pain in the neck to use because of the lack of comprehensive view/layout controls for the windows themselves. Any self-respecting office suite should at least allow me to put the window in the middle of my screen so I'm not looking up in the corner of my large monitor.
I get that they're aiming for netbooks more than standard desktops/laptops, but why can't they do both? Why does the interface have to be so... Limited?
If you have a netbook, I imagine this is awesome, and I'm hanging on to my copy to put on the netbook I will inevitably be getting somewhere down the line... But as an MS Office replacement, this falls woefully short on anything bigger than a netbook. Call me confused, but I don't see the logic in ONLY supporting 1024x768 screen resolution, and I'm a bit miffed that the box says "optimized for netbooks & compact PCs" but fails to say anything about how "optimized" really means "only meant for" and mentions nothing about how you're completely unable to resize or move windows, even if you DO have more screen real estate to use than on a netbook.
Get it for your netbook and you'll probably love it. Do not bother trying to replace MS Office with this on a full-sized computer, though. It's not meant for that, and pretty much fails to be user-friendly.
I do wonder if all this is just an issue with Windows 7, which I'm running. If so, consider the rating to be one star higher. However, considering that Windows 7 is due to be the de facto OS on PCs two months from now, I don't think it's a good sign that this sort of thing could happen with a new product.
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Corel Home OfficeNew Corel Home Office is specifically designed for your personal and home business word processing, spreadsheet and presentation needs. Enjoy your work thanks to the fresh-looking interface featuring a context-sensitive tabbed toolbar that puts the right tools just where you need them. Open, edit and save Microsoft Office files and publish to PDF from any application to easily share files and information. Switch between languages within the applications--Corel Home Office supports seven languages and will open in the same language as Windows. For a new idea in office suites that makes your at-home work simple, use Corel Home Office.
An Ideal Office Suite for Personal Use or for Your Home Business
Full office suite All the office tools you need to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, at an affordable price. Includes:
Corel Write--Write letters, resumes, reports and term papers
Corel Calculate--Create spreadsheets, charts and graphs, and balance budgets
Corel Show--Make slide shows with photos and charts
Microsoft compatibility Open, edit, create and save Microsoft Office documents.
Open XML compatibility Open, edit and save Open XML formats, the latest file format from Microsoft Office 2007.
Built-in PDF creation Save your files in PDF format with any of the applications within Corel Home Office. No need to buy more software.
Customizable color scheme Have fun changing the background color of your workspace, pages and toolbars, so you can pick colors to suit your mood.
Familiar workspace Select your preferred workspace so you instantly feel comfortable. Choose Tabbed Toolbars, familiar to people experienced with Microsoft Office 2007 Ribbon Toolbars; or regular-sized toolbars, familiar to users of Microsoft Office 2003 or Corel WordPerfect Office.
Multilingual workspace Work in your language of choice. Multiple languages are available at the click of a button.
Designed for the Work You Do at Home
Corel Write Everything you need to prepare, edit and present great-looking letters, reports, quotations, memos, mailings and newsletters.
Opens and saves Microsoft Office Word files
Highlights spelling errors as they occur with AutoSpell and fixes them with AutoCorrect, available in multiple languages
Provides a Grammar Checker in English, French, Spanish and German
Corel Calculate The perfect tool for managing the numbers in your life, whether for business accounts, home finances, or homework problems.
Opens and saves Microsoft Office Excel files and charts
Creates macros and pivot tables (visual summary of data)
Converts your spreadsheets to PDFs
Corel Show Use a range of visual and text effects to make sure your message is delivered with maximum impact
Creates professional-looking slide shows with customizable transitions
Inserts graphs/charts and allows for page reordering
Automatically saves in Microsoft Office PowerPoint format for easy sharing
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