Microsoft Works Suite 2003

Let's be clear: this isn’t an office suite. Microsoft Works Suite 2003's new design and bundled applications clearly mark it out for students and anyone who needs productivity software at home: all but the tiniest of businesses should look elsewhere. This suite's less complicated programs cannot perform the same complex calculations as Excel, nor can they generate presentations as dynamic as those of PowerPoint. But for a mere £119 (inc. VAT), this suite contains plenty of family-friendly applications: a slick, Web-style task launcher; a simple spreadsheet; a database; a calendar; an address book; a fully functional copy of Word 2002; and a bunch of bonus software, including a mapping program, an encyclopaedia, a personal finance program and an image editor. If you can do without Excel or PowerPoint, this bargain home-productivity suite is the best software deal that Microsoft has to offer. Businesses, though, should stick with the Office suite, even if it is overpriced.