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As a Microsoft Certified Professional, and a former Microsoft product
instructor, since turned technical writer, who uses Word, Powerpoint, Excel,
Access, and Visio every day (I'll be using run-on sentences in this - I'm not
at work) I can say definitively, that Microsoft has made a step backward. I
have read research articles that new users find the new interface more
approachable and easier to use, and the follow up to say that "regular users"
of MS Office products actually enjoy it when they "get used to it." That is
nice for casual users, or even semi-regular users who need to write a report
frequently for work. However, in a profession where access to the lesser
known features of the program is critical to releasing the next safety
bulletin for a remote industrial site, I can't afford to spend fifteen
minutes on how to embed an OLE object. Money is lost while I deal with a fix
to something that was never broken.
Why did you do it Microsoft? My assumption is that there was market
research, focused on people that did not buy office products or upgrades
(didn't office 97 already do what most users actually needed?) The most
likely response was that it was "too complicated" or "there's so much that I
don't use." Hey, building a rocket is hard too, but you don't see me asking
for a big slingshot to go to outer space. Some people need the hard stuff to
get a job done.
I know, I know. All of the features are still in the product, but they've
been "enhanced." If you want to peddle your wares to the masses, dumbing
down an interface is a way of doing it, but don't expect loyalty from the
geeks that made Microsoft the king of software. The first company that has a
commercial office suite ready to enterprise on this blunder will get my cash
in a heartbeat, and my recommendation to the IT department budget. Until
then, hand me the flash drive with Open Office, I've got some real work to do.