The ambitious, ground-up rebuild of Microsoft Office Standard 2007 presents drastically different interfaces and new file formats. The new Office looks so unlike its predecessors, it's likely to spark intense love-hate responses from users. This upgrade isn't for everyone: If you're patient, eager to try the latest tools, and willing to relearn most of what you already know about Office, then you may relish the challenge.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 can produce more polished documents and presentations, and Outlook's new scheduling abilities make it a handier communications hub. Professionals who want to impress clients and co-workers with attractive reports, charts, and slide shows will find this a worthy upgrade.
It offers complex features that you can't yet find elsewhere, but also falls short in key areas. Inter-application integration isn't as thorough as we'd hoped, and there's no one-click way to collaborate with others on an edit without buying more software. Despite its bevy of Windows Live and Office Live services, Microsoft chose not to build a bridge to the Web for all Office users. A growing number of competing tools are simpler, cost less or are free, and handle the same core features.
We imagine that power users who have mastered the nooks and crannies of the older versions will curse the steep learning curve. But take heed: The new era of Office affects even those who don't upgrade, and a conversion tool is needed to let older Office versions open Office 2007's default, Open XML files.
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