Joe;

Sounds a little bit like complacentcy. I mean it took me a day to get used to the new look of Office 2007 and I am a power user as I mentioned before.

Are people that reluctant to change that they will not even spend a couple of hours learning a new program?

Now we got companies out there catering to the needs of these reluctant people -- Waste of money if you ask me.

MS should be worried that because a Chinese company made a product that only works with Office 2007, MS's Office market share in China is now in peril?

I don't get it.

PS: s/undue/undo/

This is what I don't get; people demand Microsoft to innovate, Microsoft innovates, Microsoft delivers, then customers refuse to take a few minutes to learn what they demanded.

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/02/23/do-you-need-office-2007-in-your-small-office/
"The money question"
"Does your business need Office 2007 with its bells, whistles, contextual tabs, galleries and Ribbon now? At the demo, the leader pointed out that things the "geeks" could do are now available to "regular" users like 'us' (well, them). The quandary: those things were always available and regular users could rarely do them so what makes you think they're going to start doing them now because they're prettier?"

""Does your business need Office 2007 with its bells, whistles, contextual tabs, galleries and Ribbon now?"

No. But your business does need iWork '08 with fewer functions and more bells, whistles, galleries, and templates. Just ask Joe.

I won't refer to Joe as a "shill" or a "fanboy". I personally think they're derogatory terms and are being used indiscriminately by some people here. No. However, I'll say this - Joe does have more than a soft corner towards Apple.

http://why.openoffice.org/yourchoice.html
Six facts to consider about OpenOffice.org 2

1. Independent reviewers have found that OpenOffice.org 2 is seriously good software, and MS-Office users very quickly feel completely at home with it.
2. OpenOffice.org 2 gives you everything you expect in one package - plus useful extras like creating pdf files. You may have noted that MS-Office comes in a confusing number of "editions".
3. Case studies that show changing to OpenOffice.org 2 costs 90% less than upgrading to MS-Office 2007 and having to master a new "look and feel".
4. OpenOffice.org 2 reads all your old MS-Office files. If you make the change to OpenOffice.org 2, your investment in documents, spreadsheets, presentations etc is safe.
5. OpenOffice.org's licencing terms allow you to install it on as many computers as you like and use it for any purpose. Are you quite sure your current copies of MS-Office comply with all of Microsoft's licence conditions?
6. OpenOffice.org is free of any charge. Why pay for software from Microsoft when there's a perfectly good alternative available for free?
--------------
..."And thus, the objectives will be achieves at the same time: To expose MS and uncover its Shills (when they respond desperately)"

What is funny is that Joe uses different yardsticks to measure Microsoft and Apple. He plays down a lot of flaws in Apple's products and grossly exaggerates those in Microsoft's. Thus, bugs in the iPhone are simply eccentricities, whereas bugs in Windows point to a train wreck. It seems to me that he isn't reporting on computing trends but rather is trying to influence them.

I just spotted a shill. There she is. There she goes. Get her... oops. She got away. Damn! Don't worry, though, shills are attracted to these shill traps, so artfully laid out by some commenters here, like bees to honey.

reflections wrote: "What is funny is that Joe uses different yardsticks to measure Microsoft and Apple. He plays down a lot of flaws in Apple's products and grossly exaggerates those in Microsoft's."

Huh? I don't write much about Apple products, but Apple gets its knocks, too:

An iPhone Critic Speaks Out

Do we Really Need Another Windows Browser?

Leopard is One Stubborn Cat

Please excuse me while I pull this comment from the Junk pile, which is where it is sure to land because of the three links.

Joe

The mindset of human being have not changed for the last 5000 years. Everyone likes to stay in status quo.

Learning new stuffs sometime does make people feels uncomfortable and eventually stick back to current state.

The invention of new software by a China company to undo new features of Office 2007 does not mean Office 2007 is bad. Joe should find another better case to denounce Microsoft.

As a professional columnist , Joe , however , glorifies a case of reluctant to change. To me, he is absolutely silly, shortsighted and shallow.

He is no different from an extremist , attack becomes his priority but is weak on argumentation

This didn't fit well with Microsofts plans- Good for VCSY !$!$!$

All the hopes and dreams of Microsofties everywhere are simply vanishing in smoke everywhere you turn. What's going on Boild? What's happening to all the Microsoft hopes that the patent system will be reformed and VCSY's assault on the great unfulfilled promises of Microsoft will be thwarted?

Ohhh woe is you. Woe is you.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB11881730...
Patent System's Revamp Hits Wall
Globalization Fears Stall Momentum in Congress;
AFL-CIO Sends a Letter
By GREG HITT
August 27, 2007

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan effort in Congress to overhaul the patent system -- a priority for some of the nation's biggest technology companies -- is hitting resistance because of concerns the U.S. might be exposed to greater foreign competition.

Patent overhaul appeared to be on a fast track earlier this summer. But plans for a quick vote got derailed last month after the AFL-CIO entered the debate, warning that innovation -- and union-backed manufacturing jobs -- might be at risk if the changes were adopted. The union has considerable clout in the Democratic Congress and expressed concerns with provisions that would expose patents to expanded challenges and might limit damages for infringement.

Yeah you right, all you teamsters. This patent reform effort is a commie attempt to socialize the patent system and rip up the paper that keeps so many of our govmint employees employed.

Heh heh heh... that's a shame.

"At a time when the Chinese government is constantly being challenged to live up to its intellectual-property obligations, we do not want to take actions that may weaken ours," the AFL-CIO's legislative director, William Samuel, said in the pointed missive that was circulated on Capitol Hill.

The sweeping patent initiative -- backed by a business coalition dominated by technology companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Microsoft Corp. -- would indeed shift the balance of power of the U.S. patent system. It would make it a bit harder for holders to protect patents. Advocates of the legislation contend the current system encourages patent litigation and costly judgments against infringers -- and stifles innovation. They say the proposals are designed to bring patent rules in line with the rapidly changing U.S. economy, where inventions often reflect hundreds of potentially patentable ideas.

(more at URL although you'll probably get too depressed so better just let it be. You know. Hey Jude and all that crap?}
------

Boy, you Microsoft people can't catch a break, can you?

That's a shame.

Ben , you are on the wrong trail , please get yourself out of here.

Please don't simply cut-and-paste some unfounded news and occupy the space herw. WTF

Joe, try not to mix reality with your own emotion in writing next time .

Every entry of yours shall be objective

i guess when ever apple brings out a brand new product with stunning UI and functionality it is considered to be classic ,futuristic out of this world expirience etc etc .. people will do any thing spend lot of $$ to get it and learn it .. and when MS tries to make lives of ppl a bit easy , ppl dont wanna do tht, how stupid is that ... they wanna stuck with old things and complain MS is not innovative ... such pppl shud stop using MS applications since they dont deserve it ...

Why upgrade to Office 2007 at all if you don't like the interface? Stick with 2003!

Oh, I get it, you're whining and moaning that someone (IT, or whatever) forced the upgrade. So the upgrade happened, and it's probably your job to learn it and get on with your work.

Joe, you should then stick to MS-DOS and WordStar.

I don't see just because a vendor reverts the look and feel of Office 2007 warrants the condemn of innovation in Microsoft Office 2007.

There must be progress over the time. For example, PCWeek has changed to Eweek.

Changes lead to frustration and I think you are indeed very frustrated by Office 2007 because your writing indicated that you are stubborn and reluctant to move ahead.

I do hope that Eweek will improve continuously and eventually dump the silly columnist like you .

cabhishek wrote: "i guess when ever apple brings out a brand new product with stunning UI and functionality it is considered to be classic ,futuristic out of this world expirience etc etc .. people will do any thing spend lot of $$ to get it and learn it."

That kind of response, from those folks that elicit it, comes from marketing. Apple does a better job of selling aspirations, of making it seem like if you buy the product your life will be better because of it. Too often, the features aren't so radically innovative, just the marketing or packaging is more compelling. That said, Apple also consistently promises one thing, but delivers more--and that tactic helps create customers' strong emotional bound to the brand and the products.

Joe

Ok, I can live with the word "fix" for Vista UAC, although I wound't exactly call it his way. But calling a fix, as if it's broken, a program that allows you to return to the previous UI is simply rediculous and another example of empathy this column has against Microsoft.

I'm not a software developer. I don't work for a software company. I have no interest in if I work on an Apple computer (with Apple Software), A Windows computer (with Microsoft software), or a Linux computer (with open source software). (All of which I've done during my career by the by.)

Joe is just documenting the reaction of the AVERAGE non-technical users to the Office 2007 ribbon interface. The ribbon was the wrong type of innovation. It was change that using community didn't ask for and isn't find useful or more productive.

No amount of flames or rants by MS fan boys or MS astroturfers will change that fact.

Nice try MS, but no cigar.

Joe Wilcox makes a good point;

"Privilege Manager should be an unnecessary product. Microsoft should have designed UAC right in the first place"
----------------------------------------------------
Like everything that Micro$oft has done, it needs many 3rd party programs to fix and secure it.

I'm a very technical user (software engineer / UI developer), and the Office 2007 UI goes beyond useless...it's downright irritating. I agree with "just a drone" above that it was simply the wrong innovation. M$ can innovate and do a great job at it - just they've been missing the mark a lot the past 2 years w/ Office, Vista, and some of their "developer" tools (F***Page...'er, I mean, Expressions Web).