Office 2013

The sad news first: There are no new features in Office 2013, yet that is where the catch is, because even with nothing new in store, its an awesome upgrade.

Two words: Slick, and smooth.

Slick

Now these are words one never associates with Microsoft products. They have traditionally been a company building practical, ugly software. Sure, you would get your work done, but all that without a touch of class.

Compare getting energy from sugar, and then from Ice cream; or how about a cab drive versus a journey in a luxury car. On paper, both sugar and ice cream provide energy. On paper, a budget car is as good as a luxury car.

Again, two words: Look and feel.

Installing Office 2013 Preview

A pleasant surprise

Office 2013 is a pleasant surprise. The startup screens are clean, uncluttered. Only a handful of icons, and lots of large text.

The experience begins. Office starts with your online connection, a clear swipe at Google Docs. So imagine this, from now on, whatever you work in Office is going to travel with you wherever you go.

They call it the cloud storage.

Connect to your online files.

Metro

The proverbial file menu is gone. Its been replaced a more welcoming Metro-esque page. Yes, a proper page, not the cumbersome menu layout we have gotten used to for decades.

The new templates shine through too. Now your documents shall never wear the ‘default’ ugliness. There are way too many dresses to choose from.

The tabs now have ‘ALL CAPS’ making them easier to read

Excel

I liked Excel 2013 the best where clicking from one cell to another happened through smooth animation.

Agian , the templates are fresh, and enticing.

 

The theme

Microsoft’s theme of course was to make office feel less worked up. Small tiny buttons, have been replaced by big wide tiles. That does of course means that there shall be less features at an arm’s length for power users. A small price to pay for better usability. Who likes clicking microscopic buttons!

Recommended

I recommend Microsoft Office 2013 for all users. Even if you have wasted some hard earned money over Office 2010, the upgrade is worth the price for a better

• Office experience
• Online experience

You will experience a marked difference in the work you create; a modern design. A design process without the side-effects of boredom and eyesore.

You may want to read: ZDnet article.