# Uh, wow. The newest version of Office is, like, wow. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276 "2010-01-17T03:13:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/101 "2010-01-22T21:01:11Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > :dubious: It’s completely compatible with older versions. No, it isn’t, exactly. For example, VBA menu commands that were used in 2003 and earlier no longer work, and they have to be repaired to be functional in 2007. That’s a huge pain in the rear for developers like myself who now have to write two versions of every menu/ribbon command, one for 2003 and earlier users, and one for 2007 and later users. What’s more, those commands are written in two different languages. I mean, really. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/102 "2010-01-22T21:13:23Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > All that said, I just wanted to drop in and say that every word processor I have ever used was a step down from Word Perfect 5.1. It was with this processor that the industry reached its zenith, and has been in a slow, gilded, decline ever since. These days, if I have a really important document to create, I will use LaTex. I love Word Perfect, but please, let’s not go back that far! I’m perfectly 😉 happy with the current version. And I did my dissertation on LaTeX. Fuck that shit - I’d rather have written out the formulas by hand. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/103 "2010-01-22T21:17:04Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > See, that’s the problem, they didn’t change Office just for the sake of change. There’s a [ton of new features](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_2007#New_features). You people are acting like all the programs’ changes are cosmetic. You’re mistaken - we’re saying that we don’t think some of the cosmetic changes are an improvement on what they replaced. That there are other new features and functions is probably great on the whole, but those new functions could have been implemented regardless of changes to the UI, so whilst they are a benefit of the upgrade, and the new UI is compulsory in the upgrade, the new features are not a benefit of the new UI. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/104 "2010-01-22T21:32:58Z")
I acknowledge that some people (a minority) are forever going to hate the ribbon, but that’s expected for any significant upgrade or update of a product people have intensely used. Still, Microsoft commissioned an independent company to [survey](http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/2007office/docs/UIStudyInformationWorkers.pdf) users and found this: 81% said the new UI was an improvement. 95% are equally or more satisfied from the previous version. 60% said their productivity increased, while 33% said it was the same. 80% of users stated their productivity returned to where it was or increased by 4 weeks; 53% said it took them less than 2 weeks. Users saw an average reduction of 17% in time spent once their productivity level returned using the new UI. So a majority of people are happy once they use it for any significant amount of time. I hate to see what happens when you people upgrade to Windows 7 and realize how different the taskbar is now… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/105 "2010-01-22T23:38:46Z")
I don’t spend a significant amount of time using the taskbar, so Windows 7 is no big deal - IMO, it’s trying too hard to be pretty, and I don’t need that, but as long as it stays out of my face, I’ll be able to work with it. I probably won’t bother with Windows 7 at home though. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/106 "2010-01-23T00:31:25Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > So a majority of people are happy once they use it for any significant amount of time. I hate to see what happens when you people upgrade to Windows 7 and realize how different the taskbar is now… 🙂 Considering all an operating system has to do is run the software under it without crashing I don’t see this as a problem unless MS has changes the names of everything. You remember when the file managing function was called FILE MANAGER and then they changed the name to MY COMPUTER. :dubious: Keep in mind the reason 7 came out is because Vista wouldn’t run older versions of Microsoft Products. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/107 "2010-01-23T02:01:59Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > You can’t expect an office suite to keep the exact same file format indefinitely, especially when they’ve developed a superior one. I’m really asking: What’s superior about it? As far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t bothered about the file format at any point, and any inconvenience on the issue feels forced and dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Caractacus\_Pott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/108 "2010-01-23T12:49:42Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > All that said, I just wanted to drop in and say that every word processor I have ever used was a step down from Word Perfect 5.1. It was with this processor that the industry reached its zenith, and has been in a slow, gilded, decline ever since… Amen, brother! I wonder if I still have WP51 somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/109 "2010-01-23T21:31:14Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I’m really asking: What’s superior about it? As far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t bothered about the file format at any point, and any inconvenience on the issue feels forced and dumb. > **[Introducing the Office (2007) Open XML File Formats](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/office/developer/office-2007/aa338205(v=office.12)?redirectedfrom=MSDN)** ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/110 "2010-01-24T00:47:09Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > [Introducing the Office (2007) Open XML File Formats | Microsoft Docs](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa338205.aspx#office2007aboutnewfileformat_benefitsofthenewfileformat) So they rewrote a lot of the same functions and to make people notice they made it look different. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/111 "2010-01-24T07:49:05Z")
So, from a 3 second perusal of your link, it’s a document for total document nerds. Do you have any reasons yourself, or are you relying on the verbiage you linked to? ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276/112 "2010-01-24T08:24:46Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I’m really asking: What’s superior about it? As far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t bothered about the file format at any point, and any inconvenience on the issue feels forced and dumb. File sizes are significantly smaller, and since it is XML based (I believe) it is more cross-platform than previous formats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-wow-the-newest-version-of-office-is-like-wow/525276.md?page=5)