12 replies to this topic

[The Simpleton]

I've seen some of my friends spending over two weeks in coaching institutes to learn how to use MS Office 2003, and when Office 2007 came along, they were shocked to see the ribbon interface and realised that all their training couldn't help them in using this new version smoothly! Now most of us have gotten used to the ribbon although there are still a very good number of people using Office 2003.

Now we have Office 2010. I read a review in a tech magazine a few days back and it said that there weren't any huge improvements over the previous version. I have Office 2007 now although I only use it when Open Office doesn't give me what I want. So is an upgrade to 2010 justified? Will I be missing any great features if I don't upgrade?

[truefusion]

From what i can tell, the only thing different is the interface. Someone who knows 2007 will be able to use 2010 so long as they look for what they want to use. I tried the Beta version, and it lagged like crazy on my computer. With my system specs it shouldn't have lagged, and i know it is not because it was the Beta version that caused it to lag, as i have tried it on a laptop with lower specs than my computer and it didn't lag there. Due to that i am inclined to say it doesn't like Windows XP (what my computer has) and only likes Vista (what the laptop has) and above.

[The Simpleton]

Thanks for the quick review, TF!  So the XP-Office situation is still the same? When I tried to install Office 2007 on my XP machine a year ago, it refused to install. At that time I had Windows 7 Beta and it installed on it without a fuss! So in the case of Office 2010 also we seem to be having a similar situation. Too bad, considering that there are many users still running XP instead of Vista/7.




After reading what you've said I think I'm better off sticking to 2007 and Open office for now. There seems to be nothing much special in 2010.....

[dellmarshall]

Here are the top 10 reasons to upgrdade to 2010 office from the microsoft site. I though this might help out some if you are looking into it!

http://office.micros...A101673609.aspx

let me know what you think!?

[Keven]

It is weird that XP would not allow you to install Office 2007. I have installed it for several XPs. I have tried Office 2010 too, and it is lagged but interface seems colorful. However, I did not spend too much time on it. It is said that Office 2010 has better online integration.

The Simpleton, on 25 June 2010 - 01:51 AM, said:

Thanks for the quick review, TF!  So the XP-Office situation is still the same? When I tried to install Office 2007 on my XP machine a year ago, it refused to install. At that time I had Windows 7 Beta and it installed on it without a fuss! So in the case of Office 2010 also we seem to be having a similar situation. Too bad, considering that there are many users still running XP instead of Vista/7.




After reading what you've said I think I'm better off sticking to 2007 and Open office for now. There seems to be nothing much special in 2010.....

[rpgsearcherz]

There usually aren't that many upgrades between Office suites. It's more like bug fixes than anything -- the problem with real upgrades is that they aren't compatible with older versions.

I'm curious, though, about what Office offers you that OpenOffice doesn't. I've found OpenOffice to be the one with more features. I have the feeling whatever you're missing is there.

[The Simpleton]

Quote

Here are the top 10 reasons to upgrdade to 2010 office from the microsoft site. I though this might help out some if you are looking into it!

http://office.micros...A101673609.aspx

let me know what you think!?

Thanks for the article. To be honest, there weren't many good reasons in there - as always, MS set out to prove something but just ended up generalizing the article too much. Still, it was a good read and there were at least two reasons that were satisfactory, but not enough to purchase a whole new suite again!

Quote

It is weird that XP would not allow you to install Office 2007. I have installed it for several XPs. I have tried Office 2010 too, and it is lagged but interface seems colorful. However, I did not spend too much time on it. It is said that Office 2010 has better online integration.

I've tried to install 2007 on 3 different XP machines (all SP2) but none of them were able to install it. Perhaps SP3 is the way to go to install 2007 and 2010, and maybe it could just be the fault of those three machines. In either case, I'm more happy with OpenOffice

Quote

There usually aren't that many upgrades between Office suites. It's more like bug fixes than anything -- the problem with real upgrades is that they aren't compatible with older versions.

I'm curious, though, about what Office offers you that OpenOffice doesn't. I've found OpenOffice to be the one with more features. I have the feeling whatever you're missing is there.

I use OpenOffice most of the time as well, but in some situations, MS Office seems a bit faster in dealing with the work at hand, especially with some shortcuts, so just for these situations I switch to MS Office. Otherwise there is no real need to leave OpenOffice

[rpgsearcherz]

The Simpleton, on 12 July 2010 - 02:20 AM, said:

Thanks for the article. To be honest, there weren't many good reasons in there - as always, MS set out to prove something but just ended up generalizing the article too much. Still, it was a good read and there were at least two reasons that were satisfactory, but not enough to purchase a whole new suite again!



I've tried to install 2007 on 3 different XP machines (all SP2) but none of them were able to install it. Perhaps SP3 is the way to go to install 2007 and 2010, and maybe it could just be the fault of those three machines. In either case, I'm more happy with OpenOffice



I use OpenOffice most of the time as well, but in some situations, MS Office seems a bit faster in dealing with the work at hand, especially with some shortcuts, so just for these situations I switch to MS Office. Otherwise there is no real need to leave OpenOffice

Which shortcuts do you speak of? OpenOffice can be fully customized to change hotkeys and other stuff, so if that's what you mean by shortcuts you can just edit them.

And most other things can be found on the "toolbars," which you can just dock (or float) anywhere you want for easy access.


Either way, I think you're fine with an older version of Office, especially if you are using it in conjunction with OpenOffice.

[mahesh2k]

First of all i hate that 2007's interface. Im used to all those file >edit type of options. And with this new interface and icons i think it's getting complicated. I spend a few minutes trying to figure out how to give print for one of the documents. I dont know but i think we're used to this text/menu interface. Trying to improve the design with big icons and cluttered interface is just making things more complicated. I don't know how many people are actually finding this interface more usable than earlier interface but my vote is hands down.

I don't know if 2007/2010 are giving PDF support for the documents like Openoffice. If they're doing it then i don't see any chance of moving towards openoffice for the pdf export of the documents. I used openoffice for pdf export then after that i'm hooked to cutepdf. If word 2010 is offering PDF support by default then i'll make switch anyway.

I don't know new beta version of office 2010 is still available. But i've to check it out when they release the final version. Can't waste my time using the beta version. So many people reported issues with the release. Let's see when they finalize it. Or they did finalized the release ? Anyway,i'll keep tab on it later.

[magnafrost]

I'm using Office 2007 on XP without any problems. And I'm using SP2. I'm not sure why you are facing a problem, maybe it has to do with some minor upgrades in Office 2007. Microsoft still officially support XP (SP3) and I'd be very surprised if it had issues with it. I suggest you get the latest possible installer and try it out. I'm more than happy with Office 2007 for my purposes and I won't be changing for a long time.

[The Simpleton]

I too am not sure why I'm getting that error in XP but for now I'm not trying out any more new experiments. I'm happy with OpenOffice and my Windows 7 PC runs Office2007 in case of emergencies so I'm quite content for now

Quote

Which shortcuts do you speak of? OpenOffice can be fully customized to change hotkeys and other stuff, so if that's what you mean by shortcuts you can just edit them.

OO has most of the shortcuts but some of the more in-depth shortcuts aren't present and although I can't remember exactly which ones I'm talking about, I'm sure I don't use them quite often, which is why I rarely get the need to use MS Office. And I haven't found any reason to edit the shortcut keys on OO, although that is really a very useful feature (which is also present in MS Office if I'm not wrong?)

[Little Asterisk]

Microsoft just became its own competition with Office 2010. People won't buy it unless they see many great new features implemented. And, to really face it; there are only a couple of new neat things.

My favourite is that it loads a bit faster, but I wouldn't buy it just for that particular fact.

In the end, you should really ask yourself; is Office 2010 really what you need? If you're actively going to use on line collaboration and its new features (like the a bit advanced image editor in Word), buy it! Otherwise, I don't recommend it.

[The Simpleton]

Little Asterisk, on 13 July 2010 - 08:24 AM, said:

Microsoft just became its own competition with Office 2010. People won't buy it unless they see many great new features implemented. And, to really face it; there are only a couple of new neat things.

My favourite is that it loads a bit faster, but I wouldn't buy it just for that particular fact.

In the end, you should really ask yourself; is Office 2010 really what you need? If you're actively going to use on line collaboration and its new features (like the a bit advanced image editor in Word), buy it! Otherwise, I don't recommend it.

MS has always been in competition with itself - the same has been happening in the case of XP/Vista/7. It's used to such scenarios and in the end it all just means more profit for the company! There's no great harm too, except for people getting confused on what to buy. I've decided to stay away from the new version entirely, at least for five more years