Doug's Mailbag: Some Love for Office Ribbon, Windows 7
Unlike many of you, Andy prefers the new Office 2007 ribbon to the earlier versions:
I'm an IT trainer who concentrates on the various versions of Office. I have to admit that in the two-and-a-half years that Office 2007 has been out, I've so far done just two days of training in this version. The majority of companies have stayed with 2003. Despite this, I've personally been using 2007 since it became available.
I know I'm in a slightly uncommon situation in that I have to study these packages inside-out, but I really like the new interface. Once you get used to it, everything you need is just there. I really miss some of the features when I switch back to previous versions. It even has some features that I've never seen documented -- like when you scroll down a long list in Excel, it actually slows down for you as you approach the bottom. Genius! I know it's very different to what most people are used to but stick with it, guys (or even get some training). I honestly believe it's worth it.
-Andy
A couple of readers recently submitted their complaints about Windows 7, but Kirk's pretty happy with what he's seen from the OS:
My thoughts are that Windows 7 is awesome! I have had no issues as others report. I've installed it on five or six machines, and created three virtual machines with it. All run fine. I've installed 7 on a netbook -- works great with 512 RAM. The only issue I have is drive-related and Microsoft doesn't write drivers for every manufacturer out there. On one HP laptop I am not able to get the sound hardware to work with the latest build, but HP doesn't support this model for Vista.
I have x64 running on my home computer which I run as a Media Center, extending to my 360 (this process still needs some work) which, over all, is my only complaint. The 360 is very slow with music and pictures as it has to re-index all files every time I connect to Media Center. Good job, MS -- good recovery!
-Kirk
Doug last week mentioned the development comptetition between Google and Microsoft, but Dave thinks it's too soon to call it that:
When you stated the key to Microsoft's success is the developers, you couldn't be more right. Even so, I think you may have overlooked the one screaming advantage that drew developers to the Microsoft world. When Microsoft made the decision to create a common macro language for all it's Office applications, based on Basic, it won over a large majority of developers. A developer could be a master of many by being a master of one.
As for competition, Google isn't there yet.
-Dave
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/15/2009 at 1:16 PM