Office 2007 goes gold

Author: Wil Harris
Published: 7th November 2006
Comments (20) Stumble
Office 2007 goes gold

Don't expect Microsoft to update Office for Mac to a 2007 version any time soon.

The new version of Microsoft Office has gone gold, meaning that the final code has been released to the disc manufacturers who will be knocking out millions of copies of Microsoft's latest word processing suite.

The software will be available to businesses on November 30, along with Windows Vista. Availability to the general public will come at the beginning of 2007, with Vista slated for a January 30 release and Office following shortly thereafter.

The new version of Office sports a completely redesigned user interface, with context-sensitive 'ribbon' menus replacing the old toolbar and menu combo. The new ribbon interface is designed to make it easier to access more advanced functionality and to get simple things done quicker.

The Microsoft Business Unit hauled in $3.4bn last year, and 90% of that was due to sales of Office. MS is hoping that the upgrade to 07 will spur on a further growth in revenue. However, many businesses will surely be asking themselves - do they really need another version of the software? Aren't employees doing perfectly well without?

If you happened to be on the Beta, do let us know your thoughts on the software over in the forums. Otherwise, join us to speculate on whether or not it will prove to be a worthy upgrade.
Quote Cthippo 7th November 2006, 12:22
Meh, Good for MS.

I think I'll save myself the $500 and stay with Open Office :p
Quote Atomic 7th November 2006, 13:26
We trialled the Beta with a selection of staff at work and they loved 'the ribbon' but it took too long to get used to it for admin staff who are used to the 'classic' toolbars/menus.

Office 2003 works perfectly for most people.
Quote M4RTIN 7th November 2006, 13:28
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthippo
Meh, Good for MS.

I think I'll save myself the $500 and stay with Open Office :p

too true, after realising i can get a legal office app for free i see no need to use microsoft office again.
Quote Laitainion 7th November 2006, 14:14
Quote:
Originally Posted by M4RTIN
too true, after realising i can get a legal office app for free i see no need to use microsoft office again.

Eh, I've used both the latest version of OpenOffice and the MS Office 2007 beta, and tbh I wasn't terribly impressed with OpenOffice. I think it's roughly comparable to Office 97, or 2000. For most stuff it's fine, but I don't think it's anything special.

Office 2007 on the other hand I *love*. Hats off to Microsoft for finding a way to improve a product many people thought couldn't be improved. While I agree getting used to the new ribbon can take a little while, it is stull a massive step forwards. Just to show how much I think of this release, I am considering actually paying for it, which would make it the first release of MS Office I have ever bought.
Quote unrealhippie 7th November 2006, 14:22
I have Office 2003 and Office 2007 Beta, Beta is nice but as you point out, do I really want to spend that much for a nice GUI? For now I'm using my Office 2003 with Crossover for Mac and Beta 2007 on windows...
Quote M4RTIN 7th November 2006, 14:59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laitainion
tbh I wasn't terribly impressed with OpenOffice. I think it's roughly comparable to Office 97, or 2000. For most stuff it's fine, but I don't think it's anything special.

there is a major difference in open office and microsoft office tho.. open office is free, can you honestly say microsoft office is £300 better. open office isnt pretty or that special but it gets the job done, it runs fast and ill say it again it costs bugger all.

and before anyone says, yes im well aware you can download office for free but im putting illegal use aside for my point
Quote Journeyer 7th November 2006, 15:15
I must agree with Laitainion. I absolutely *love* the 2007 version, and are, like him, also considering actually purchasing it. OpenOffice on the other hand I found to be clumsy and a little limited.
Quote zr_ox 7th November 2006, 15:27
I played with the Beat for a while and was impressed, but since 2003 works for my needs and I have a proper license I will stick with it.

It's just too expensive given the fact that it's maninly the UI thats changed.

I will only switch when it's been cracked :)

(joking)
Quote Tyinsar 7th November 2006, 15:48
Quote:
Originally Posted by M4RTIN
... can you honestly say microsoft office is £300 better...
I'd put it at about $50 better for me, so it's O.O. for me
Quote:
Originally Posted by zr_ox
...
I will only switch when it's been cracked :)

(joking)
For a time I used a "borrowed" copy of Office 2003 but - I'm glad to say that all 3 of my home machines now run 100% legit software. It takes some work to find all the progs but I'm happy with what I use now. (sometimes the freeware stuff is even better than the paid versions)
Quote TeknoMage 7th November 2006, 16:36
Seems odd to me that everyone is complaining about the price. The primary place of use for Office is in the office. Which means that you don't have to pay for it, the company dose. My company purchased the Software Assurance from Microsoft with our corporate licensing so the upgrade costs us nothing extra for Vista or Office.
Quote Risky 7th November 2006, 16:49
Generally you look at a new version of office and mightn't be amazed at the difference, but if you're forced to move back a version you won't be happy.

The alternative may welll be fine for home use but I'd be rather pissed off if I went to a new employer and found I was stuck with something less. Like being given Lotus Notes instead of Outlook :'( :'(
Quote DXR_13KE 7th November 2006, 17:03
i think i will wait untill i can test it for my self.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeknoMage
Seems odd to me that everyone is complaining about the price. The primary place of use for Office is in the office. Which means that you don't have to pay for it, the company dose. My company purchased the Software Assurance from Microsoft with our corporate licensing so the upgrade costs us nothing extra for Vista or Office.

and if i want to use word at home?
Quote TeknoMage 7th November 2006, 17:11
Quote:
Originally Posted by DXR_13KE
i think i will wait untill i can test it for my self.



and if i want to use word at home?

The corporate licensing agreement that my company has with Microsoft allows us to have one copy at home per user so you can work from home.
Quote BioSniper 7th November 2006, 17:50
I'm with Cthippo on this. Open office all the way specifically because the equation editor (which my g/f used for uni) is one hell of a lot better than the one in word. It has as far as I can tell the same functionality as office just under different menus.
Quote <A88> 7th November 2006, 18:00
Office 2007 is, at least in my opinion, head and shoulders above the competition, although at the same time seems to be priced specifically for large businesses who can afford it, not the average consumer (unless you're in the education sector). Will be interesting to see how the free online version of MS Office turns out.

<A88>
Quote zr_ox 7th November 2006, 18:22
The Home Use Program that MS run as part of their Software Assurance program is nice.

Our mother company which is a large electronic distributor only just upgraded from NT4 to Windows XP. It's hilarious as now they are behaving like we are running cutting edge software.

There is no way they would ever buy into something like that even though in the long run it would save money. They wonder why it costs so much money when they do a complete software re haul every 10 years
Quote DXR_13KE 7th November 2006, 18:24
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeknoMage
The corporate licensing agreement that my company has with Microsoft allows us to have one copy at home per user so you can work from home.

then everyone should get corporate licensing agreements, even 12 year old kids that want to do homework that can not be done on any other software because the teacher demands it on a floppy disk and on a .doc format made and formated in word.
now tell the parents that they have to get a corporate licensing agreement for office.
Quote TeknoMage 7th November 2006, 21:20
Quote:
Originally Posted by DXR_13KE
then everyone should get corporate licensing agreements, even 12 year old kids that want to do homework that can not be done on any other software because the teacher demands it on a floppy disk and on a .doc format made and formated in word.
now tell the parents that they have to get a corporate licensing agreement for office.

A 12 year old kid dose not need the power of Word. WordPad can read and write .doc files. Maybe more people should inquire about their employer's Microsoft licensing.

Most people that use Word at home for non-work related tasks likely do not need an application as powerful as Word. Office is an extremely powerful application suit designed for business.

People need to realize that they don't need a Scottish Claymore to cut a loaf of bread.
Quote hitman012 7th November 2006, 21:28
Quote:
Originally Posted by BioSniper
I'm with Cthippo on this. Open office all the way specifically because the equation editor (which my g/f used for uni) is one hell of a lot better than the one in word. It has as far as I can tell the same functionality as office just under different menus.
Are you talking about Office 2007's or previous versions? 2007 has a rather nifty WSIWYG affair, while I've always found the markup that Open Office uses to be quite cumbersome (it'd be nice if it parsed TeX for equations).
Quote Gravemind123 7th November 2006, 22:57
I haven't used office 2007, but the newest openoffice has done a bit better for me then ms office 2000 and 2003, mostly because it has a better equation editor, and i a version that i can run off my flash-drive on any computer!
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