You guessed it: Which OS versions are needed for Mac Office 98 and 2001? I can’t find any specific references on Amazon or Buy.
The requirement is System 7.5 or later for both Office 98 and 2001, although 7.5.5 is recommended. Note that this does not include OS X, which is supposed to have its own version this fall.
It depends on the computer you install it on. If it has a G3 or G4 chip then upgrade to OSX and run it in Classic mode which uses OS9.1. If you have anything older then OS8.6 seems to run the fastest and most stable on these machines and you should be abl e to install it on top of that.¢
Ahem. There is absolutely no point in upgrading to OSX just to use Classic! Anything with a G3 or G4 is perfectly adequate to run Office with whatever OS came with it. (8.5 - 9.1). I do not reccomend using Classic under OS X until Apple gets some serious issues worked out. I await the OS X native version of Office - it should be cool.
Is it just me that thinks it’s pretentious when people actually type ‘ermmm’ and 'ahem"?
<Rolls eyes>
<Shrugs>
You’re right though. No point just to use Classic BUT… upgrading to OSX to use OSX; well that’s a different story. OSX is better in most re spects and rapidly catching up in others. If you can upgrade, then I think you should. Take the new OS for a test run and see if you agree. If you don’t, stick with what you have. If you were happy enough before then you’ll be happy enough later. Either way, you’ll be able to run Office. I know I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Classic compatibility layer.
Ahem. Sorry for being so pretentious. 
Anyhoo, I don’t consider OS X to be “consumer ready” just yet, so I’ll hold off for a bit before reccomending its use. But yeah, it is way cool. Sadly, I think it will be appreciated more for its technical achievements (Mach, NetInfo, Cocoa, Quartz) than the user experience. 
Ssssshhh! You’re missing the point. If you talk it up then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. BeOS was technically cool too but how many people (who aren’t geeks like me) have even heard of it? Nobody used it so nobody developed so nobody used it… a d infinitum. It almost sounded like a pre-emptory obituary there.
Now. What he meant to say, Dave, was that you’ll never have a problem with it, it won’t crash, there are lots apps out there for it and it will separate your whites, colours and delicates for you.
OK. So I’m a pathological liar. But there are a lot of apps in the form of BSD source code out there. However, I don’t imagine you’d be all that interested in compiling open source programs seeing as you are planning on running MS Office. Aaaaah well.
What do you mean, “no point”?!?
What if I WANT to be able to use all of the applications I use now without the ability to use those pesky peripherals? I mean, word processing in Word is much faster when I don’t have to ever stop writing to print.
Talk about up my alley! Since I’m a developer for Mac PowerPoint, I can certainly chime in here with authority.
System 7.5.5 is recommended like 4MBs were recommended to run Win95. It’s the bare minimum, and I, personally, would not recommend it.
If you’re waiting for MacOfficeX, wait for Puma (OS X 1.1) - faster better stronger. And you should wait for MacOfficeX, if only for the PowerPoint improvements to Save as QuickTime (my baby)
As for running in Classic mode, yeah, I really see no point to doing that unless you need Office2K this very minute. I wish I could say when both of these were coming out, but…I…can’t…want…to…but…am…afraid…of…consequences…