Microsoft Office 2010
 

I've been playing with the beta version of Microsoft Office 2010. So far, I'm a bit concerned. The primary goal of this version is to enable cloud based computing. Which I suppose is great if you are into that, but I ain't. The user interface seem somewhat clumsy compared to Office 2007. I'm guessing the interface changes were made to better support operation in the cloud but it's not wowing me.

More importantly, it fails the "Headliner" test. When I moved her from Office 2003 to Office 2007 her response was "Cool, great, love it". Office 2010 she has banned from her laptop for all eternity.

I wonder what would happen if I secretly replaced her Microsoft Office with Open Office....

What is cloud based computing?

Storing and using office files (word, excel, etc...) from a remote sever via the Internet.

Google Docs is a good example if you have used it. Wiki.

I use Open Office 2.3 on my little Linux netbook and I like it fine, though my needs are very basic. At home these days, I'm using iWork, and haven't installed any version of Microsoft Office so far. (It's still on my bedroom eMac, that darling little dinosaur.)

The whole cloud app concept bugs me because it means that, 1) my documents are always out there and that makes me paranoid, and 2) if absolutely everything is happening out in the cloud and I lose my internet service, which happens more often than I'd like, then I'm screwed.

Well, I still hate the 2007 interface and want to never give up 2003 (which I have at work). I still have to help to find half the functions I want to use.

If they go too far down this road it seems to me that financial services sector. Not only are we not allowed to use Google Docs (or any other cloud storage type site) for work stuff, we're not actually allowed to access the sites at all. And I know it is the same at almost every similar institution I've got awareness of.

I am with you on this - I refuse to go to 2007. Can't stand it. What was the point of completely changing the entire interface (other than creating a false justification for massive corporate updates)?


It took me three reads of this sentence to realize Alex stopped typing it too soon.

Sorry that should end "will be lost to them."

I despise 2007. It isn't easier and things don't work the same.

I've got the beta of 2010 on my Win7 beast. It doesn't get used near as much as Open Office.

I'm still using Microsoft Office 2004 on my MacBook. No need or desire to upgrade.

I have Office 2008 on my Mac and hate it. I have Office 2003 on my PC at work and LOVE it. I forgot how comfortable I am with 2003.

Yeah cloud computing is all the buzz, but it will be awhile before my industry accepts it as well - maybe if they get to own their own piece of the cloud. Still I guess Microsoft has to respond to Google on this front and have a product ready to compete.

And you want to see a company come to a standstill, put Office in the cloud (even an enterprise intranet one) and then go through one of the one-or-twice-a-year network outages we experience.

It is already 80% crippling to lose email, IM and the intranet even for just a couple hours. Lose access to what we currently keep locally and they might as well just send us home.

I've grown into Office '07.

I really like Office 07. I find the ribbon to be just fine once I learned where everything is. Is it all that much better then 03? Not particularly - but now that I've been using 07 for quite awhile, I wouldn't want to go back.