Microsoft Word is a computer program that many people use for writing. I think Microsoft Word is a very helpful and important tool, especially for students and workers. It makes writing easier and helps people create neat and organized documents. One reason I like Microsoft Word is because it has many useful features. It checks spelling and grammar, which helps me fix mistakes in my writing. It also has tools that let you change the font, size, and style of words. These tools make assignments look more professional and easier to read. Microsoft Word also has templates that help people write things like reports, letters, and resumes. Even though Microsoft Word is helpful, it can sometimes be confusing. There are many buttons and options, and it may take time to learn how to use them all. However, once you practice and understand the program better, it becomes much easier and more useful. In conclusion, I think Microsoft Word is a powerful and reliable program. It helps people write better and stay organized. Even though it can be difficult at first, it is worth learning because it improves the quality of written work.

Word used to be my “Go-To” app for anything having to do with writing; however a couple of things made me have to search for an alternative. Initially this was supposed to be temporary, while Microsoft figured out the dance/wrestling match with Apple, but as time went on AND this kept going back and forth, I got frustrated and sought more of a permanent fix, so I began to experiment with other Apps, and eventually found others that did the same or better and were just as simple and without the drama or being the end-piece of these two giant companies forgetting that the satisfaction of the customer, making up the pool of customers that ultimately make them giants of business BECAUSE they are giving us what we are willing to (LITERALLY) pay for is their success by purchasing their products and/or services! So now, I infrequently use Word, and have begun to use mostly Google-based Apps, because gratefully - Google has remembered the above principles and I have the sense that the people currently in charge in that company have remembered what made them a GIANT, and are thinking in terms of giving customers, down to a single user, what we want - what we need - what we are willing to pay for! I hope, because I am a capitalist consumer, being my self interest in the forefront of what I need to make other’s lives better in order to make my own life better, so I champion competition (in myself, my company and from my suppliers) because it is ultimately the best for consumers, which bluntly selfishly includes ME.

I've been using Word now as a professional writer since spring 1988 when I bought my first Mac. There's no doubt that Word is the most powerful document creating application out there. However, I am seriously weirded out by it these days. As a writer, I tend to work on anywhere from a dozen to two or three dozen stories, essays, and articles every week. It used to be that I could just quit the app with whatever open and when I logged back on everything would boot up automatically. For the past good while (can't remember how long) that option seems gone. Yes, there is the "Recently Open" command, but I don't have time nor do I want to waste my limited intelligence trying to remember what was open and why. You'd think at least that there would be a startup page option letting you choose to re-open what was open. Not happening. I've written to Microsoft on this problem several times. No response back that I know of. That is a problem with being too big to care. I've got my methods for getting around this issue, of course, but still, they require thinking about something trivial that I really don't want to waste my brain on. I'm a power user and because of this problem alone, Microsoft gets three stars only. As time goes on and no one pays attentiion to this problem, I'm likely to drop my rating to two stars. It's just a stupid problem that can easily be fixed. And the fact that it hasn't been means MS is not paying attention or truly doesn't care because they don't think they need to. Sad!

I still feel like the new comments system is more limiting than the old. If I try to attach a comment to a part of the document that is a Tracked Change, I can't see the comment at all, even as I try to type it. I also can no longer change how Comments are shown as the Show Comments drop down menu has, at some point in the last few years, become greyed out. These problems have been here for years now. I know some of the initial lost features have since been implemented, but it overall feels like a step back that we're trying to recover from. I can't seem to revert to Classic Comments either—though from announcements I've seen, that would only ever have been a temporary solution anyway. I'm not interested in the AI intrusions either, and I don't like that disabling it cuts me off from functions that I used to have access to. I had it on initially, and it rendered the Spelling and Grammar Check virtually useless, which is why I turned off "Connected Experiences". I've used Word my entire adult life, but I'm seriously considering switching to another word processer with the way these "updates" seem to be going. If I want AI input on my writing, I'll seek that out. If I want a collaborative shared document experience, I'll use some sort of shared document app. But I need a place where I can just write and edit a document without a bunch of other things butting in and getting in the way of the basic function of what Word is supposed to be. Sometimes, it's better to NOT have everything in one place