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Microsoft Office 2010 a riposte to the mighty Google

KATE BEVAN | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - Feb 09 2010 05:15

11 comments | Post your comment

I'm writing this using the beta of Microsoft Word 2010, part of the Office 2010 suite due to hit the shelves later this year. You can try out the whole suite for free, too – the beta is available for download.

So what's new in Office 2010? A hell of a lot: the reviewer's guide that Microsoft helpfully provides for the likes of me runs to 174 pages, covering everything from the extension of the ribbon interface to Outlook 2010 to how to drill down and display data in Excel pivot tables. Other highlights include being able to slice and dice video into a Powerpoint presentation, and out-of-the-box PDF support, which Adobe isn't going to like. Neither is Adobe going to like the fact that you'll be able to edit images directly within Office apps.

What's more interesting, however, is the determination of Microsoft to make Office 2010 as widely available as possible, including online and via mobile devices. There's no need to buy -- for large sums of money -- the entire suite; you will be able to access via any browser and your Windows Live login pretty much full-featured versions of Excel, Word, Powerpoint and OneNote and use them to work collaboratively. If you're a business, you'll be able to host the Web Apps on your Sharepoint server and your minions will be able to access them via that.

This means, for example, if you're at a conference with a Powerpoint presentation on a USB stick and no laptop, and suddenly some new data arrives via email on your mobile, you'll be able to plug the stick into any computer and update the presentation using the online version of Powerpoint. It doesn't matter if it's a Mac and doesn't have Powerpoint installed; and, unlike the current version of Outlook Web Access on Exchange 2007, it doesn't matter what browser you use, either: the Web Apps are fully featured on any browser.

Clearly a riposte to the mighty Google and its Google Docs, Microsoft's Web Apps are, for my money, a better and richer experience than Google's offering. Like Google Docs, they will be free for the casual user. But why offer a free version of one of your biggest cash-generating suites of software? The answer is to expose as many people as possible to Office 2010, and to hope that they'll love it so much they'll shell out for the entire suite.

Is Jack still hungover?
This version of Office is very much more focused on the world outside your PC. As well as the collaborative nature of the Web Apps, you'll be able to keep on top of what your colleagues and contacts are up to, either via your company's Sharepoint infracstructure or via the big social networks. So, via Outlook, not only will you be able to check up on whether Jack from Accounts has said yes to the meeting, you'll also be able to see, via Facebook, if he's still hungover from the weekend. Which would explain why he's showing up in your People Pane in Outlook 2010 as "out of the office".

As is usually the case with Microsoft, there will be lots of different flavours of the suite, ranging from the least eyewateringly expensive version aimed at students and home users -- which, infuriatingly, won't include Outlook -- up to the all-singing, all-dancing Office Professional Plus.

Pros: richer multimedia tools, ability to use apps free online and to collaborate online.

Cons: Bound to be expensive, sheer size of suite and variety of tools can be confusing. - guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2010

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Comments

If it is in the same league as Windows 7, it will definitely be worth considering.

Ahed Johb on February 9, 2010, 8:42 am

Seconded - isn't 7 great and user friendly?

Judith Taylor on February 9, 2010, 10:56 am

Pity it's still the same crappy, second-rate applications the world has adopted simply because it's MS. After all this time you'd think MS would pick-up on some of the features in competitors products and improve Word and Excel ... can't comment on the other stuff in the suite because fortunately, I'm not 'forced' into their use simply because my clients and associates use it.

Ray Ives on February 9, 2010, 11:14 am

Well that makes me feel great and if I start saving now I will manage to buy Office 2011 next year.

I wonder if they are working on Office 2020 right now ?

Andy Campbell on February 9, 2010, 11:18 am

@Ray Ives

What other tools come close to Word and Excel? Open Office, don't make me laugh.

khathu ndouvhada on February 9, 2010, 2:15 pm

@khathu ndouvhada

I reckon that Open Office meets the needs of 95% of secretarial users - why should they climb on to the M$ Office bandwagon?

Mick Russell on February 9, 2010, 3:41 pm

Excel 2007 crashed five times on me today. Cost me a heck of a lot of time. EXCELlent!

Piet Smit on February 9, 2010, 8:02 pm

@khathu ndouvhada

Word Perfect makes (has ALWAYS made) MS Office look like a cheap Chinese rip-off (with the typical instruction manual to boot!).

You're such an expert ... tell us about all the alternatives you've used.

Ray Ives on February 10, 2010, 5:41 am

@khathu ndouvhada

I reckon that Open Office easily meets the requirements of 95% of MS Office users, why pay for the MS Office "bling" if you are never going to use it?

Mick Russell on February 10, 2010, 8:32 am

MS Office works, i am glad Microsoft is moving with the times. I wont let my dislike of big corporations cloud my ability to objectively assess this product.

Chengetai Simba on February 10, 2010, 11:39 am

Let's hope the price will be very reasonable!

Cedric Man Yan on February 10, 2010, 6:18 pm