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 iWork 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.