Prince of Persia Hits Xbox Live Arcade

Boston (dBTechno) - Prince of Persia Classic has swung its way onto the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade.

The remake of the 1980s classic uses 3D graphics mixed in with 2D settings to make for a reinvented Prince of Persia. Players will be following the same classic story from years past as you try to save the princess from the evil Jaffar.

There is an original mode as well as a Time Attack and Survival modes. The game is about 50MB to download with a demo available.

The price of this Xbox Live Arcade release stands around 800 Microsoft points.

Office packages need not be expensive and fancy

Berlin (dBTechno) - Anyone planning to write, calculate, configure or manage in today’s professional world needs a computer. To do those jobs well, a computer needs an office package which combines all these functions into one practical bundle.

Some office solutions come free of charge. In more extreme cases, they can cost several hundred euros. It’s important to assess your needs and budget before deciding on a product.

There was a time when purchasing a PC or notebook meant the automatic inclusion of a complete office package. But that happens less and less nowadays, says Peter Knaak, a technology expert with Stiftung Warentest, a Berlin-based consumer products information organization.

“Producers have had to cut out those deals thanks to price wars.”

Now it’s fairly rare for computers to come with fully loaded basic office applications like Microsoft Works. Even when they are, they don’t always satisfy most computer users, says Dieter Brors, an editor with the Hanover-based computer magazine c’t.

“These programs are only good for the most basic chores, like writing a letter,” Knaak agrees, adding, “Functions for writing complicated texts such as academic essays with footnotes and indexes aren’t supported.”

But picking a useful office package does not automatically mean opting for the fanciest version out there. It’s most important that the software matches the jobs the user plans to perform, says Thomas Stojke, of computeruniverse.net, an internet mail order company based in Friedrichsdorf in the German state of Hesse.

“Most home users are fine with a good word processor and a spreadsheet.”

People should check carefully to see whether extra functions are worth more money to them. “Many office packages are so powerful that an average user never gets to use half the functions,” says Brors.

That’s why Microsoft - the market leader for office applications - - offers different packages of its Office 2007 line for different users. The Home and Student version, which costs around 150 euros (207 dollars) comes with a word processor (Word), a spreadsheet program (Excel), a note program (OneNote), along with PowerPoint for making presentations.

But the company’s e-mail program (Outlook), layout software (Publisher) and database program (Access) are only available in more expensive packages generally designed for companies, says Stojke.

Owing to their widespread use, Microsoft’s Office products have become standard in both office and home use, says Stojke.

“A lot of people use applications at home that they know from work,” says Brors. That makes it hard for other producers to break into the market, even if their products provide the same quality for lower costs.

Meanwhile, users are beginning to query whether they should buy office suites, when some are available for free online. Brors recommends the OpenOffice package. The software is based on StarOffice and was developed by a network of programmers. It includes word processing, spreadsheets, a database program, presentation, graphics software and a formula editor.

“OpenOffice has everything that the average home user could want and more,” says Brors. But users have to give up some comforts. Extensions have to be installed before forms and clip art can be used. The instructions also lack details at times, which can be a problem when a user can’t figure out a function.

However, anyone who has used office software before should not have a problem jumping into the application. “There are no major differences between the basic functions. The controls are mostly the same,” says Stojke.

Most users are scared of switching because they worry that their old files won’t be compatible with the new software. Import and export filters are available to help different programs understand documents from other systems, but the quality of those filters can vary.

“As a rule, all programs can read and save files in Microsoft format. But the conversion isn’t always smooth. Pictures or drawings can move around within complex documents,” says Stojke. As long as the data stays on one computer or between computers with the same office software, that’s not a problem. “Switching information between platforms can lead to problems,” says Knaak.

Brors advises computer users to research office product suites before buying by using test versions available for free downloading.