With Office 2010, Microsoft offers some significant improvements to its flagship office suite and also introduces free web-based -- i.e., mobile-work-friendly -- versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. If you're trying to decide whether or not to get Office 2010 for your home office, here are some essential questions and answers about the suite.
1. What's new in Office 2010 overall?
Microsoft has updated the Office 2010 suite for a more consistent look and experience across all of the available Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, and Publisher).
- Most of the suite-wide improvements revolve around a more user-friendly interface that can help you work with documents more efficiently, including: customization of the Ribbon bar, better document properties management in the new Backstage view, and more pasting options.
- Microsoft has also beefed-up its multimedia editing tools so you can manipulate images and videos from directly within Office.
- There are also several new features especially relevant for mobile users and remote workers, like co-authoring of shared documents
- Finally, Office 2010 introduces important security enhancements, such as a Protected View that protects systems from vulnerabilities such as embedded macros in files downloaded from the Web.
2. What's new in Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Access/Outlook/OneNote?
There are a lot of new features in each of the individual Office applications as well. One of the most interesting updates is the presence of OneNote in all of the suite editions now -- a welcome change for the many OneNote fans (myself included) who thought OneNote was previously vastly underrated and overlooked.
The most improved program? PowerPoint adds a revolutionary new feature in 2010 with its Broadcast Slide Show, which allows you to run remote presentations and share them over the Web (even if the recipient doesn't have PowerPoint installed). This is naturally a plus for mobile workers especially, because you can present to anyone, anywhere -- physical location doesn't matter.
New features across all the Office applications are covered in more depth in the following articles across the About.com Computing Channel and Microsoft:
- What's New in Word 2010 - About Word Processing
- Excel 2010 New Features - About Spreadsheets
- Beginner's Guide to PowerPoint 2010 - About Presentation Software
- What's New in Microsoft Publisher 2010 - About Desktop Publishing
- Microsoft Access 2010 - About Databases
- Top 10 Benefits of OneNote - Microsoft Office
- Top 10 Benefits of Outlook 2010 - Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac - 32-bit only (OK, not an Office 2010 article, but some info on the Office version for Mac users) - About Macs>
3. What is Office Web Apps?
Perhaps the most important new feature for Office 2010, particularly for remote workers, is the close integration with Office Web Apps. Office Web Apps provides browser-based versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote applications. Purchasers of the desktop software can get Office Web Apps for free, but there is also an ad-supported version as well for everyone else (i.e., even if you don't have Office on your computer).
Since you only need a computing device (it doesn't even have to be running Windows), an Internet connection, and a browser (it doesn't even have to be Internet Explorer), Office Web Apps allows users to access, view, and edit documents virtually anywhere and anytime.
More: An Overview of Office 2010 Web Apps
4. How much does it cost to upgrade from Office 2007 (or 2003 or earlier) to 2010?
As always, Microsoft offers many different versions and pricing options for Office. With 2010, however, there is no longer any upgrade pricing -- so it doesn't matter if you're currently using Office 2007 or Office 2003 or earlier editions, the price is the same for each edition. If you purchased or purchase Office 2007 or a PC with Office 2007 before September 2010, however, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office 2010 Technology Guarantee, which lets you upgrade to Office 2010 from 2007 for free.
More: FAQs about the Microsoft Office 2010 Technology Guarantee from PC World
5. What are the available Office 2010 editions and how much do they cost?
Office 2010 offers 3 different retail editions (in addition to Academic, Military Appreciation, and volume license options)-- fewer versions than Office 2007's 5 editions. Here are the suites you can choose from:
- Office Home and Student: includes Word (word processing software), PowerPoint (presentation software), Excel (spreadsheet software), and OneNote (note-taking software). $149.99 direct from Microsoft.
- Office Home and Business: includes all of the above (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote) plus Outlook email/calendar/contact software -- pretty essential for business. $279.99 direct from Microsoft.
- Office Professional: includes all of the above (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, and Outlook) plus Access (database) and Publisher (desktop publishing) software. $499.99 direct from Microsoft.
6. How can you save on buying Office 2010?
All of the retail disc and direct download versions offer a license for installation on up to 3 computers -- useful for small businesses and if you have both a home office desktop and a laptop. If you only need to install Office on one computer, however, you can also get a single license Product Key Card (see Microsoft's TechnNet Blog post on New Ways to Try and Buy Microsoft Office 2010), which comes with just an activation number for software that's been downloaded or pre-loaded by PC manufacturers.
Office Starter 2010 edition is another new version of Office, offered exclusively on new PCs and pre-loaded by manufacturers. Like Windows 7 Starter versus other Windows 7 versions, Office Starter has reduced functionality; it will also be ad-supported. (Note: About.com's Windows Guide has an article on 5 reasons to stay away from Windows 7 Starter edition; I'm guessing Office Starter may also be suited for only very light Office application needs.)
Education and military families can get special discounted (yet fully featured) editions as well. For students and teachers, the Office 2010 Professional Academic version offers the same apps as Office 2010 Professional but is $99, available through academic resellers. Military veterans and their families can get the Military Appreciation Edition for $79.95 (up to $320 or 80% off), available at military web sites and offices.
More: Save Money on Microsoft Office 2010 by Upgrading to Office 2007 First -- PC World's overview of different routes to Office 2010.
7. Should I upgrade to Office 2010?
Office 2010 refines the major step Microsoft took with Office 2007 and offers users greater control (e.g., Ribbon customization), multimedia tools, collaboration options, and security. Those users who were afraid to update to 2007 from 2003 because of the dramatic changes, may be ready for the more intuitive and collaborative Office 2010 suite.
If your company is moving to Office 2010, it is definitely a good idea to upgrade your home computer -- you want to enjoy the same features as your co-workers and be sure your files are compatible with theirs. (Also, since Office Web Apps can only edit Office XML-based files, upgrading your Office desktop version will ensure compatibility with the online application versions.) OneNote fans and PowerPoint users who want to share presentations from their desktops will also find updating to 2010 worth the price.
