A full package of Microsoft Office applications, for Windows 95, was
introduced by Microsoft Israel last week. The Office suite takes advantage
of the enhanced features of the 32 bit operating system, and the new user
interface. It enables multi-tasking and integration of several applications
in a single document, provides comprehensive support such as embedded spell
checking, and Wizard support for complex tasks.
The package includes Word 7 (Hebrew edition), Excel 7 (Hebrew edition), Access (in the enhanced "pro" version) and Schedule +, also in Hebrew.
PowerPoint 7 was also translated but has yet to be completed and integrated into the system. This application will be included in the updated Office version, expected for release by July of this year.
Office 95 Hebrew is expected to accelerate the penetration of Windows95 into the business community in Israel, the same community that was slow to adopt the Hebrew version of Windows 3.X. This slow pace was caused by the reluctance of developers to pay the high conversion costs of moving into the Windows environment, and was also due to the lack of support from leading
providers of accounting and business software, who blamed Windows for being
unreliable.
Although Win-95 still has to prove its reliability and ruggedness, the availability of rapid, easy to use conversion tools, use of Unicode and the new Office suite should promote its rapid acceptance.