MS Office 2007 – is it time for another upgrade?
Just when you thought that your computer, operating system and software had enough horsepower for the foreseeable future, Microsoft is about to launch two new upgrades that will shake your confidence. This is the time for you Mac-heads and open source geeks out there to yell one of those Homer Simpson WOOHOOs and gloat over your wisdom in unplugging from the Redmond WA tech behemoth. Those remaining 90% of us who for convenience, fear or necessity choose to stick with Windoze as our primary operating system and office suite, now wait for the hype to get separated from the reality so we can decide whether now is the time to upgrade. As for me, I've already decided … I am NOT going to upgrade to Windows VISTA for my new operating system (at least not right away), but I WILL upgrade to MS Office 2007 when it comes out next year.
Remember the hype and turmoil back in 1997 when Microsoft simultaneously introduced Windows '97 as a new operating system and Office '97 as a new office suite. What was particularly irksome was the incompatibility of one with the other. The old Windows '95 OS was so different from Windows '97 OS that it was almost like operating in two different worlds … the subsequent move from Windows '97 to Windows XP was not nearly as drastic. The office suite upgrade was worse … the move from MS Office '95 to Office '97 meant that unless you specifically chose to save word processing, spreadsheet, database or Powerpoint files in Office '95 format, they could not be opened or changed in the lower version. GOD, that was annoying!
I was raised as a Mac tech-baby and admit to a deep fondness for this counter tech-culture environment. In fact, every upgrade in the Microsoft operating system and office suite seems to be an attempt to be more Mac-like in look and feel. Unfortunately, as an IT consultant working primarily in government operations, Macs are nearly extinct and Microsoft is the dominant player. I had to switch out of survival, albeit reluctantly.
I dutifully upgraded operating systems from Windows '95, to Windows '97 and finally to Windows XP, but only when I upgraded my hardware (laptop or desktop). Unless Microsoft can convince me that their new soon-to-be-released operating system called VISTA has too much to pass up, I intend to decline the upgrade until I again upgrade my hardware and the new OS is pre-loaded. Usually, problems with upgrading operating systems arise with hardware incompatibility, so this is a safe strategy to avoid headaches.
I tend to adopt the "every other" rule when it comes to office suites and other software, and this would mean upgrading from my current Office 2002 to Office 2007, because I skipped Office 2003.
The new features of Office 2007 emphasize wireless and Internet collaborations, which fit nicely into my work needs. Among the neat features (reportedly) are:
• Support of Voice-over-IP Internet telephone capabilities;
• Unification of voice messaging, instant messaging, email and fax;
• Better utilization of Net Meeting conferencing features;
• A new "RoundTable" teleconference application that uses a cool 360 degree camera to see everyone at the table and zoom-in when needed.
• Collaboration with several cell phone and computer hardware partners to capitalize on the various new capacities.
Don't get me wrong … you've got to watch Microsoft like a hawk to make sure their "automatic updates" don't implant unwanted and unneeded spyware and Big-Brother-ware on your computer. A simple rule is to disable automatic updates without first alerting you and getting your permission. This way, you can at least read the various updates and choose those you want.
The bottom line to me continues to be the $64,000 question … will this technology make my life easier and enable me to be more productive? If the answer is yes, I'm inclined to sign up. If the answer is maybe, I will investigate further. If the answer is no, fugedaboudit (a technical term).
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com