Word is great... when you need to do your dissertation, write your novel etc,. For most of us who need a word processor to write letters, make notes, keep a journal and other assorted tasks, Word is a slow-opening, overbuilt, behemoth whose multitude of features are a liability.

I'm not ready to rely on a web-based application such as Open Docs.

Bean is the perfect answer. It's quick opening. It opens and saves in .doc and .docx format. It does all the common and needed formatting tasks easily. It has hit the sweet spot of having just the right amount of adjustments and controls.

I still have Word, but probably wouldn't buy it now if I didn't already own it. I've set my computer to use Bean whenever I open a .doc document. We'll see if I ever need Word again.

Thanks very much James for your time, taste and the good judgement in choosing what to include, what not to include and doing it so well. You nailed it and I am very grateful.

Chris Harnish