I'm really excited about what Microsoft has been up to lately. The word is that the new Windows Vista and new Office (codenamed Office12 for now) are supposed to be huge leaps ... not just feature upgrades ... over what we currently experience/use in XP and Office2003. Several are saying these 2 releases will be the biggest ever from Microsoft. I remember how Windows95 changed the computing landscape 10 yrs ago so I'm anticipating/hoping for something even more monumental.
I just finished watching Julie Larson-Green (Group Product Manager for the MS Office Team) demo Office12 (btw this is not yet betaware). Prior to watching it I had seen the various screenshots all over the web...and like everyone else I was like, "oh my, they totally changed the User Interface (UI)!" which will mean considerable training when we upgrade which means we won't be upgrading for a long time ;-) ... or maybe I'm wrong???
After watching Julie walk through the UI I'm thinking training will be cake ... the UI makes it much easier to do things you're used to and brings many of the higher powered features to the forefront instead of being buried under scores of menus.
I'm so happy to see Microsoft thinking outside the box ... which for a HUGE organization with gazillions of customers is a MAJOR undertaking considering most people are creatures of habit and would rather kill than have to change anything.
So I'm stoked and can't wait to see the final product released probably late next year. Go Microsoft...rethink...retool...rework...don't just stick with what's worked in past...make our experience easier, better, more efficient...make us smile! Take a page from Apple...while I can't say I like using a Mac I will admit the UI is pleasing to look at...and people like to look at things attractive. I've already heard the Mac population crying copycat upon seeing Vista and Office12. I'm sure the Linux crowd said similar when OSX came out.
So if you're in charge of software upgrades I suggest you check out the video ... or if you're a curious office user I'd suggest checking out the video. You can skip forward 8mins if you just want to get straight to the demo.
Office12 is gonna rock! Naturally a few of us at Granger will test it first, but I'm already thinking we'll upgrade soon after it's release :-)
I do wonder how the OpenOffice developers will react. My guess is they're saying, "oh crud!" I'll be curious to see how OpenOffice changes once Office12 has been out for a year.
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