While I’m aware that many users are annoyed with Microsoft Office 2007′s new ribbon interface, I did not anticipate how much anger I would stir up by penning a post in its defense.
They have no familiarity with command lines and scripts. They think Linux is a Peanuts character.
A few months back, I wrote about a schoolteacher whose administration upgraded the entire faculty to Office 2007, but failed to offer them training or support. Not only was her employer letting her down, I argued in the piece, the administration was wasting the money it dumped into the software investment.
Office 2007 doesn’t really suck, I stated; it’s just misunderstood.
That sentence inspired the following descriptions of Office 2007: an abomination, a fiasco, and filled with stupid icons. One commenter said Office 2007’s interface overhaul was so radical that it has rendered experienced users helpless. Another complained that 2007 is “dumbed down for the masses” and promised to begin using free, open-source software.
They’re entitled to their feelings about Microsoft, but I feel a little clarification is in order.
Yes, people with a deeper understanding of software design think Office 2007 (and anything else Microsoft does) sucks. But to the majority of computer users, icons and mouse-clicking and wizards are all they know. They have no familiarity with command lines and scripts. They think Linux is a Peanuts character. And that’s fine. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
Microsoft made Office 2007 for them, the majority, not for the power users. Granted, Microsoft could have used a softer brush in its redesign, so as not to leave everyone wondering how to perform such simple tasks as saving a document. But ultimately, the new interface makes more sense for the average user.
My point with the piece was to emphasize how important it is to give employees Office 2007 training and support. Companies have already made the investment and the learning curve is unavoidable. Not showing workers how to use it is just stupid.
I’d be saying the same thing if companies made the move to free, open-source software. Why bother migrating if you don’t offer training and support? It’s a waste of effort.
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You miss the point of the anger, IT needs to do the due diligence to protect users and backwards compatibility is always a key attribute. Microsoft deservers the anger for a lack f customer fore-sight. Who has time to send their whole company to training and show me the corporate prodcutivity ROI numbers for the ribbon?????