Apple's Boot Camp makes it possible to boot an IntelMac in either the Mac OS or Windows XP, which enables the comparative evaluation of this application. Office for the Mac, non-Universal Binary, runs in Rosetta under OSX, while Office for Windows will run natively in Windows XP, on the same machine.

I installed Microsoft Office 2003 to compare it with Microsoft Office 2004 for the Mac. I've been seeing the TV commercials of two men, at times holding hands, with one representing a Mac and the other a PC. The main message is pointing out the differences between the two types of computers. But one thing really sticks out and it's that both can run Microsoft Office, a similarity. The guys don't josh around about it. It just is. So, are there any differences between Microsoft Office for Windows and for the Mac? Well, yes, of course. Both offer Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. MS Office's for the Mac is Entourage and its mail program for the PC is Outlook.

The differences are evident in the look and that's a good thing because Mac people like a certain look and Windows people like another look. I will not address the similarities here; if you are an Office user in either platform you are familiar with how the applications work. I'll emphasize some of the differences instead.

Word 2004 for Mac
One feature in Word 2004 for Mac that doesn't exist in Word 2003 for Windows is Notebook Layout View. You can type right onto ruled notebook "paper," manage different sections with tabs, and quickly search for key ideas using this new view. Also, you can flag important entries, search for key words and phrases, and even record time-stamped audio into your notes as you type. How about that?

Excel 2004 for Mac
In Excel for Mac there are a few more advanced charting features but we Mac people are not surprised, since our machines come with exceptional graphics capabilities in their DNA from birth. There are also new Default Charting Colors; Series Coloring Options; a Formatting Palette; and Charting Coloring Schemes.

PowerPoint 2004 for Mac
Both platforms are extremely similar in the way PowerPoint behaves. The differences are negligible and exist mostly in the LOOK of the templates like the colors, and the charts. The way you navigate through your presentations is also a bit different.

Entourage for the Mac versus Outlook for Windows
This is the mail program for handling email, contacts, schedules, notes, documents, tasks, and more, from one application. Entourage 2004 for Mac has a feature called the Project Center, which allows you to associate messages with specific projects by dragging them to projects or to associate files with projects by dragging them to the Project Watch folder in the Finder. How cool is that?

If you have items scattered in Entourage that you want to associate with a project, you can locate them quickly by using Advanced Find in the Edit menu. Assemble all the items in one view, select them, and associate them with your project by clicking Projects and then clicking the project name.

A project schedule can be best read if it is not cluttered by unrelated calendar events. Entourage provides a pair of handy toggle buttons so you can easily view a project schedule with or without unrelated events.

You can also access project items by opening the Project Palette in the Microsoft Office for Mac program, and in the Tool menu in Excel, PowerPoint, or Word.

There are more features in the Project Center that you can explore; just type Project Center in the Help menu.

Microsoft Office for the Mac is not Universal Binary so it must run in Rosetta. That is slower than Office on the Windows side, booted via BootCamp. Because of the speed, I can not give it a 5 rating. But since most of the apps are for text, the speed difference is not that noticeable. Though it's slightly slower, its features are better, so the Mac user should have little reason to use Office/Win in Boot Camp for the small speed gain, especially when a Universal Binary version may be available soon. I hope. I guess.