Doug's Mailbag: 'Office 15' and Microsoft Product Announcements
Readers discuss the future of Microsoft Office and how the company handles a product unveiling:
We moved straight from Office 2003 to Office 2010. The Ribbon and its associated menu systems were a major step backwards. Let's hope future iterations of Office restore a 2003-like menu system -- or at least the option to switch between the 2003 and 2010 standards.
-John
I'm sticking with Win 7 and Office 2003 on my own equipment right now. I'm agnostic about Win8... I doubt I'll find a need for it myself. Getting a bit tired of reworking my platforms just because a new one is released.
-Max
Apple is about control, it controls everything -- including announcements. Microsoft is about appealing to the masses (as most people use Microsoft products in some way). To this end Microsoft has released a beta version of Windows 8 to everyone (not just developers).
I think this was so Microsoft could test the waters, get feedback and have people get used to the new ideas. This has resulted in some misinformation and changes in plans and directions of the released product. At least I feel a sense of involvement in the Microsoft process this time, even if I can’t really do much to change anything.
-Craig
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Posted by Doug Barney on 02/29/2012 at 1:19 PM