Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft released the newest version of it's productivity suite, Office 2007, on November 30, 2006 to business customers. The release is the first major overhaul of the software since 2003, and will be available to consumers in January of 2007.

The most noticeable change is the introduction of the "Ribbon", a new graphical user interface (GUI) that replaces the menu and toolbars that users are currently familiar with. The ribbon is essentially a widget that is exposed across the top of the window that shows what the program can do. Microsoft claims that this will consolidate all the related functionalities in one place and hence improve usability and ease of interaction. Office 2007 also includes new applications and server-side tools to improve collaboration and communication.

Another major change (and something to take note of) is that Office 2007 will use a new file format to save documents, known as OpenXML. This format is based on XML and uses a ZIP file container to compress files. This compression will lead to a 75% reduction in the size of files produced in Office 2007, however, this will also cause some issues with trading files between Office versions. Users of old Office versions will have to download a plugin in order to view and edit documents produced in the OpenXML format.

The goal of the new Microsoft Office user interface is to make it easier for people to use applications to deliver better results faster. The new design makes it easier to find powerful features by replacing menus and toolbars with a Ribbon that organizes and presents capabilities in a way that corresponds more directly to how people work. The streamlined screen layout and dynamic results-oriented galleries enable users to spend more time focused on their work and less time trying to get the application to do what they want it to do. As a result, Microsoft claims that people will find it much easier and quicker to produce great looking documents, high-impact presentations, effective spreadsheets, and powerful desktop database applications.

You can try out a free online demo of the new Office 2007 at http://www.runaware.com/microsoft/en-us/2007office/td . Let us know what you think.

The New Office 2007 Icons