Pres Gralla gives Office 2010 two thumbs up

Preston Gralla knows his stuff. He says that Office 2010 “will truly make a difference in the way that I work.”

The main attraction, as far as I’m concerned, is the Outlook makeover that makes it far easier to cut through e-mail overload and keep up with your ever-expanding group of contacts on social networking sites.

I’m not as impressed as Pres with the Outlook improvements, but they are considerable – just as Outlook 2007 was a considerable improvement over Outlook 2003. I haven’t yet swallowed the Kool-Aid and changed to Office 2010 full-time, but I may. And if I do, there’s only one reason why: Outlook.

Ed Bott has a detailed look at how to get Office 2010 cheap. Ed’s absolutely right – if Windows 7 taught us anything, it’s that people who buy the new product early get the best prices. Nuff said.

Oh. For those of you who have asked, Ed and I are NOT doing a Special Edition Using Office 2010. I may dip my toe back in the Office writing milieu, but for now, there’s nothing firm.

Free ebook: “First Look at Microsoft Office 2010″

I’m pleased as can be that Kathy Murray (the brains behind Green Home Computing For Dummies) has just released an ebook for Microsoft Press about Office 2010.

Yes, you read that right. Office 2010.

You can get your free copy of First Look at Microsoft Office 2010 (in PDF format, no less) from the MS Press blog. Weighing in at 184 pages – yes, it’s absolutely free – the book focuses on changes between Office 2007 and 2010. A must-read.

Office 2010 due in June?

Neowin reports that the next version of Office, Office 2010, is scheduled for release in June. Their article doesn’t name the source, but it sounds very authoritative to my jaded eye. Er, ear.

Office 2010 will be released in six different flavours, including a free version that includes Microsoft Word and Excel, but comes with limited functionality and includes advertisements.

That agrees with what I’ve heard.

Neowin also has a good overview of the new features. I’m not absolutely bowled over by any of them, but the ability to have a menu-like interface rings my Office-experienced chimes.

But I’ll have to confess that my immediate reaction is, “we waited three years for this?”

Office 2010 Beta now available on MSDN and Technet

Mary Jo Foley reports that Office 2010 Beta 2 is available to MSDN and Technet members, and will be more widely available later this week.

Microsoft made the beta code available to subscribers to its MSDN and TechNet services. Microsoft is expected to open up the beta, so that anyone who’d like to try it can download it — possibly this week (though Microsoft officials refused to confirm that when I asked them today).

Microsoft also has made the 64-bit Beta version of Office Web Apps — its Web-centric versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote — available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers today. (No word yet if/when the 32-bit version of Office Web Apps will appear on MSDN/TechNet). The public also is expected to get the refreshed Office Web Apps bits, possibly this week. Again, Microsoft officials won’t confirm the public availability date, beyond saying it will be “in November.”

Office 2010 Technical Preview leaked

I can’t say that I’m very excited about the prospects, but a beta test version of Office 2010 destined to become the Technical Preview appears to be available on the newsgroups.

The leaked screen shots don’t ring my chimes. More Ribbon. More buttons.

Office 2010 beta kickoff in July

It’s official, the Technical Preview of the next version of Office will be made available in July. Microsoft’s new Office 2010 blog announces:

1. Office 2010 will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

2. Office 2010 will run on Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

3. You don’t need to replace hardware that is capable of running 2007, it will support Office 2010.

I’m not sure, but I think point 3 means that any hardware supported by Office 2007 will also be supported by Office 2010. I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out if there’s any additional meaning to the sentence. And I’ve been wracking what’s left of my wracked brain to figure out what specific hardware they’re talking about. Ah well.