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It’s the big week when Windows 7 is launched on Thursday, but one statistic that grabbed my eye was in a Wikipedia article stating that there are estimated to be three times as many XP computers in use today than Vista ones (68.49% XP versus 22.39% Vista). This suggests that XP is far from being the dinosaur system that the marketing people would have us believe. I’ve still got two XP desktops and no complaints, even though they are getting on a bit.
It also leads to questions about how popular Vista was with the general public and business world, and in this a recent BBC article a Microsoft executive admits that Vista never fully recovered from the early criticism, and they hope for better things with Windows 7.
Two quotes in particular that stick out is that of Annette Jump, a research director at a technology research firm who states that among companies “Vista is the worst-adopted operating system”, and another by the president of Microsoft International, Jean-Philippe Courtois, who opts for the understatement “We don’t feel great about Vista adoption.”
I’m still running the trial version of Windows 7 which is valid for 180 days, but won’t be camped outside the shops when it is launched.
Ian MacMillan, via e-mail“
At the time of writing we are at the eve of the official release of Windows 7 and as such we will soon be able to gauge the public reaction which is something Vista never seemed to recover from. Personally I feel that perhaps Vista drew so much early criticism because of the constantly shifting release date and unrealistic promises about what the software would offer. It wasn’t that Vista was ever particularly bad, it just wasn’t much better than XP and, unless it was being bundled with a new machine, there wasn’t much of an incentive to upgrade.
Windows is a big deal for Microsoft; at present it powers around 90% of the worlds computers and accounts for half of the operating profit that reaches the Microsoft coffers. For years critics have claimed that Microsoft’s virtual monopoly is about to end now that users are offered alternatives in the way of Linux, Mac OS and even newer “cloud” Operating Systems which are stored on remote servers.
Quite simply Microsoft cannot afford to have another ‘Vista’ as although they still retain a commanding lead in the marketplace, another slip up could permanently and irrevocably damage their presumed place as a future market leader.
So far however, all seems good with the new offering. I have been using the release candidate of Windows 7 for some months and have found it to be reliable, compatible, secure and even faster than Vista which we have to remember is a three year old Operating System now.
The company have also been working with other third party developers to ensure that application support on release is strong; by the time Microsoft rolled out the first service pack for Vista there were only 2,700 supported applications and by comparison Windows 7 will have 8,500 supported applications at launch. This is a sign that the company is going to avoid one of the biggest mistakes with Vista when it failed to prepare its partners for the new system.
From a business perspective, we will be stocking the new Operating System and so I hope that it does well but from a writers perspective I would be interested to see what were to happen if Microsoft were to drop the ball a second time aroun
d
It also leads to questions about how popular Vista was with the general public and business world, and in this a recent BBC article a Microsoft executive admits that Vista never fully recovered from the early criticism, and they hope for better things with Windows 7.
Two quotes in particular that stick out is that of Annette Jump, a research director at a technology research firm who states that among companies “Vista is the worst-adopted operating system”, and another by the president of Microsoft International, Jean-Philippe Courtois, who opts for the understatement “We don’t feel great about Vista adoption.”
I’m still running the trial version of Windows 7 which is valid for 180 days, but won’t be camped outside the shops when it is launched.
Ian MacMillan, via e-mail“
At the time of writing we are at the eve of the official release of Windows 7 and as such we will soon be able to gauge the public reaction which is something Vista never seemed to recover from. Personally I feel that perhaps Vista drew so much early criticism because of the constantly shifting release date and unrealistic promises about what the software would offer. It wasn’t that Vista was ever particularly bad, it just wasn’t much better than XP and, unless it was being bundled with a new machine, there wasn’t much of an incentive to upgrade.
Windows is a big deal for Microsoft; at present it powers around 90% of the worlds computers and accounts for half of the operating profit that reaches the Microsoft coffers. For years critics have claimed that Microsoft’s virtual monopoly is about to end now that users are offered alternatives in the way of Linux, Mac OS and even newer “cloud” Operating Systems which are stored on remote servers.
Quite simply Microsoft cannot afford to have another ‘Vista’ as although they still retain a commanding lead in the marketplace, another slip up could permanently and irrevocably damage their presumed place as a future market leader.
So far however, all seems good with the new offering. I have been using the release candidate of Windows 7 for some months and have found it to be reliable, compatible, secure and even faster than Vista which we have to remember is a three year old Operating System now.
The company have also been working with other third party developers to ensure that application support on release is strong; by the time Microsoft rolled out the first service pack for Vista there were only 2,700 supported applications and by comparison Windows 7 will have 8,500 supported applications at launch. This is a sign that the company is going to avoid one of the biggest mistakes with Vista when it failed to prepare its partners for the new system.
From a business perspective, we will be stocking the new Operating System and so I hope that it does well but from a writers perspective I would be interested to see what were to happen if Microsoft were to drop the ball a second time aroun
d
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One of the biggest growth areas for home computing this decade has been the humble network.
At the turn of the century it was most often the case that we used a single machine connected directly to a phone line whereas now it would be rare to find a home that hasn’t been networked to some extent. Applications range from wireless Internet on a laptop, file sharing between two machines, a hard drive set up to distribute media around the home, a wireless printer which all the family can access or a games console piggybacking the main Internet connection.
The conventional methods of deploying a network around your home are well known; you can either connect via a network cable or connect wirelessly over the airwaves and while usually suitable, both methods have potential disadvantages. A wired network is of course limited by a physical connection being needed between your devices whereas a wireless network can fall down if installed in to a house that doesn’t have favourable conditions; a particularly large house or one with particularly thick walls for example.
A route that few people are familiar with is that of AC Networking. Although not the ideal solution for many, it does have some quite distinct advantages if you find that a conventional wired or wireless network lets you down. To get started you simply need a minimum of two power line access points which can then be plugged in to any of the existing plug sockets in your home for the two to begin talking to one another. The technology works by modulating a carrier wave along the existing power cables in your home therefore your entire home wiring essentially becomes a network cable that can be tapped in to at will.
Because you are using the mains cabling that runs all throughout your house the distance or objects between the two points are irrespective while at the same time removing the need to lay dedicated network cabling. Plug your broadband router in to an power line adaptor downstairs and your computer in to one upstairs and with the minimum of fuss you’ll have a physical connection between the two.
You can restrict access to the network by implementing a number of security procedures similar to those present on a wireless network but owing to the fact your neighbours will be on a different wiring ring, these features are potentially redundant.
What makes the technology more useful is that you can combine elements of power line, wireless and conventional wired networking together in the one location by building on the strengths of all three technologies. You could for example have a wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor with a second router plugged in to a power line adaptor upstairs; by having two wireless routers in opposite ends of the same building the chance of being without wireless signal would be slim.
Alternatively, have the wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor downstairs but upstairs plug a power line adaptor straight in to a conventional wired network switch in a kids game room upstairs. They could then connect a PlayStation 3, Xbox and PC directly in to this switch therefore benefiting from a physical connection straight in to the router downstairs without having to worry about issues such as wireless signal strength.
Most modern day power line adaptors support 200Mbps which compares favourably to a standard wired network which would run at 100Mbps and a standard ‘g’ rated wireless network running at 54Mbps. Prices start at around £60 for a pair of power line access
At the turn of the century it was most often the case that we used a single machine connected directly to a phone line whereas now it would be rare to find a home that hasn’t been networked to some extent. Applications range from wireless Internet on a laptop, file sharing between two machines, a hard drive set up to distribute media around the home, a wireless printer which all the family can access or a games console piggybacking the main Internet connection.
The conventional methods of deploying a network around your home are well known; you can either connect via a network cable or connect wirelessly over the airwaves and while usually suitable, both methods have potential disadvantages. A wired network is of course limited by a physical connection being needed between your devices whereas a wireless network can fall down if installed in to a house that doesn’t have favourable conditions; a particularly large house or one with particularly thick walls for example.
A route that few people are familiar with is that of AC Networking. Although not the ideal solution for many, it does have some quite distinct advantages if you find that a conventional wired or wireless network lets you down. To get started you simply need a minimum of two power line access points which can then be plugged in to any of the existing plug sockets in your home for the two to begin talking to one another. The technology works by modulating a carrier wave along the existing power cables in your home therefore your entire home wiring essentially becomes a network cable that can be tapped in to at will.
Because you are using the mains cabling that runs all throughout your house the distance or objects between the two points are irrespective while at the same time removing the need to lay dedicated network cabling. Plug your broadband router in to an power line adaptor downstairs and your computer in to one upstairs and with the minimum of fuss you’ll have a physical connection between the two.
You can restrict access to the network by implementing a number of security procedures similar to those present on a wireless network but owing to the fact your neighbours will be on a different wiring ring, these features are potentially redundant.
What makes the technology more useful is that you can combine elements of power line, wireless and conventional wired networking together in the one location by building on the strengths of all three technologies. You could for example have a wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor with a second router plugged in to a power line adaptor upstairs; by having two wireless routers in opposite ends of the same building the chance of being without wireless signal would be slim.
Alternatively, have the wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor downstairs but upstairs plug a power line adaptor straight in to a conventional wired network switch in a kids game room upstairs. They could then connect a PlayStation 3, Xbox and PC directly in to this switch therefore benefiting from a physical connection straight in to the router downstairs without having to worry about issues such as wireless signal strength.
Most modern day power line adaptors support 200Mbps which compares favourably to a standard wired network which would run at 100Mbps and a standard ‘g’ rated wireless network running at 54Mbps. Prices start at around £60 for a pair of power line access
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One of the biggest growth areas for home computing this decade has been the humble network.
At the turn of the century it was most often the case that we used a single machine connected directly to a phone line whereas now it would be rare to find a home that hasn’t been networked to some extent. Applications range from wireless Internet on a laptop, file sharing between two machines, a hard drive set up to distribute media around the home, a wireless printer which all the family can access or a games console piggybacking the main Internet connection.
The conventional methods of deploying a network around your home are well known; you can either connect via a network cable or connect wirelessly over the airwaves and while usually suitable, both methods have potential disadvantages. A wired network is of course limited by a physical connection being needed between your devices whereas a wireless network can fall down if installed in to a house that doesn’t have favourable conditions; a particularly large house or one with particularly thick walls for example.
A route that few people are familiar with is that of AC Networking. Although not the ideal solution for many, it does have some quite distinct advantages if you find that a conventional wired or wireless network lets you down. To get started you simply need a minimum of two power line access points which can then be plugged in to any of the existing plug sockets in your home for the two to begin talking to one another. The technology works by modulating a carrier wave along the existing power cables in your home therefore your entire home wiring essentially becomes a network cable that can be tapped in to at will.
Because you are using the mains cabling that runs all throughout your house the distance or objects between the two points are irrespective while at the same time removing the need to lay dedicated network cabling. Plug your broadband router in to an power line adaptor downstairs and your computer in to one upstairs and with the minimum of fuss you’ll have a physical connection between the two.
You can restrict access to the network by implementing a number of security procedures similar to those present on a wireless network but owing to the fact your neighbours will be on a different wiring ring, these features are potentially redundant.
What makes the technology more useful is that you can combine elements of power line, wireless and conventional wired networking together in the one location by building on the strengths of all three technologies. You could for example have a wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor with a second router plugged in to a power line adaptor upstairs; by having two wireless routers in opposite ends of the same building the chance of being without wireless signal would be slim.
Alternatively, have the wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor downstairs but upstairs plug a power line adaptor straight in to a conventional wired network switch in a kids game room upstairs. They could then connect a PlayStation 3, Xbox and PC directly in to this switch therefore benefiting from a physical connection straight in to the router downstairs without having to worry about issues such as wireless signal strength.
Most modern day power line adaptors support 200Mbps which compares favourably to a standard wired network which would run at 100Mbps and a standard ‘g’ rated wireless network running at 54Mbps. Prices start at around £60 for a pair of power line access
At the turn of the century it was most often the case that we used a single machine connected directly to a phone line whereas now it would be rare to find a home that hasn’t been networked to some extent. Applications range from wireless Internet on a laptop, file sharing between two machines, a hard drive set up to distribute media around the home, a wireless printer which all the family can access or a games console piggybacking the main Internet connection.
The conventional methods of deploying a network around your home are well known; you can either connect via a network cable or connect wirelessly over the airwaves and while usually suitable, both methods have potential disadvantages. A wired network is of course limited by a physical connection being needed between your devices whereas a wireless network can fall down if installed in to a house that doesn’t have favourable conditions; a particularly large house or one with particularly thick walls for example.
A route that few people are familiar with is that of AC Networking. Although not the ideal solution for many, it does have some quite distinct advantages if you find that a conventional wired or wireless network lets you down. To get started you simply need a minimum of two power line access points which can then be plugged in to any of the existing plug sockets in your home for the two to begin talking to one another. The technology works by modulating a carrier wave along the existing power cables in your home therefore your entire home wiring essentially becomes a network cable that can be tapped in to at will.
Because you are using the mains cabling that runs all throughout your house the distance or objects between the two points are irrespective while at the same time removing the need to lay dedicated network cabling. Plug your broadband router in to an power line adaptor downstairs and your computer in to one upstairs and with the minimum of fuss you’ll have a physical connection between the two.
You can restrict access to the network by implementing a number of security procedures similar to those present on a wireless network but owing to the fact your neighbours will be on a different wiring ring, these features are potentially redundant.
What makes the technology more useful is that you can combine elements of power line, wireless and conventional wired networking together in the one location by building on the strengths of all three technologies. You could for example have a wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor with a second router plugged in to a power line adaptor upstairs; by having two wireless routers in opposite ends of the same building the chance of being without wireless signal would be slim.
Alternatively, have the wireless router plugged in to both your broadband connection and a power line adaptor downstairs but upstairs plug a power line adaptor straight in to a conventional wired network switch in a kids game room upstairs. They could then connect a PlayStation 3, Xbox and PC directly in to this switch therefore benefiting from a physical connection straight in to the router downstairs without having to worry about issues such as wireless signal strength.
Most modern day power line adaptors support 200Mbps which compares favourably to a standard wired network which would run at 100Mbps and a standard ‘g’ rated wireless network running at 54Mbps. Prices start at around £60 for a pair of power line access
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i have an i phone i like it and play games yes
declared quite publically around a year ago that I was refusing to select an iPhone as my next contract phone, not due to the fact that I consider it a poor piece of technology but rather that it would have immediately made me ‘one of those’ people.
You know the type; you’re busy minding your own business but they’ll sit next to you and force you to endure a daily demonstration of the latest app that they’ve downloaded. They do this with such a self assured smugness that you’d swear that they’d invented the iPhone, not had it handed to them by their mobile phone provider.
I am starting to get a little envious however…..
It seems there are more to these apps than initially meet the eye; after years of dominance, both the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS portable games consoles are starting to lose ground to, bizarrely enough, a phone.
After just a few years in the industry, the Apple iPhone boasts over 21,000 game apps compared to the Nintendo DS which has over 3,500 titles or the Sony PSP which has just over 600. In defence of the Sony PSP, the majority of those 600 titles are large games created by recognised software houses whereas the majority of the 21,000 iPhone games are ‘bite-sized’ two quid offerings.
Personally I have always been of the disposition that if you are going to play a game on a mobile device then you probably want it bite sized anyway as you’re unlikely to get enough uninterrupted time to get immersed in a monster sized game. That having been said, with the latest iPhone boasting a faster processor and third generation Operating System there are already some fairly staggering games coming to market and some serious money is being pumped in to future game development.
The method of game distribution is also one of the primary advantages the iPhone has over the competition. The Sony PSP for example uses mini optical discs that not only do users have to carry around with them but additionally distributors have to worry about the costs involved in producing and distributing the software to the gamer. The iPhone by comparison stores games in the internal memory of the phone and users simply download games directly from the Apple website rather than buying them in a more cumbersome physical format.
It will be interesting to see how the turning fortunes of Sony and Nintendo will affect any planned successors to the DS or PSP and it is becoming apparent that dedicated portable gaming systems may have their days numbered. Unfortunately for Nintendo this is a market that they have relied on heavily since they released the GameBoy back in 1989 and they are ill positioned to launch a competing product to the iPhone. Sony Ericsson however remains a formidable force in the mobile phone market it can surely only be a matter of time before they retaliate with their own hybrid device.
declared quite publically around a year ago that I was refusing to select an iPhone as my next contract phone, not due to the fact that I consider it a poor piece of technology but rather that it would have immediately made me ‘one of those’ people.
You know the type; you’re busy minding your own business but they’ll sit next to you and force you to endure a daily demonstration of the latest app that they’ve downloaded. They do this with such a self assured smugness that you’d swear that they’d invented the iPhone, not had it handed to them by their mobile phone provider.
I am starting to get a little envious however…..
It seems there are more to these apps than initially meet the eye; after years of dominance, both the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS portable games consoles are starting to lose ground to, bizarrely enough, a phone.
After just a few years in the industry, the Apple iPhone boasts over 21,000 game apps compared to the Nintendo DS which has over 3,500 titles or the Sony PSP which has just over 600. In defence of the Sony PSP, the majority of those 600 titles are large games created by recognised software houses whereas the majority of the 21,000 iPhone games are ‘bite-sized’ two quid offerings.
Personally I have always been of the disposition that if you are going to play a game on a mobile device then you probably want it bite sized anyway as you’re unlikely to get enough uninterrupted time to get immersed in a monster sized game. That having been said, with the latest iPhone boasting a faster processor and third generation Operating System there are already some fairly staggering games coming to market and some serious money is being pumped in to future game development.
The method of game distribution is also one of the primary advantages the iPhone has over the competition. The Sony PSP for example uses mini optical discs that not only do users have to carry around with them but additionally distributors have to worry about the costs involved in producing and distributing the software to the gamer. The iPhone by comparison stores games in the internal memory of the phone and users simply download games directly from the Apple website rather than buying them in a more cumbersome physical format.
It will be interesting to see how the turning fortunes of Sony and Nintendo will affect any planned successors to the DS or PSP and it is becoming apparent that dedicated portable gaming systems may have their days numbered. Unfortunately for Nintendo this is a market that they have relied on heavily since they released the GameBoy back in 1989 and they are ill positioned to launch a competing product to the iPhone. Sony Ericsson however remains a formidable force in the mobile phone market it can surely only be a matter of time before they retaliate with their own hybrid device.
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ver good game
World of Warcraft (or WoW) is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from Blizzard Entertainment. Warcraft initially started out as a series of three games ending in Warcraft 3 with World of Warcraft being set after these games.
When you start the game you need to create an avatar which you will control as you explore the fictional world of Azeroth. You have a choice of two sides; either the Alliance or the Horde with each side having a number of different races that you can play as including Trolls, Dwarfs, Humans, Gnomes and Orcs.
Depending on your gaming style you may choose to be a Warrior, who charges in and takes the full wrath of the enemies, or maybe a mage who blasts your enemies with spells from a distance. There are also many different classes including Priests, Rogues, Paladins, and Shamans, so there is almost always a way of playing to suit most people. Once you have your character you will need to quest to earn level ups, armour upgrades and new skills to improve your ability to tackle stronger enemies and bosses.
With approximately 12 million subscribers worldwide, World of Warcraft is one of the biggest online role playing games. Contrary to popular belief; it’s not just teenage boys lacking in social ability who play World of Warcraft as it genuinely does appeal to many.
Whilst travelling around you will bump into parents sneaking a quick hour in whilst their kids sleep, men and women who use Warcraft to relax after a hard days work, much in the same way many people will watch their soaps of an evening. The folklore in World of Warcraft is so deep and vast it’s almost like an interactive Lord of the Rings.
Admittedly you rarely actually meet the people you play with in Warcraft, but when you keep bumping into the same characters in game, or join a guild with a good group of players, you start to form acquaintances and friendships with the other players. There has even been a few couples who met in the World of Warcraft and ended up being happily married – you are able to make the game as social an experience as you want.
You have the option to group up with other characters, where your character will take on a particular role in the group; for example Priests heal, warriors tank and mages deal the damage. There is even the option of forming a raid group of up to 40 characters to try and overcome the extra strong bosses that are scattered across the lands.
You would think that all games must come to an end, however World of Warcraft is different in that you can always strive to earn better armour so you can defeat the strongest bosses in the game, or try and earn the in game achievements for different titles and rewards. Blizzard also periodically introduce expansions, which raise the maximum level, and introduce new content and areas to the game.
Like any good franchise the game has a plethora of accessories, merchandise and books to go along with it and along with millions of subscriptions across the world, Warcraft is clearly a highly lucrative business which will be around for a long time to come.
hiohiihihihih
World of Warcraft (or WoW) is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from Blizzard Entertainment. Warcraft initially started out as a series of three games ending in Warcraft 3 with World of Warcraft being set after these games.
When you start the game you need to create an avatar which you will control as you explore the fictional world of Azeroth. You have a choice of two sides; either the Alliance or the Horde with each side having a number of different races that you can play as including Trolls, Dwarfs, Humans, Gnomes and Orcs.
Depending on your gaming style you may choose to be a Warrior, who charges in and takes the full wrath of the enemies, or maybe a mage who blasts your enemies with spells from a distance. There are also many different classes including Priests, Rogues, Paladins, and Shamans, so there is almost always a way of playing to suit most people. Once you have your character you will need to quest to earn level ups, armour upgrades and new skills to improve your ability to tackle stronger enemies and bosses.
With approximately 12 million subscribers worldwide, World of Warcraft is one of the biggest online role playing games. Contrary to popular belief; it’s not just teenage boys lacking in social ability who play World of Warcraft as it genuinely does appeal to many.
Whilst travelling around you will bump into parents sneaking a quick hour in whilst their kids sleep, men and women who use Warcraft to relax after a hard days work, much in the same way many people will watch their soaps of an evening. The folklore in World of Warcraft is so deep and vast it’s almost like an interactive Lord of the Rings.
Admittedly you rarely actually meet the people you play with in Warcraft, but when you keep bumping into the same characters in game, or join a guild with a good group of players, you start to form acquaintances and friendships with the other players. There has even been a few couples who met in the World of Warcraft and ended up being happily married – you are able to make the game as social an experience as you want.
You have the option to group up with other characters, where your character will take on a particular role in the group; for example Priests heal, warriors tank and mages deal the damage. There is even the option of forming a raid group of up to 40 characters to try and overcome the extra strong bosses that are scattered across the lands.
You would think that all games must come to an end, however World of Warcraft is different in that you can always strive to earn better armour so you can defeat the strongest bosses in the game, or try and earn the in game achievements for different titles and rewards. Blizzard also periodically introduce expansions, which raise the maximum level, and introduce new content and areas to the game.
Like any good franchise the game has a plethora of accessories, merchandise and books to go along with it and along with millions of subscriptions across the world, Warcraft is clearly a highly lucrative business which will be around for a long time to come.
hiohiihihihih
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see this review very good newz
Despite it being the second most used application on my work computer (behind the Mozilla Firefox browser), it’s still impossible for me to get excited about a new edition of the Microsoft Office suite.
With the final release due in a couple of months, Microsoft have provided a beta test version of Office 2010 that’s free for members of the public to download. The beta test version will run unhindered until October 2010 at which point users must decide whether they wish to purchase the final release or have it removed from their hard drive.
For the costs involved the majority of home users may still be better off with the free OpenOffice Suite (www.openoffice.org) as it should provide all the features you are likely to need at no cost. This having been said, the Office Suite has remained a popular flagship product over the years due to business users often requiring a specific function or application only present in the Microsoft offering. I, for example, use Outlook on a regular basis and haven’t yet found an alternative that suits my needs.
Having not been the biggest fan of Office 2007 (especially the ‘ribbon’ interface discussed in the past) I wasted no time downloading the 64-bit professional version of the beta to put it through its paces. I have now been using it for a couple of days it does appear notably faster than Office 2007 and certainty incredibly stable. The speed increase could easily be attributed to the fact that a 64-bit version of the application is now available to run on modern 64-bit computers.
Office Professional 2010 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, Access and Publisher. The home edition (also currently available in beta) includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. After the official release, computer manufacturers may choose to bundle new machines with a starter edition of Office which includes just Excel and Word; this version of Office will replace the aging Microsoft Works Suite.
Although the ribbon interface remains, it is certainly a lot clearer than that provided with Office 2007; the confusing Office orb has been replaced with the familiar file menu, there are fewer distracting borders, a neutral colour scheme and most importantly it is customisable to the users individual tastes. The applications look and behave like a ‘family’ now and have become more intuitive to use as a result of the more refined user interface.
An important new feature due for release in the final version but missing from the beta is the ‘Web Apps’ which will extend the Office functionality to a compatible web browser. Very similar in form to Google Docs, Office Web Apps allows users to collaborate, edit and share Office documents online. This is an incredibly important new feature that has no doubt come about due to the success of Google Docs and one that I would like to field test when complete.
This article isn’t long enough to go in to details about minor new features so I will summarise by observing that the changes made from Office 2007 to Office 2010 are evolutionary rather than revolutionary; very much in the same way that Windows 7 was an evolutionary change compared with Vista. Excluding the Web Apps there is nothing substantially new however the minor improvements are certainly welcome as is the chance to road test a new piece of software completely free of charge for a year.
Users interested in downloading the beta version of Office 2010 should visit www.microsoft.com/office/2010 to get their hands on a copy.
Despite it being the second most used application on my work computer (behind the Mozilla Firefox browser), it’s still impossible for me to get excited about a new edition of the Microsoft Office suite.
With the final release due in a couple of months, Microsoft have provided a beta test version of Office 2010 that’s free for members of the public to download. The beta test version will run unhindered until October 2010 at which point users must decide whether they wish to purchase the final release or have it removed from their hard drive.
For the costs involved the majority of home users may still be better off with the free OpenOffice Suite (www.openoffice.org) as it should provide all the features you are likely to need at no cost. This having been said, the Office Suite has remained a popular flagship product over the years due to business users often requiring a specific function or application only present in the Microsoft offering. I, for example, use Outlook on a regular basis and haven’t yet found an alternative that suits my needs.
Having not been the biggest fan of Office 2007 (especially the ‘ribbon’ interface discussed in the past) I wasted no time downloading the 64-bit professional version of the beta to put it through its paces. I have now been using it for a couple of days it does appear notably faster than Office 2007 and certainty incredibly stable. The speed increase could easily be attributed to the fact that a 64-bit version of the application is now available to run on modern 64-bit computers.
Office Professional 2010 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, Access and Publisher. The home edition (also currently available in beta) includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. After the official release, computer manufacturers may choose to bundle new machines with a starter edition of Office which includes just Excel and Word; this version of Office will replace the aging Microsoft Works Suite.
Although the ribbon interface remains, it is certainly a lot clearer than that provided with Office 2007; the confusing Office orb has been replaced with the familiar file menu, there are fewer distracting borders, a neutral colour scheme and most importantly it is customisable to the users individual tastes. The applications look and behave like a ‘family’ now and have become more intuitive to use as a result of the more refined user interface.
An important new feature due for release in the final version but missing from the beta is the ‘Web Apps’ which will extend the Office functionality to a compatible web browser. Very similar in form to Google Docs, Office Web Apps allows users to collaborate, edit and share Office documents online. This is an incredibly important new feature that has no doubt come about due to the success of Google Docs and one that I would like to field test when complete.
This article isn’t long enough to go in to details about minor new features so I will summarise by observing that the changes made from Office 2007 to Office 2010 are evolutionary rather than revolutionary; very much in the same way that Windows 7 was an evolutionary change compared with Vista. Excluding the Web Apps there is nothing substantially new however the minor improvements are certainly welcome as is the chance to road test a new piece of software completely free of charge for a year.
Users interested in downloading the beta version of Office 2010 should visit www.microsoft.com/office/2010 to get their hands on a copy.
