An Ez Software Review of
Microsoft Office 2010

Rating: **** (4/5)

Microsoft Office 2010 is a suite of twelve different programs. Several of these components are reviewed in detail on this site. These include:

• Outlook for email
  Outlook has several new features. The old top-line menu has been replaced by the Ribbon interface throughout—not just in the message-editing window where it was before. The slightly sluggish keyboard response is gone and a new powerful search feature makes finding and connecting with your social contacts much easier.
  
• Word for word processing
  Word is one of the most feature rich application ever written. It dominates the windows platform. It has strong safety features built in, especially when you download something from the web. The two downsides are the difficulty of the auto formatting feature and the inability to store printing options inside a document.
  
• Excel for spreadsheets
  Excel is the dominate spreadsheet for the windows platform. The new version has two nice updates. First, Sparklines, is a miniature line or bar graph that occupies a single cell. It displays trends or totals from any region of your worksheet. This is nice feature that puts clear graphic information inside a table and it makes it easy to visualize your information.
  The second update is the enhanced set of Excel's Pivot Table tools. It includes a Slicer that lets you filter data in a Pivot Table simply by selecting an item in a list. This is much faster and more intuitive than previous versions of Excel
  
• Access for databases
  The biggest features of Access 2010 are its enhanced powers to publish a database to the Web and the convenience provided by the new Backstage view. However, Access doesn't lead its product category on the windows platform. Both Filemaker Pro and Quickbase are stiff competition in the database arena.
  
• OneNote for notes
  OneNote is Microsoft's flexible note-taking app. The technology includes a feature that indexes spoken words recorded through a microphone, and a wiki-style linking between notebook pages. Some users will use it extensively while others will not touch it because of the effort required to put into the app.
  
• Publisher for creating quality publishing materials
  Publisher uses the ribbon interface, OpenType typography and the same sleek graphic tools found in the rest of the suite. Publisher benefits extensively from the Backstage dialog for printing and previewing. However, many may feel that Publisher is more like the last-century "printshop".  For non-professional users, it is probably the best package of its kind on the Windows platform. That said, you can do a lot of the same things as easily in Microsoft Word.
  
• PowerPoint for presentations
• InfoPath to quickly collect the info you need using east to create forms
• Visio for dynamic visual programming tools
• SharePoint Workspace to take shared content with you on the go
• Lync to connect with people using multiple communication methods
• Project to help you simplify your most complex projects

Likes

The ribbon interface provides a consistent user interface. The Backstage menu simplifies file management and printing options. The graphic tools include video editing and image enhancement. Excel, 64-bit version managed huge amounts of data.

Dislikes

The word auto formatting is awkward. You cannot store printing options. There is no upgrade pricing. Outlook cannot print one page of an email. Some reports of instability during testing indicate possible stability problems.

Summary

The two strongest programs of Office 2010 are Word and Excel. These two applications are what sells Microsoft Office. Office 2010 is a very nice upgrade. However, it's primary usage will probably be for users that need to collaborate on their work. Microsoft does market the product for home and student use.

 Click here to check it Out: Microsoft Office 2010