(Updated: 11/6/06, 3:45 PT) Microsoft announced today that it has completed the code for its 2007 Office system, a major overhaul for the best-selling productivity suite that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and a slew of other applications (depending on which version of the suite you buy). U.S. and Canadian customers can download a fully functioning 60-day trial of the suite starting on December 1.
The announcement that the 2007 editions of Office have been released to manufacturing (RTM, in industry jargon) does not mean that you can run out and buy one of the five retail versions of the suite. (An additional three versions are only available to volume-licensing enterprise customers.) While some enterprise customers will get Office 2007 as early as November 30, Microsoft says that packaged and downloadable versions of the suite won't be generally available for sale until early 2007. Pricing information is posted on Microsoft's Office Online site.
You can try it out, though. Starting on December 1, 60-day trials of Microsoft Office Professional 2007, Small Business 2007, Standard 2007, and Home and Student 2007 will be available through the Office Online Web site. The 60-day trial will start out as a fully functioning version of the suite, but at the end of the trial period, it will downgrade in functionality. You will no longer be able to create, modify, or save files. You will still be able to read and print existing files.
We are currently working on our final review of 2007 Office system. In the meanwhile, you can read First Look: Office 2007 Public Beta, which covers the major feature changes in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and the overall suite itself.
The 2007 suite differs significantly from the last release, Office 2003. A new interface is built around a context-sensitive "ribbon" that graphically displays options and features formerly accessed via standard drop-down menus and toolbars. (The Edit menu is missing in Word, for example.)
By default, Office 2007 documents will be based on Microsoft's new Office XML Formats, which have been made publicly available and should eventually allow for greater compatibility with third-party productivity software. However Office 2003, XP, or 2000 users will need to download and install a free Compatibility Pack to be able to open and edit Office XML documents. You can read more in the First Look referenced above.
We'll be looking at a lot of things when putting together our review. How useful and easy-to-learn is the new interface? How easy is it to find features--both old favorites and "sleepers" that were previously hidden deep down in cascading menus? How well integrated are the apps? How do new additions such as the Microsoft Groove 2007 collaboration program impact the suite?
Is there anything you'd like us to look at when evaluating Office 2007? Let us know here.
