Author Topic: Whoa, this gal hates MS Office 2010 -- 5 Reasons Why You Don't Need It (Read 23990 times)

zridling · « **on:** July 22, 2010, 10:35 PM »

Julie Sartain of PC World gives us Five Reasons You Don't Need Microsoft Office 2010, and she doesn't hold back:

(1) No more upgrades. If you are looking for an upgrade price, forget it. Microsoft has decided not to offer upgrade pricing anymore.
Next to Windows Millennium, Vista, the Office 2007 Ribbon, and the Kin bombshell, this is the worst marketing decision Microsoft has ever made.

(2) Free Alternative Programs. OpenOffice, et al.
Other alternative programs include IBM's Lotus Symphony, Google Docs, and Zoho--all free--and ThinkFree, which has both a free and a fee-based version.

(3) Few New Features, Nothing Impressive. You can save Word docs to SharePoint--or just copy and paste them in. Other new features include paste preview, so you can preview the page before you paste items into your document--or you could just go ahead and paste the items in, then select undo if you don't like how it looks.
There are a few other minor features. However, I still don't think these are anything to get excited about, and they're certainly not worth the new ‘non-upgradable' price tag.

(4) The Ribbon Changed, but It's Still a Bomb. The only real change worth mentioning on the Ribbon bar is its capability to customize the menus.
I hated it in Office 2007 and I still hate it. After using it for weeks and cursing it daily, I finally purchased a program from AddIn Tools that, when installed, redesigns the Ribbon bar menus back to the old Office 2003 menus.

(5) Simultaneous Editing. [This] is nothing more than a shared document feature.
This not a cool function. It actually creates a lot more confusion than it's worth, especially if you have ever used Adobe Acrobat to perform these same tasks. Every time I have ever used sharing and collaboration in Acrobat, it has resulted in chaos with one user changing what another just wrote or edited causing conflict between all participants because the original is no longer available unless someone had the foresight to make a backup copy.

_________________________________
I was with her until she suggested Corel's WordPerfect. Really?!

tomos · « **Reply #1 on:** July 23, 2010, 04:35 AM »

Wow, that's really pushing things - no upgrade price!!
I'd still go for Softmaker Office myself @ $80 with a helpful forum (if a little defensive at times) - but I'm not an advanced user so cant really compare it with Word etc.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #2 on:** July 23, 2010, 06:55 AM »

I was advising a friend with a new laptop the other day about the benefits of Free / Cheaper MS alternatives... most people do not use or need the power in the Office Applications - ever. It's just that they use "Excel" for "spreadsheet" and "Word" for "word processor" etc... Somewhat like we say "Google" for "web search".

But what happened was that the hardware vendor gave her a student license, which effectively means that she'll not investigate other alternatives. Which is a shame.

Ampa · « **Reply #3 on:** July 23, 2010, 07:03 AM »

I have to say that I like the ribbon! It is one of the reasons why I find it hard to switch to a free (or paid) alternative. A return to all those fiddly little buttons and endless menus seems like a backward step.

Josh · « **Reply #4 on:** July 23, 2010, 07:15 AM »

I am with Ampa. I use the ribbon, and have since day one. Instead of forcing myself to use something old, I find myself pushing to new technologies and concepts and am often happy with the results. This has been the case with the ribbon. It helps me learn shortcuts to make myself more productive. I have learned many more shortcuts, exposed new features I never knew were there, and overall be far more useful when it comes to operating MS Office.

I have never once purchased a full-priced copy of Office and I probably never will. Many home users do not need to purchase it as it will either come pre-loaded on a system with a version that is good enough for them, or they will get it from work or their educational institution. My two copies of office 2010 ran me a total of 80 bucks (Professional edition).

Also like Ampa, I find myself unable to switch to other competitors products because they feel old, clunky and nowhere near as polished. The menu driven system, or desire to use it I should say, is gone for me. The ribbon, with it's auto-hide feature, is the wave of the future and I try and show everyone I meet just how useful it can be once you figure out what it can do.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #5 on:** July 23, 2010, 07:35 AM »

I could be with both of you... but I've never used the ribbon -- but it's showing up in other applications now too. I certainly don't have anything against it per se, and my basic instincts are not entirely happy when people refuse to adapt. But as I say, I've not tried it (at work we're still many years behind).

40hz · « **Reply #6 on:** July 23, 2010, 09:17 AM »

+1 for ~~Softperfect~~ Softmaker (see next comment) Office if you need easy no-brainer file compatibility or a decent spreadsheet alternative. If you just need wordprocessing there are several very good alternatives available that won't require you to get involved with heavy horses such as OpenOffice or Symphony.

I personally think Microsoft's move to discontinue upgrade pricing is yet another example of the recent trend of lowering customer expectations some big companies are starting to engage in. The new message (data caps, no free anything anymore, usage restrictions, gag clauses) is: Don't expect too much - and be grateful for what you do get.

It's worked for banks for years. And it depends on the power of inertia. Basically you make it such a real or imagined hassle to switch what you're using that the average person won't. That's why people very reluctantly change banks no matter how expensive the fees or how shoddy their service. It's also why all the perks and deals are only offered to new customers.

Sad state of affairs.

And these same American businesses wonder why the rest of the world is starting to look elsewhere?

tomos · « **Reply #7 on:** July 23, 2010, 09:34 AM »

+1 for Softperfect Office
-40hz (July 23, 2010, 09:17 AM)

I presume that's +1 for SoftMaker Office . . .

And these same American businesses wonder why the rest of the world is starting to look elsewhere?
-40hz (July 23, 2010, 09:17 AM)

hopefully rest of world will keep them on their toes (eventually)

40hz · « **Reply #8 on:** July 23, 2010, 10:32 AM »

^ yes it is.

I have never been able to get that name straight.

Thx for pointing it out.

Lutz_ · « **Reply #9 on:** July 23, 2010, 10:58 AM »

The ribbon offers several buttons that are bigger than before - wow!; it also asks you to find more detailed tools behind some rather clumsy and non-intuitive folding out menu structures etc..
Overall it only looks good. It does not save any time and requires more mouse clicks than than the standard interface for most tasks - for me.
The ribbon is change but unfortunately no progress. Consequently, I also purchased the "classical interface" add on for my work PC.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #10 on:** July 23, 2010, 11:39 AM »

Did anyone read the comments on that article? They (made more sense) were better than the article.

I'm still using 2003 here at the office, but I've got 2007 at home. I don't really have a problem with either. apparently I should update one of them to 2010 so I can see what all the hub-bub is about.

zridling · « **Reply #11 on:** July 23, 2010, 12:15 PM »

One criticism the author didn't include was that MS Office 2010 is not a cross-platform product, unlike SoftMaker Office or OpenOffice, or for that matter, all those online freebies. I'm truly not fond of the new key card purchasing/licensing system for MS Office that ties the suite to one machine.

As Josh says, people either love or hate the ribbon. Odd that its extensive user testing didn't disclose this love/hate dichotomy and that in response Microsoft didn't make it fully customizable (and smaller).

Dormouse · « **Reply #12 on:** July 23, 2010, 01:23 PM »

These points are pretty vacuous. 3/5 about price, 1 about the ribbon (which has been contentious for 3 years now) and 1 about a minor feature. Since most people can get hold of a very cheap version, the upgrade price issue ultimately matters to few. And it seems to me that the version of the ribbon in 2010 is very much better than that in 2007. I certainly find 2010 a compelling upgrade from 2003 & 2007 whereas I saw few advantages in 2007 to compensate for learning the new interface.

All versions are much better than OO. Softmaker Office has some advantages for those who like the old menu system but doesn't have equivalents for all the members of the suite.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #13 on:** July 23, 2010, 02:09 PM »

I'm truly not fond of the new key card purchasing/licensing system for MS Office that ties the suite to one machine.
-zridling (July 23, 2010, 12:15 PM)

Any chance I can get you to elaborate on that? I'm thinking I may not of heard of this yet.

kfitting · « **Reply #14 on:** July 23, 2010, 02:16 PM »

VBA is one of the only reasons I continue to even think about MS Office. 2010 got a minor upgrade, with more coming in the future.

wraith808 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 23, 2010, 02:47 PM »

And there's always http://office.live.com. I know there are some differences, but I don't think most users will need the full version.

Comparison to Google Docs

zridling · « **Reply #16 on:** July 23, 2010, 11:36 PM »

Microsoft Key card:
http://blogs.technet...oft-office-2010.aspx

Office 2010 is preloaded by PC manufacturers on their PCs. You buy a key card that unlocks the license to it for that machine only. No license portability, just works on one machine only.

Cloq · « **Reply #17 on:** July 25, 2010, 01:04 PM »

I am actually using office XP. Loads extremely quick on a quad core 8GB ram.

It's perfect for my needs. Frankly, I don't even use 1/10th of all the "features" office xp has.

I managed to snag it at a garage sale for $5 shrink wrapped box and all.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #18 on:** July 25, 2010, 01:47 PM »

I'm using Office 2010 (part of a MAPs subscription) and I like it. I prefer Outlook 2010 to 2007 and earlier (though it takes a while to find things)!

My only minor niggles are addon related (I use MathType and they want payment for an upgrade from version 6.6 to 6.7 to an addon that works fine in 2007 - which is plain stupid but not Microsoft's fault).

Regarding no upgrades I suppose my first reaction was yikes but in practice the vast majority of people will be unaffected as they wither use the Home and Student/Academic version (which has never had an upgrade pricing) or else have business license packages which means they get updates without further payment.

The small group of people who will be affected are small businesses that buy 2 or 3 copies but even then the new prices for 2010 editions are actually almost the same as the upgrade prices for 2007 editions so effectively prices have been reduced by moving prices to the upgrade level. I am not naive enough to underestimate the price rises planned - doubtless the next versions will see a substantial price hike to redress the balance.

The key card system is just plain daft - who is going to pay the same for a single license locking you to one computer when you can buy a three license non-restricted version? I suppose MS are working on the Symantec and MacAfee law of inertia rule!

Tuxman · « **Reply #19 on:** July 25, 2010, 07:05 PM »

I went away from MS Office after Office 2003 when seeing the first screenshots of the ribbon bar. Proudly using OpenOffice.org, and while it has its own rough edges, it is still free.

(I would really like to legally own a license for SoftMaker Office, but as I already do all my office stuff with OO.org, I still need a good reason for paying the price, although it seems to be well worth it.)

Office 2010 might be a mighty, well-integrated office suite for us "recent Windows" users. But it totally lacks unique advantages. (There is not even a way to hide that crappy bar! And the "oh well, let's do a ribbon UI" attitude seems to me like a virus, yesterday I found a simple text editor (!) with these bars... geez.)

Josh · « **Reply #20 on:** July 25, 2010, 07:13 PM »

Not a way to hide it? You mean my right clicking and choosing "auto-hide" isn't hiding the ribbon? Really? Perhaps I am hallucinating.

Tuxman · « **Reply #21 on:** July 25, 2010, 07:21 PM »

It hides the ribbon, not the bar IIRC?

Josh · « **Reply #22 on:** July 25, 2010, 07:31 PM »

What BAR are you trying to hide? Hiding the bulk of the ribbon gives you far more room than a default office 2003, OOo, or softmaker office install does. Are you referring to the "Bar" that displays HOME, INSERT, PAGE LAYOUT, etc?

Tuxman · « **Reply #23 on:** July 25, 2010, 07:33 PM »

Yes, at it is part of the ribbon bar.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #24 on:** July 26, 2010, 04:49 AM »

You can minimize everything in Office 2010 except:

The mini tool bar that is part of the window title bar
The Ribbon tab names (the ribbon itself minimises with a single click or you can set it permanently)

Given that most people these days have largish screens it really doesn't take up much space (effectively one line plus the window frame).

The only people who seem to really hate the ribbon are the people who have never used it for any length of time. I was initially sceptical but now I absolutely wouldn't go back to the plethora of silly toolbars and cryptic icons of Office 2003 and earlier and trying to use Open Office (when I am working on other people's computers) feels incredibly clunky.