Suite Life Microsoft's New Software Suite Makes Computing Sweet Indeed.

After spending some time with Office 97, I'm convincedMicrosoft finally has us where they want us. What I mean is, withOffice 97, they've left us very few reasons to ever leave theMicrosoft-controlled environment. Why? Because thatenvironment--complete with a surprisingly unobtrusive cartooncharacter called the "Answer Wizard"--is about aspleasant and functional as a software program can be.

Microsoft has added a new configuration to the Office 97family--the Small Business Edition. Considering how fast smallbusinesses, and particularly the homebased segment--are growing,it's no big surprise that Microsoft is targeting small-businessusers with its most popular software program. What is somewhatsurprising, however, is how Microsoft adapted Office 97 to appealto small-business users.

After numerous focus groups and much BODYing, Microsoftdetermined that small-business users don't require two of thekey Office Professional components: Microsoft Access (database) andPowerPoint (for presentations). That left Word 97, Excel 97 andOutlook 97, the new Microsoft information manager. To make theproduct more appealing to small-business users, Microsoft addedPublisher 97 (desktop publishing), Automap Streets Plus(street-level mapping), and Small Business Financial Manager 97.The result is an extremely interesting and easy-to-use suite ofproducts. (Macintosh and Windows 3.1 users are out of luck when itcomes to Office 97--this is a Windows 95/NT product only.)