Microsoft and AnalystSoft release StatPlus:mac LE data analysis tool for Excel 2008

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Microsoft and AnalystSoft release StatPlus:mac LE data analysis tool for Excel 2008

May
06

By: switchtoamac at: 11:24 PM on May 6, 2009 | Comments (0)

When Apple redesigned Office for Mac 2008, it had to drop Analysis ToolPak (ATP) because Visual Basic was removed from Office 2008. As a result, Excel 2008 doesn't have data analysis out of the box. Microsoft and AnalystSoft have collaborated to release StatPlus:mac LE, a free download that will provide data analysis options in Excel 2008.

In the Mac Mojo blog, Gavin Shearer states:

"The Mac Excel team and AnalystSoft have been working together for the past several months to tailor StatPlus:mac LE to mirror ATP's functions, and meet the needs of ATP users. We're very, very pleased with the result, and we think you will be, too."

Therefore, StatPlus:mac LE replaces Microsoft Analysis Toolpak and brings to the table the following capabilities:

ANOVA
Correlation
Covariance
Descriptive Statistics
Exponential Smoothing
F-Test Two-Sample For Variances
Fourier Analysis
Histogram
Moving Average
Random Number Generation
Rank and Percentile
Regression
Sampling
t-Test
z-Test

Now the bad news, the free version doesn't have the full range of functionality offered in the PRO version. According to the Mac Mojo blog:

"Finally, as you're using StatPlus:mac LE, you will notice some of the menus are marked with a "PRO" icon. This designates a function that is available in the commercial StatPlus:mac, but not the free StatPlus:mac LE. If you're in need of a more full-featured analysis solution, consider StatPlus:mac. (It currently has a 30-day trial, and retails for $250; discounts for academic and volume users are available.)"

Head over to the Mac Majo blog post for all the details including download and installation instructions.

I personally know of several switchers who've been annoyed about the lack of ATP support in Excel 2008 and have thus had to instal Windows via Boot Camp or virtually (VMWare Fusion or Parallels) on their Macs in order in order to use Analysis ToolPak (Windows-based Excel). For those still running Excel 2004 on their Mac via Rosetta, this development may encourage them to migrate to Excel 2008 but in our view, Microsoft should have included this functionality when Excel 2008 was released.