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Comments on: Microsoft releases Office 2010 details, test code

At a partner conference in New Orleans, Microsoft kicks off an invitation-only preview of the desktop parts of the new Office. Access to the browser-based versions will have to wait, however.

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by alskiontheweb July 13, 2009 5:36 AM PDT

I couldn't afford Office 2007 so I still run Office 2003. I can't imagine being able ot afford 2010 either. That's where the problem lies, most of the desktop application versions are expensive where I can get reasonable functionality on the web for free. As I move off of Office 2003 and onto Google Calendar etc...I can see where Microsoft should feel threatened.

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by July 13, 2009 6:15 AM PDT: Office products are in general expensive. People complain about the price of windows too. So threatened? Maybe... But Microsoft is a company whose goal is to make money. It is expensive to write software, and unless you're Google (about the only one in the world who makes loot off of advertising), you have to charge. If you're too cheap to be able to pay (the RedHat pay for support model does not scale either), perhaps you're no longer a Microsoft customer.; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 7:19 AM PDT: Re: "Office products are in general expensive. People complain about the price of windows too...."

No longer should folks have to complain about th cost of an alternative "Office Productivity Suite". And, have you not tried the "freely" available IBM Lotus Symphony as yet???

Follow the below attached link and you will see what is being talked about:

http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.nsf/home; Like this


by thelemurking July 13, 2009 10:27 AM PDT: Also, Open Office is a great free alternative... it keeps getting better and better.

Chances are if you can't afford Microsoft products, then Apple is a definite no-mans-land for you. Perhaps it's time to switch to Linux (Ubuntu) and take the free ride.; Like this


by Mergatroid Mania July 13, 2009 10:53 AM PDT: Hah! We're still using Office 2000!

The thing about it is, we don't need anything else. There are the few occasions where some other business sends us an Excel file or something that won't work in Office 2000, and we just e-mail them and ask for them to send us a 2000 comparable version.

At the cost of the Office suit, there's no way we're going to spend hundreds of dollars replacing it if what we have fulfills our needs.

But I can say this for sure. If, for some reason, we HAD to upgrade our old Office 2000 we sure wouldn't go out and buy the newest version. I would download Open Office and symphony, try them both and keep whichever suited our needs best. I might even install both just to make sure we could open most documents.

I'll never purchase office software again since I can get similar software free now.; Like this


by webdev511 July 13, 2009 11:41 AM PDT: OpenOffice and Lotus are functional, but let's be serious, who actually pays full retail for Office?

As an individual user, the full office suites ARE expensive, but when you're talking about use on computers at home, the whopping $90 for three seats of Home and Student (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote) is pretty cheap. If your company is on a MS Enterprise Licence, you should also be able to purchase a seat of whatever your company is using for use on a home PC.

People can wail and moan about how horrible the ribbon is, but the ones that are still doing so are those that are still on older versions of Office. The real problem with any office application is we never train end users. Sure people can be functional with no training, but just being functional isn't enough anymore.; Like this


by sanjayb July 13, 2009 2:01 PM PDT: cool; Like this

by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 6:08 AM PDT

Hmmmmmmmm........ Re: "Also, it won't show off the program's biggest change--the addition of browser-based versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote....."

Is it hearty welcome to that long awaited "FRESH" BREW "LOTUS KONA"; or, is it not!!!

And, are we talking to the "banks" that have all the money yet!!!

Have "Concorde" and "Executive Jest" Will Fly!

"Long Live The Kings Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley; and, OS/2 and Lotus Kona!

Like this Reply to this comment


by codynews July 13, 2009 6:55 AM PDT: What the hell are you talking about?; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 7:04 AM PDT: Don't you know!!! If ya don't.... then what are ya doing on this forum. And, it can be anything from "lock-ins" to "functionalities" that are being talked about. Think "CITI" then think "Executive Jet" (as an example) and ya get the first lesson of the Economics 101 Class that you are now in.; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 7:35 AM PDT: Also, haven't you heard that "There Can Be Nothing New Under The Sun". So; here, (I have done your homework for you) take a look if you have never heard about "Lotus Kona".... before.

"Lotus brews potent Java with Kona"

http://www.morochove.com/watch/cw/ff70206.htm

"Using Lotus Components and Kona Applets"

http://docs.rinet.ru/PozaNotes/ch17/ch17.htm

"Oracle And Lotus In Negotiations For Kona"

http://www.informationweek.com/newsflash/nf625/0410_st5.htm;jsessionid=ETTNHVDBW5AFQQSNDLPSKH0CJUNN2JVN

Have a nice day!; Like this


by Jonathan July 13, 2009 7:36 AM PDT: Cmdr Spock had a few too many mind melds.; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 8:10 AM PDT: Just stay of the "topic" Jonathan,can't you? And, how about if you try not to "disturb/distract" the rest of the class until school is over when it will be all fun on the playing field.; Like this


by monkeyfun14 July 13, 2009 8:19 AM PDT: Ah **** he's back; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 8:20 AM PDT: This should have read: "And, how about if you try not to "disturb/distract" the rest of the "International Economics Class of 2005" until school is over when it will be all fun on the "international economics" playing field.; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 8:30 AM PDT: Re: "Ah **** he's back". Nah, the trip was put off in order to enjoy more of the fun at the "Office" parties. (like the ones that were held around circa 1998)!

Do ya still have ya "dancing shoes"; or ya have some "ISO Standards" ones !; Like this


by Mergatroid Mania July 13, 2009 11:20 AM PDT: Wow, do you speak English man? You might THINK you do, but considering your message is pretty much completely illegible, maybe you're the one in the wrong forum.....; Like this


by Commander_Spock July 13, 2009 12:32 PM PDT: There are words like (using your commonsense) "Mergatroid Mania"; and, your presence on the forum at this time would be quite understandable if you were threatened with a pay cut if if you did not come out from your hiding and do what you are now trying to do. How much are you being paid.... ???; Like this

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by magicmaster July 13, 2009 6:23 AM PDT

Many found they need only a limited numbers of functions to compose their reports, and the incentive to upgrade is pretty unimpressive.

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by Random_Walk July 13, 2009 4:44 PM PDT: The incentive to upgrade comes when incompatibilities are introduced (see also .docx), and (if bothered to) compatibility packs offered for these incompatibilities are generally hidden from Joe Sixpack's view.

It's basically enough of a bother to get the user off of the old version, but not so much of a bother as to get that user thinking about competing products...; Like this

by empirestatebuddy July 13, 2009 6:30 AM PDT

I've been using 2007 at home for a couple years and hated "the ribbon" at first (because everything I knew about MS Office, I learned at work and on earlier versions). Now, though, I've gotten the hang of it and I kind of understand the logic in it. Even so, I think MS would've been better served to keep the "file menu" inside Office and just supplement it with the ribbon. They still should do that, in my opinion. People in a work environment don't always have time to re-learn everything they already know...

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by clamenza July 13, 2009 7:15 AM PDT: Ribbon's overhyped. It's tolerable in Word, usually, but makes no sense in Excel and esp. Access. Makes it so much harder to get real work done.

And I'm not 30 yet.; Like this


by JohnLaCombe July 13, 2009 7:27 AM PDT: The ribbon single handedly caused me to purchase Office 07. It was totally different, but from the beginning I felt it was much more intuitive than the previous file menu setup.; Like this


by danielwsmithee July 13, 2009 9:10 AM PDT: The ribbon is a huge improvement, and any one using access deserves the troubles they get.; Like this


by jake3373 July 13, 2009 9:39 AM PDT: At first, me (and everyone in my family) couldn't understand the ribbon. Now, I totally love it, and when I have to use computers with older versions of Office (ie. at school), I have trouble finding commands because I'm so used to the ribbon.; Like this


by RMarch July 13, 2009 2:33 PM PDT: Oh please. I remember when everyone said that nothing (and I mean nothing) would ever (and I mean ever) replace WordPerfect 5.1 with the ridiculous keyboard overlay. WYSIWYG was a silly undproductive toy for non professionals. The whole workforce would have to be retrained, etc.

The ribbon is intuitive and after a few days of serious work, I find it hard to believe anyone would chose to go back to the old menu structure. Although a nice keyboard function template would rock in Office 2010!; Like this

by kelmon July 13, 2009 6:42 AM PDT

OK, there's a few things here that are interesting to me:

"The Outlook e-mail and calendar program adds a conversation view feature, a la Gmail."

"PowerPoint picks up video editing features as well as the ability to create a video of one's presentation, including voice annotations."

Whether there is enough here to prompt an upgrade from Office 2007 Professional remains to be seen.

Like this Reply to this comment


by Super2online July 13, 2009 7:35 AM PDT: There is way more to it. Watch these videos located on Long Zheng's website:
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090713/office-2010-revealed-in-detail-via-microsoft-videos/; Like this


by jessiethe3rd July 13, 2009 1:30 PM PDT: Thanks for that video!; Like this


by rootsmusic July 13, 2009 7:27 AM PDT: Microsoft is combining their Home & Business editions? I thought they'll finally throw in Office Accounting into their Small Business edition of Microsoft Office.; Like this Reply to this comment


by twitter_1963 July 13, 2009 8:17 AM PDT: The problem with GMAIL / DOCS / PPT etc., is I need to access them on a plane with little / NONE / Slow internet access. What are MS plans here? Google gears is for tech heads! But then if you have a fat client, why bother with the cloud version. If the fat client synchs automatically, the cloud version is good when you want to use someone else's PC or Internet Cafe, I guess!!; Like this Reply to this comment

by Mr. Dee July 13, 2009 8:19 AM PDT

If Office is expensive to you, its simply because you are not using the product to be productive to begin with. You just want to have Office, because its 'Microsoft Office' and not because of what made the suite so popular to begin. Either way, no Office software would be of use to you. Everything in Microsoft Office 2010 Standard is enough to run a small business by yourself and make money and be able to to look at the cost of the suite as chump change.

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by Mergatroid Mania July 13, 2009 10:55 AM PDT: That's B.S.

We bought Office 2000 at the time because we needed it to be compatable with all the other businesses we deal with. It has NOTHING to do with "You just want to have Office, because its 'Microsoft Office'".; Like this


by Renegade Knight July 13, 2009 11:24 AM PDT: If it's expensive, that would be because it costs a lot.; Like this


by shamanskyh July 13, 2009 11:33 AM PDT: You could also refuse to give Microsoft any money and go with a free alternative such as Open Office.....; Like this

by Renegade Knight July 13, 2009 11:22 AM PDT

Browser based Office? One step closer to cloud computing and renting your applications.

I like owning my apps, and my data. Or at least having the perpetual right to use the apps to access my data.

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by jessiethe3rd July 13, 2009 1:38 PM PDT: I'd wait for the annoucement on the function before going as so far to say that data will remain within the cloud. Unlike a strategy from Google I'd say that Microsoft has always been about giving you options. The cloud would probably be a lite version - full version on the application side.; Like this


by rcrusoe July 13, 2009 2:52 PM PDT: "Browser based (MS) Office" isn't the same as the apps offered by Google or Zoho. You have to create the documents in a desktop version of Office then upload them to the web. After uploading them you can do "light editing".

This may be useful for people that have already shelled out for MS Office, but it appears to be more of a "me too" add on.; Like this


by jessiethe3rd July 13, 2009 6:03 PM PDT: Um - don't think so. You could create the document online - I think you just won't get the full / rich experience as the applications on the desktop.; Like this


by shellcodes_coder July 13, 2009 5:18 PM PDT: office is expensive. Give me a break; dude go and get a job; Like this Reply to this comment


by jessiethe3rd July 13, 2009 6:01 PM PDT: I just downloaded the tech preview - it's smoking! Outlook is very sweet! The interface has certainly changed. A solid upgrade.; Like this Reply to this comment

by 1812dave July 13, 2009 6:28 PM PDT

After Office 2003, is there really any need to upgrade?? I love 2003. I wouldn't use the newer office again if it were free.

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by sanenazok July 13, 2009 7:49 PM PDT: The great news is that you don't have to upgrade. Ever. Other people, like me, for example, could never go back to 2003. Just try inserting line numbers in Word 2003. In 2007 it's two clicks. In 2003 it was nuts (page setup???). Same with section breaks. Oh and it's just as difficult to do these things in Office 97 which is where OO gets its UI.; Like this


by assman July 13, 2009 9:47 PM PDT: 2003 was a total mess.. some people are just afraid of progress and will always lag behind.; Like this

by joni gudel July 14, 2009 6:22 PM PDT

I STILL USE OFFICE 2003 , I'M NOT USE OFFICE 2007, BECAUSE THIS OFFICE CAN'T USE CAUSE BUGS, I'M THINKING WHEN OFFICE NEW RELEASE ? ( WAWAT)

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by assman July 15, 2009 12:20 AM PDT: Well said.; Like this


by SeattleSparkster July 20, 2009 1:14 PM PDT: According to our forums, we have some security IT folks interested in how folks can use web-bassed Office 2010 behind their companies' firewalls. According to Forrester analysts quoted in a PC World article:

"The big differentiator here is that Microsoft is providing more options to businesses in the ways which Web-based apps can be deployed," says McLeish. For instance, for businesses licensed for Microsoft's Software Assurance maintenance program it is not a requirement to access Office Web Apps through the Windows Live Online Service or through a subscription-based model. Microsoft is allowing companies with Software Assurance to run Office Web Apps as a free service within the company's firewall, and then give workers access to the apps via the Web. This will give skittish IT managers more control over potentially sensitive online content."

Read here: http://bit.ly/z8uLp; Like this Reply to this comment

(51 Comments)

About Beyond Binary

During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft.

Beyond Binary is a look at how technology is changing our lives and the people behind all that life-changing stuff, with an extra emphasis on that which emanates from Redmond, Wash.