For years I’ve been on top of all Adobe-related upgrades, getting new versions within the first month or two of release, always having the latest and greatest versions of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign (my primary work programs) as soon as possible.
I’ve also been sort of snobbish about other professionals being one or more versions behind. After all; every upgrade brings new features that enhance productivity and thus pays itself back within the 18 months Adobe tends to take for the next upgrade to be released.
But I must admit I haven’t kept everything I work with daily up-to-date. No, I hadn’t upgraded my Office suite since 2003.
I simply told myself I don’t earn my money using Word, PowerPoint or Excel, and it’s true to a certain extent. I don’t use those programs daily and when I need them to open files sent to me, even if they’re in newer versions, Office 2003 could open them.
But now Office 2010 has arrived, and I couldn’t stand the buggy, slow, annoying Office 2003 anymore. And more importantly: I wanted to get rid of Outlook 2003 but no open source alternative fitted my needs.
Last Thursday I placed my order for Office Home and Business 2010 in the UK (I want my software in English, plus it saved me some € 20) and it got delivered yesterday.
It’s a breath of fresh air after Office 2003, but man it’s weird not having the old-fashioned menus at the top of the windows. The ribbons feel fresh, although unfamiliar, and they make other programs, like Mozilla Thunderbird, look old and boring.
Will I now keep my Office up-to-date? Fat chance.
Microsoft is said to already be at work on the next version, which they’re supposed to want to release next year or so. That’s too soon for my liking (not to mention my wallet), and this version should keep me going for a couple years anyway.
Now all I need to do is find a way to stop people from using Publisher. That program’s evil!
