09-14-2005, 12:00 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Q&A: Microsoft Showcases New User Interface for Office �12� Core Applications
"Thousands of software developers at the sold-out Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 today got a preview of a new, redesigned user interface (UI) that will debut in several core applications of the next version of Microsoft Office, code-named Office �12.� While the Office applications have increased tremendously in power and added functionality in response to customer needs, the core UI has remained substantially unchanged for nearly 20 years. The command bar in Microsoft Office Word 2003, for example, looks much the same as the command bar in Word 2.0 did in 1998. In fact, the new UI is the biggest, most visible change to the way the core Office applications work since the introduction of the toolbar in 1997. To learn more about the new UI, how it will make it easier for information workers to do great work, and why Microsoft decided to implement the transformation, PressPass spoke with Julie Larson-Green, group program manager for the Office User Experience at Microsoft."
I thought this Q&A made for a very interesting read, because this is the first time I've seen the Office team take any real risks - and I applaud them for it! Microsoft needs to move forward to create applications that are easier to use and make more sense to end users, and re-thinking their approach to the user interface is a critical part of that process.
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09-14-2005, 12:09 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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First impression: I hate it.
Second impression: It has promise.
Third impression: I'm almost liking it.
The screenshots don't give justice to everything the new interface can do. You should watch the Julie Larson-Green - Diving into the new Office 12 video on Channel 9 to get a better idea how the new interface works. I'm really starting to like it, although I'm still afraid most users will be overly confused when they upgrade to Office 12.
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09-14-2005, 12:15 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by OSUKid7
First impression: I hate it.
Second impression: It has promise.
Third impression: I'm almost liking it.
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Most of the legacy UI designs we're working with today have forced us to adapt to the way computers work. That's what we're used to, that's what we're comfortable with. The next decade or two of UI design is going to be about making the UI more natural, more intuitive. That will create changes that will be hard to handle at first, but ultimately more natural. That video interview is quite interesting, I'm watching it now...
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09-14-2005, 12:23 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Aha, in the video you can see that they're optimising for high resolution displays with bigger icons and fonts that are more reasonable in size for high DPI displays. Very cool!
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09-14-2005, 12:33 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 106
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GEORGIOUS! I can't wait for it to come out.
Anyone got a good source for Vista Screenshots?
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09-14-2005, 12:39 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by jhennig
Anyone got a good source for Vista Screenshots?
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had some from earlier today, and you may also want to watch the PDC '05 Keynote to see demos of Vista, Office 12, and a bunch of other stuff. 
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09-14-2005, 02:22 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,981
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I watched a large chunk of the PDC keynote, and I have to say that I was very impressed with what they are doing with Office 12 and Vista. There is a lot of really cool things coming down the pipe from Microsoft on this. For the first time in a long time, I'm really excited by the future of Office. :mrgreen:
__________________
"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein |
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09-14-2005, 02:53 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 593
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I'd like to see Powerpoint to become comperable to Keynote 2.
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09-14-2005, 03:21 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 9
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Wow -- the ribbon system is an excellent idea, especially with higher resolution screens where a line of icons wouldn't take up much screen space. I like how it visually gives you a laundry list of commands that can be initiated.
They seem to be going overboard with the "glassy" effect on everything...it's very...Tiger.
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09-14-2005, 03:42 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Gremmie
I'd like to see Powerpoint to become comperable to Keynote 2.
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What kind of stuff does Keynote 2 do? I've never used it.
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Linear Mode
