encounter sound

I just started Beta testing the new version of Microsoft Office (2007, Beta 2) and it’s really, really, really cool.  The most noticable change since the last few versions (97-2003) is the new “Ribbon” replacing the old toolbars we’ve become accostomed to over the last little while.  Evidently, the Evil Empire has been tracking how individuals connected to the internet have been using the product, analyzing and tracking support requests, and listening to and watching individual users about how they use the software.  This has resulted in a complete overhaul of how the top of the screen will look in almost all of the Office software (Outlook, it seems, has not inherited the Ribbon, but is still majorly cleaned up in my opinion).  Instead of having the “rafting” toolbars (you know how when you haven’t used the “Center” or “Bold” command in a while it runs away to the tiny arrow on the righthand side of the toolbar?  That’s rafting), they’re divided into tabs based on their context.  It takes a bit of getting used to, but I’ve found it about a million times easier and more intutive out-of-the-box than former products.  It also means that no matter how many add-ins you install, they just add more tabs, rather than taking up more and more toolbar space and decreasing the size of your work area.  Overall, it’s just prettier as well.  Probably my favorite part of this version of Office is that they’re letting anyone and everyone try it out for free until February of next year.  Then, evidently, it will expire and have crippled functionality (my guess is that you won’t be able to change/save documents, only look at them).  For now, though, all of us that are wary of spending the big bucks on upgrades without a trial run have our chance.

Of course, Beta software is inherently buggy, and sometimes might crash.  Make sure if you’re using any Beta software, especially Office since it’s such a large part of most workstations, that you make a habit of saving often.  Word is currently giving me fits about my Type1 (Adobe) fonts, which most folks won’t have to worry about, but it’s something to look out for.

Download the Beta 

Read a MS Developer’s Blog about the new Ribbon UI