Microsoft Office 2010 is a worthy upgrade for businesses and individual users who need professional-level productivity apps, but it will take some time to get acclimated with the reworked interface. Users looking for bare-bones, dead-simple office software should stick with Google's and other online offerings or continue using older Office versions they have already mastered.
The
world has changed plenty since Microsoft introduced Office 2007. In
that time, Google has become a major player, with its suite of online
tools, and even Apple has made inroads with its office suite,
though admittedly within a smaller set of computer users. Even with the
vast user base of Microsoft Office products, with new competitors in the
market, Microsoft Office 2010 needed to be good. Playing catch-up and
looking forward simultaneously, Microsoft tries, in Office 2010, to
remain (or become) the central hub of your working life, letting you use
your PC, smartphone, and the Web to make your projects come together
more efficiently.It's true: every application in the suite has been improved and tweaked in an effort to make your busy days more efficient, but you'll need to be ready for a learning curve to get accustomed to Office 2010's changes.
This update isn't for everyone; if you're a power user who has a specific way you like to do things and want all the same functionality as an older version of Microsoft Office, then you can probably get by on an older version. Just like with Office 2007, however, Office 2003 or earlier versions of the suite will need conversion tools to open many of the now default Open XML file types. But if you are eager to try out new time-saving features and are willing to spend some time learning where everything is, we think you will appreciate this major update. Even new users of productivity suites and students looking for a solid set of productivity apps will benefit from the new features in Office 2010--and surely the Academic license is more than reasonable for what you get.
