SMARTSUITE MIL ED 9.8.2

I started using Lotus 1-2-3 way back in the DOS days. Then, and now, it remains the most intuitive, efficient spreadsheet software around. After using MS Word (also from the earlier DOS days), I tried out Lotus WordPro because it was cheap (came with the Lotus SmartSuite), and I needed a Windows word processor for several computers. WordPro turned out to be a dream come true. Like 1-2-3, WordPro was fast and intuitive. MS Word for DOS was also very good but all its Windows versions (including the most recent) are too bloated and require relearning with each release. Lotus's database, Approach, was icing on the cake -- providing a good, simple front-end for our dBase files. Not much has changed in Approach over the years.The other software in the SmartSuite -- Freelance, FastSite, Organizer and SmartCenter -- are less (some, much less) inspiring. SmartCenter has usually been useless and, in its newest incarnation, really looks ugly. I would like to use Organizer (it looks cool) but I never had the time to learn it. For scripting webpages, I have always used Dreamweaver instead the limited FastSite -- although I did use FastSite when writing webpages was brand new. Freelance, like Organizer, looks like a useful program but, for me, it has been superseded by MS PowerPoint or Adobe Photoshop.Overall, Lotus SmartSuite (by IBM, now) is the best deal on the market (as long as you can get it discounted from its MSRP). The three basic modules -- spreadsheet, word processor and database -- have no peers for what they do. They might not have 3-D icons, shadowed images or animated help, but they are quick (actually, very quick), accurate and, best of all, intuitive. Everything else in making these functions "look" prettier (as in MS Office) just slows the software. Plus, their utilization of the keyboard and mouse (or just keyboard) is fantastic.

Smart Suite millenium edition is quite a good office product; I have used it as a backup for MS OFFICE, when some files will not open in MS OFFICE, or if they fail, SMART SUITE will open them, or ... and this is the best of it... it will actually repair corrupted MS EXCEL and MS WORD files... it seems to restore the template.The biggest, and silliest ommission is LOTUS NOTES ,which is not on SMART SUITE 9.8 .... the original Smart Suite Millenium edition had the NOTES App in it, and losing a key product in the Suite is such a disaster.As always, the Organiser works Beautifully... possibly the best PIM this side of a Palm Pilot.The best bonus is that the basic apps will run from the DISC alone. You do not need to install this suite to use the SmartSuite basics, like wordpro etc... you can run this amazing product straight from the Disc !!! Can MS Office do that ??

This version is slightly different than the older one I was replacing, which I like better. I got it to be able to load old files on a new computer with Windows 8.1. It works fine other than the "find text" feature being a bit slow to work. It's obviously not 64 bit, so it looks sort of fuzzy, but if you just need it for converting old files to other word processing file types, it's a great deal. I just installed Windows 10 and it works.

I was introduced to Lotus 123 in the eighties. Subsequently I started using the Smart Suite combo.Tried Microsoft's Office, did not like the product nor the hefty price.My company operations are based on a multidude of interconnected Approach data bases, interfaced with applications on spreadsheets. Today I find myself in the dilema of facing a future with Windows OS which will not support my syatems. I'm using it in a network of PCs, connected to a server, and it works beautifully on Windows XP and Windows 7. It is a pity that IBM will abandon its faithfull long time users discontinuing this product. At least, they could leave with a version fitted for Windows 8.How could the mighty IBM let MS run over its best product ever?

I bought this more than ten years after it was released, because our way-back-when installation CD broke. To this day, I can't bring myself to use a word processor other than WordPro for more than an emergency. It's not that I am computer-illiterate; I am more than a power-user. This really just is something that meets our needs more than Word of Open Office can, particularly when it comes to tables.Thank goodness this works on later versions of Windows. WordPro (included in the package) is the reason why we skipped several Windows upgrades until we could have operating systems compatible with it.

the most important discovery that I have made is that this program can be used in windows 7 with out problems. I recently upgraded»HP Pavilion a250n Desktop PC to win 7 I am so pleased with win 7 far and away superior to win xp . my computer performs so smooth it seems unbelievable that it is the same hp computer.

Has been my favorite software since 1988, I talk all my clients into using it instead of office - it's so much more user-friendly! Had to give it up this year - it's no longer supported on the windows platform (I have 8.0), very sad to be forced into office

For those of you that have never used this product i suggest give it a try. One of the best products that will give you exactly what you need and intergrate into just about any system. The product comes with everything you need, does what it says it will do and will save a bundle over MS products. The menus are clean, easy to use without having to hunt for what do i do next. Great product and Worth the investment!