I suppose you would class me as a 'naysayer' - but Office 2007 is simply an
answer to a question I haven't asked, so I have not been in any hurry to
embrace it - particularly as the interface is so radically different that it
will for some time seriously inhibit (my) productivity. I do, however, have
a copy on my laptop which I dip into from time to time. It's a trial copy,
but I suppose I will upgrade to a full version in due course.
The trial installation was not without issue. I live in some far flung
backwater and trying to persuade the web site to give me a product number
for the trial took a whole morning. It insisted that I live in America and
was steadfast in refusing to accept my true location - until I accessed the
site from a magazine cover disc copy of the trial, which was configured for
the UK, but which allowed me to change the country.
I am probably more skilled than Word's 'average' user, but I am finding it
heavy going - even though the problems are merely those of finding where
Microsoft's programmers have hidden things. Had I been coming to it as a new
product without years of history, then it might be a different story - but
I, and thousands of others like me, are not. You can learn any new piece of
software if you have the time and inclination, but I don't really see why we
should have to.
Given Microsoft's profitability, one might assume that it knows what it is
doing, in radically changing the world's most popular word processing
software, so that all its body of users will require retraining. Presumably
they have crunched the numbers and found it to be viable? I just hope that
this step does not prove to be a step too far.
Interesting that the 'State Agencies' are adopting 2007 with some relish.
They of course have the bottomless tax pit to dip into to fund the exercise.
Real business on the other hand may not be so enthusiastic, when it has to
dip into its profits. It should be an interesting twelve months.
--
Graham Mayor - Word MVP
My web site
www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site
http://word.mvps.org
Beth Melton wrote:
I suspect more will upgrade to Office 2007 than everyone thinks. Not
complete speculation on my end, the majority of our state agencies are
making the switch, many of them from Office 2000 to Office 2007.
Until now there weren't enough persuading factors to make a version
switch. With Office 2007 there are many benefits for those who use
SharePoint and the developer aspect for XML is pretty exciting.
Personally, I plan on sitting back and watching the naysayers come
around and realize how advantageous the change really is and how it's
supplied answers to a number of requests. I'm a former naysayer, it
happened to me and I've witnessed it happen to others: Those
adamantly against the switch will one day actually learn more about
the application they are forming opinions on and much like the change
from WordBasic to VBA, will realize the power of XML and will wish
they made the change sooner.
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
Co-author of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/boo...x#AboutTheBook
Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
"Daiya Mitchell" wrote in message
...
Complete speculation--based on the experience with Word 2002/2003,
where 2002 also introduced some significant UI changes and 2003 came
out real fast--I'm thinking that there will be a Word 2009
fine-tuning the 2007 changes--and it's only if take-up doesn't
bounce back for Word 2009 that MS will begin to reconsider. They've
got the cash reserves to sit out one cycle, and 2009 might be long
enough for college graduates to be familiar with the 2007 paradigm
by the time they enter corporations, decreasing the training cost
and thus the resistance. I can't imagine they failed to plan for a
poor take-up of Word 2007. Except, of course, the issue is not Word but
Office overall.
Graham Mayor wrote:
The only thing that will convince Microsoft of their folly is if the
take-up of Word 2007 is poor, and/or the corporates move to
WordPerfect or Open Office in significant numbers. There's a huge
potential retraining bill here, and business does not like spending
unnecessarily. Whether this failure to take up is going to happen is
anyone's
guess. I suppose that eventually if we wish to stay with the Word
product we will have to adapt. I for one am in no rush.