As for the whiney review below me that stated he had to download a bunch of useless stuff on his computer just to get word, he neglected to mention (or was too stupid to follow the directions to learn that) you can customize the install, and only download the programs you want, so he could have just downloaded Word if that's all he wanted. And getting a full-blown version of Word for [that very reasonable two-digit price again] is well worth it.

They just could have given us such a better Picture Editing program, if they wanted. They should be ashamed of what they include here, with its headache-inducing, nerve-jangling Flash animations and loud, popping sound effects. There is a way to turn them off and bypass all the silly childish animation, but they don't tell you how; you have to poke around yourself. (In the animation screen itself, right-click and uncheck the animation boxes that are chosen by default. Next time you fire up the program, no obnoxious animations. Repeat this right-click technique for every annoying animation screen you come across as you use the program.)

"Yuck..."
This came pre-installed on my computer, so I gave it a shot. I was sorely disappointed. As a college student, I use spreadsheet and word processors quite frequently. I found that Word 2002 was cumbersome, ugly, and not as simple to use as previous editions (Word '97 was the best); and the spreadsheet was hard to manipulate and often did not operate the way I wanted it to. Making a graph with the proper axes proved quite difficult. To top this all off, this comes with Money 2002, Streets and Trips, and Picture It! Photo... features I doubt I'll ever use. In fact, Encarta may be the only program I might use in the near future. For all others, I'm sticking to Lotus Smart Suite.

"Microsoft Works Suite 2002 (It really works!)"
This is a great collection of easy to use software that appreciates the budget of the user, from a powerful word processor to easy photo-editing solution. Included in works is Microsoft Word version 2002! Now come on, this product sells individually at an outrageous price of $300 plus dollars. You are able to create professional looking documents, memo's and resumes, included with this version of Word, are speech recognition technologies, Send for Review, Document recovery and a slew of other powerful features. The other productivity applications such as the Works spreadsheet and database are not as powerful as Microsoft Excel and Access, but they do get the job done. This product really is worth the five stars. If you are looking for robust applications for computing and other powerful features, start thinking about saving for Microsoft Office. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002 standard is also included and trust me I used version 2001 and this version is even more powerful and amazing with concise, articulated information. So for students who want assistance with their reports and essays, Encarta is the one-stop reference material for all your information. Every OEM manufacturer should offer MS Works as a part of their computer package. Software like Lotus doesn't really meet the needs of users anymore, Lotus is like a low-end version of Works, not much functionality. Other great software includes Picture It! Photo Express, which is great for fixing up your photos, removing red eyes and it also creates great art and craft materials. Streets and Trips is a handy geographic solution when it comes to planning your travels, so for those people who like to go on vacation, this is a good opportunity to purchase. Money is always useful when it comes to organizing and preparing you financial data, so you don't have to worry about calculating and managing your frustrating financial taxes. With insightful tutorials and easy to use wizards, Money is a smart solution when it comes to handling your "money". Remember if you are looking for robust software that takes software computing to a different level, think about Microsoft Office. But for those people who need only the essentials, Works is the way to go!

"So far so good..."
I got this program almost 2 months ago. It works really well on XP and has some good features. I'd previously had a 10 year old version of Works so this is a really big change. The full version of Word is included on this software and it's really helpful for a college student who has to write essays for English and other classes at least a couple of times a month. I'll admit, I probably won't use most of the stuff in this package, but it's nice to know it's there in case I do.

"Microsoft Works Suite 2002"
I just bought this program and installed all the programs but Picture It! and Streets and Trips. I almost didn't buy this set of programs because of the bad reviews the other reviewers gave it. I had no trouble installing Word or any of the programs for that matter and if you can't install Words, it's true there would be no word processor for Works. I'm running Windows XP(which I love! After years of constant lockups with Win 98, I no longer have this problem, althought fair warning, drivers for some older hardware can be a real problem),a 700 mhz Intel processor, 128 megs ram, and a 6 gig harddrive. Almost time to build myself another new computer, since yes, all these new programs take up a lot room and I could really use more space, but with that a little more horsepower would be better. I do not believe that Works Suite 2002 is made for XP, but maybe that helped ???! I'm just trying to be a little more fair.