“The latest version of the software suite, called Office 2007, due out Jan. 30, is a radical revision, the most dramatic overhaul in a decade or more,” Walt Mossberg reports for The Wall Street Journal.
Mossberg reports, “I don’t use the word ‘radical’ lightly. The entire user interface, the way you do things in these familiar old programs, has been thrown out and replaced with something new. In Word, Excel and PowerPoint, all of the menus are gone — every one. None of the familiar toolbars have survived, either. In their place is a wide, tabbed band of icons at the top of the screen called the Ribbon. And there is no option to go back to the classic interface.”
“As if this weren’t enough, Microsoft has also changed the standard file format for Office files. Older versions of Office, on both Windows and Macintosh computers, won’t be able to read these new file types without special conversion software. The new version can, however, read files created in the older versions, on both Windows and Mac, without any conversion software,” Mossberg reports.
Mossberg reports, “These changes in Office, while much less publicized, are far bolder and more important than the mostly cosmetic user interface changes in the highly hyped new version of Windows, called Vista, which comes out on the same day.”
“Microsoft deserves credit for being bold and creative in designing Office 2007. It has taken a good product and made it better and fresher,” Mossberg reports. “But there is a big downside to this gutsy redesign: It requires a steep learning curve that many people might rather avoid. In my own tests, I was cursing the program for weeks because I couldn’t find familiar functions and commands, even though Microsoft provides lots of help and guidance.”
Mossberg reports, “Basic composition and editing are aided by the new design either very little or not at all. If you mostly compose plain Word documents, simple presentations and plain spreadsheets, the new design may not be worth the effort to master it, and you might want to stick with an older version of Office.”
Mossberg reports, “Mac Office users will have to wait until later in the year for Microsoft to release converters that will allow their version of Office to read the new file formats. But a third-party conversion program, for Word files only, has already been released. It’s called docXConverter, and can be downloaded at http://www.panergy-software.com for $20.”
Full review here.
Related articles:
‘docXConverter’ converts Microsoft Office 2007 ‘docx’ files – December 21, 2006
Beginning of the end for Office for Mac? Microsoft drops Visual Basic support in Mac version – December 09, 2006
Microsoft says Office 2007 XML support coming to Macs eventually – December 06, 2006
Microsoft’s Office 2007 for Windows saves documents in Mac-incompatible format – December 05, 2006
Microsoft Office 2007 for Mac won’t be available until latter half of 2007 – October 06, 2006
All-new user interface coming for Office 2007 for Mac – September 18, 2006
USofG and 7over are right. “Steep learning curve” is almost always used incorrectly. Time, by convention, is plotted on the x-axis (the independent axis).
are we really arguing the learning curve axis’?
Steep learning curve has ALWAYS meant hard to learn, period.
I dont care what the axis labels are.
Here’s to hoping Pages 3.0 has a Word ’07 converter built in. Would surely beat M$ to the punch and spoil their strategy of deliberately stalling and crippling Mac software.
I’m a little surprised no mention was made that the Apple version of Office 2007 / 2008 will not support Windows Visual Basic (if I remember correctly) thus creating possible incompatibilities between the two variants.
Even though running MS Office was my safety blanket in getting my first Mac back in 10/2004, I don’t plan on upgrading to newer versions of Office. Instead would recommend most Mac users stay with Office 2004, if possible, and use the XML converter. My two cents worth.
Peace.
Dear fatal:
WRONG!
Steep learning curve has NEVER meant hard to learn. Rather, “Steep learning curve” has ALWAYS been used INCORRECTLY to express that something is hard to learn.
That’s like saying that just because the general, uneducated public says “irregardless,” then irregardless has ALWAYS meant ‘without paying attention to the present situation; despite the prevailing circumstances.’
Booooo!!! I hate Microsoft!!! Everything they touch is crap! MS Office is the only virus of OSX!!
Instructions for Microsoft’s New TV Dinner Product:
You must first remove the plastic cover. By doing so you agree to accept and honor Microsoft rights to all TV dinners. You may not give anyone else a bite of your dinner (which would constitute an infringement of Microsoft’s rights). You may, however, let others smell and look at your dinner and are encouraged to tell them how good it is.
If you have a PC microwave oven, insert the dinner into the oven. Set the oven using these keystrokes:
mstv.dinn.//08.5min@50&#xhe;at
Then enter:
ms//start.cook_dindin/yummy\|/yum~yum:-)gohot#cookme.
If you have a Macintosh microwave oven, insert the dinner and press start. The oven will set itself and cook the dinner.
If you have a Unix microwave oven, insert the dinner, enter the ingredients of the dinner found on the package label, the weight of the dinner, and the desired level of cooking and press start. The oven will calculate the time and heat and cook the dinner exactly to your specification.
Be forewarned that Microsoft dinners may crash, in which case your oven must be restarted. This is a simple procedure. Remove the dinner from the oven and enter:
ms.nodamn.good/tryagain\again/again.crap
This process may have to be repeated. Try unplugging the microwave and then doing a cold reboot. If this doesn’t work, contact your oven vendor. The oven itself is obviously on the blink.
Many users have reported that the dinner tray is far too big, larger than the dinner itself, having many useless compartments, most of which are empty. These are for future menu items. If the tray is too large to fit in your oven, you will need to upgrade your equipment.
Dinners are only available from registered outlets, and only the chicken variety is currently produced. If you want another variety, call Microsoft Help and they will explain that you really don’t want another variety. Microsoft Chicken is all you really need. Microsoft has disclosed plans to discontinue all smaller versions of their chicken dinners. Future releases will only be in the larger family size. Excess chicken may be stored for future use, but must be saved only in Microsoft approved packaging.
Microsoft promises a dessert with every dinner after ’98. However, that version has yet to be released. Users have permission to get thrilled in advance.
Microsoft dinners may be incompatible with other dinners in the freezer, causing your freezer to self-defrost. This is a feature, not a bug. Your freezer probably should have been defrosted anyway.
Overheard at the watercooler in ’04
“We’re pulling the resources for MOMac.”
“Whaaa?” No way! When?
“I don’t know for sure. This is such a delicate matter and he really hasn’t decided how or when to do it. It’s politics, you know?”
“But it’s a moneymaker!”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s blaming MBU for making the rest of us look bad. He resents the fact that you guys are always so, so, happy!”
“Happy? He resents us because we’re happy?!!”
“What can I say? Your products are top shelf and everyone at MBU always looks so casual and stress-free and that really bothers him. But what really sizzles his bacon is the fact that because you’re so productive and your numbers don’t lie, it’s hard not to envy you. He still talks about the time when Bill asked, “Why can’t you be more efficient like MBU?”, which really pisses him off each time he recounts that story and he’s no good to us for the rest of the day.”
“So what’s wrong with that, fer chrissakes?”
“Well, the way I figure it, it’s easier to shut you guys down than it is to bring the rest of us up. So, there it is.”
“Wait a minute. Lemme see if I got this straight. He’s pulling the plug because we make him feel bad about looking good? What kind of crap logic is that?”
“Hey! Don’t bite my head off. I’m just telling you what’s floating around campus at the moment.”
“Well what if we missed a few deadlines, feigned low morale, fired a few key people, you know, give the impression that MBU is no bed of roses?”
“I’m afraid that won’t do. He’ll see right through it and when he does, we’ll find you in emergency with a chair up your ass. He’s no dummy. He knows that even if you guys were as miserable as the rest of us, you’d still be pumping out terrific products like MOMac.”
“So it’s MOMac?”
“Yup. He’s gonna’ strangle it with his bare hands. Remember what he did to that toad at the company picnic?”
“If that’s the case then maybe he would at least allow us the honor of killing it off. Maybe in the next revision we could throw convention out the window and completely radicalize the user’s approach? You know, test the waters, so to speak? I mean we could design an interface so unique that only Mac users could comprehend it anyway. If it fails, or if our clients are so repulsed by it, that it utterly flops, so what” What have we got to lose? The OPTAR money’s already spent anyway.”
“Well… I don’t know. What if it becomes the next killer app? What then bright boy? You know what that’ll do for morale around here, doncha? He’ll have to remodel the office again and then we won’t be able to find him for weeks at a time.”
“Just float it around and see what comes up, k?
“Later.”
If this takes off in the Vista world and hundreds of Vista programs substitute the menu bar for icon ribbons then Vista users will have to memorise literally thousands of icons to translate their pictorial meaning into functional meanings. Lesser used applications will fare the worst. Users will get frustrated. This will force Vista users to open-source Office products.
I got frustrated when Apple made the Apple-App-File-Edit…Window-Help menus consistent, but at least this was logical and more consistent between apps. Icons for menus is the wrong direction – maybe fine for one suite, but not for all apps.
Imaging the iPod interface with pictures instead of words. It would be much slower to navigate, just like many mobile phone interfaces today.
Amazing how you turds fall all over yourselves blowing each other over the OS X Dock, but when MS introdues the Ribbon you can’t find anything good to say.
And you talk about PC people being lemmings…sheesh
please
a steep learning curve is alot to learn in a short time
sigh
“MDN just posted an article saying GOOD THINGS about a Microsoft design!”
But it was from Walt Mossberg, so they must have just assumed that it was going to be pro Apple.
Nearly all of Office revenue is from corporations which use standard images on their desktops. The “information worker” is the target of Office 2007 and many corporations have 10,000 plus workers that fit this profile.
The significance behind the learning curve is not a home user taking 20 minutes to find the “save as”. The significance is 10,0000, or 50k workers taking 20 minutes at a burden rate of $140/hr.
These large, information rich corporations understand very well that the cost is in the lost productivity. Even if Microsoft gave 2007 away for free the cost will be too high for many corporations.
Go check out Microsoft’s customer evidence for Office 2007 and the Office System (server software). Even companies that have been in beta for a year with full support from Redmond and MCS aren’t deploying the software in production environments. Every story is “eventually will” or “plans to”. The only company using it in production… Microsoft. Oh, and no business critical integrations there either.
The previous version of the Office System (2003) was far ahead of this position by product launch. The 2003 product launch “tour” had actual customers show up that were using the product in production environments. Watch for that this year. Any companies over 10k users? 50k? 100k? Not a chance.
Microsoft is asking a lot of its customers this time around. A new corporate desktop and server image with heavy desktop hardware, server, and end user training requirements. It will be a slow adoption that will likely threaten the golden calf.. aka Enterprise Select Maintenance Contracts (EA’s right to upgrade).
Make no mistake, they aren’t worried about their monopoly at the local Best Buy. They are concerned that a company like Boeing will take a look at their 10 million dollar quarlerly EA maintance fee and decide its better to buy as needed.