Ta da! Starting May 12, business customers worldwide will be able to buy Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010, along with Visio 2010 and Project 2010. And everyone will be able to buy them in June. RTM is in April, which means the work is done and the product is "released to manfacturing". In other words, we start celebrating. Visit the Office 2010 business launch site to find out more.
If you don't want to wait, you can buy Office 2007 now through September 30 and download Office 2010 for free under the Technology Guarantee program that Microsoft also announced today. Office 2010 builds on the innovations introduced in Office 2007, so quickly jumping from Office 2003 to 2007 to Office 2010 isn't such a crazy idea.
No product set as rich and diverse as Office, SharePoint, Project, and Visio can be perfectly intuitive. Here on the Office Blog and at Office.com we'll roll out Help and How-to articles and videos and interactive guides to help you accomplish more than you could before, and show you the best ways to complete whatever you take on. We'll also keep sharing tips and real-life examples so you can make the most of your investment.
Beta testers and those of us on the inside have been using, testing, and benefitting from Office 2010 and its cousins for months. So now that the cat's officially out of the bag, I feel a party coming on. (Complete with t-shirt, no doubt.)
More launch news as we get it -- for example, when in June, exactly? TBA.
-- Holly Thomas
To get the most out of Office, visit Office.com/help
Pour des informations en français, suivez ce lien : blogs.technet.com/.../office-2010-est-disponible-en-achetant-office-2007-promo-sur-office-famille-et-etudiant-2007.aspx
"quickly jumping from Office 2003 to 2007 to Office 2010 isn't such a crazy idea", well, for me it is! After dealing with Office for about a decade (since elementary school), Office toolbars did not changed much until Office 2007. Back then, when helping a friend configure a new computer, I opened the new office and felt sick. At present, with some computers in my college with office 2007, I spend a lot of time finding certain common features. Although icons are the same, the position of toolbars (if they keep the same name) and menus is completely different. What I can do in 30 minutes in Office 2003, it can take me nearly 2 hours with Office 2007 or 2010. In fact, last fall I bought Office 2003 through Ebay to install it in my new computer!
There's no doubt that the new Office has cool features, like the ease to insert equations. But for some users (like me), the transition will not be easy at all. In fact, I will keep Office 2003 and Office 2010 Beta until I can get used to it. I post my comment as a suggestion for future program updates. A such dramatic change in a program's interface can sometimes do more harm than good (just remember Windows XP resurrection after Vista was launched)!
@College Students
I understand your concern about transitionning to the new Office UI.
Did you try the Interactive guides : office.microsoft.com/.../HA102295841033.aspx
Each time I show it to end-users, they really feel much better.
in French : blogs.microsoft.fr/.../59371.aspx
Do I qualify for the free Office 2010 if I already have Office 2007 or is it only for customers who buy 2007 now? I hope it applies to old customers too ! :))
I'm wondering if the final release will include all the languages for Office that I will need. This didn't happen for the release of Office 2007, unfortunately, and I had to wait quite some time for Microsoft to release the language packs; something I don't quite understand.
One of the BETA testers and cannot wait for the release... Bring it on !
I think the 2010 version is great! For those still using 2003 - it's time to move on! That was seven years ago. Sounds like someone needs to move out of their comfort zone.
Any ideas if EPProgram is coverin' 2010?
@College Student
A study has shown that there was a drop in productivity when making the leap between 2003 to 2007. However, that drop in productivity was due to learning the new UI and the drop was short-lived. Once comfortable with the new interface, the same study showed an overall increase in productivity over 2003.
With that said, making the transition from 2007 to 2010 will be a breeze - I freakin' love it! 2003 to 2010 will be a little bit of a learning curve but for me it felt natural.
I think The "Ultimate Steal" website should sell the Professional Plus version to make student to enjoy the FULL office system during the promotion. If not, people will not be happy about cannot enjoy the full office service
Anyone know when it will hit Technet? I hope they get the Outlook/Live Meeting issues fixed before RTM!
I really hope you have solid applications on the web.
Regards from Mexico City,
Antonio Lopez Reyes
QT Net Translations
General Manager
i have a genuine office 2003 that i bought somewhere (not on black market that is!). so am i qualified for the free office 2010?
Very exciting and WAY more sophisticated than 2003!
Nice initiative for the free upgrade from 2007 to 2010!!!!
@Antonio Lopez Reyes, in case you didn't see it, here's this week's info with comments from David Pogue about the Web apps in the new products, using Office Web Apps and SkyDrive. blogs.office.com/.../windows-live-skydrive-gets-better-with-office-web-apps.aspx. And we'll have more info as this all unfolds. Thanks!