A plain and simple guide to Microsoft Office 2010

My dad is a former systems analyst, but he never tackles a new suite of software without getting a book first. If you're like him, check out these free excerpts of "Microsoft Office 2010: Plain and Simple,"  by Katherine Murray.

Murray takes a very no-nonsense, jargon-free approach to explaining Office, with lots of pictures of the menus, and simple explanations of where the features are and what they do.

We have two excerpts available for free on Office.com: Chapter 2, which explains some of the features that are common to all Office applications (like the Ribbon); and Chapter 4, which explains some of the cooler, yet somewhat tricky features of Word. You can check out the PDFs, and see if you like the way the info is presented before you decide to buy the book. Go to Office.com and see for yourself; I'm definitely getting one for Dad.

While you're at it, you can also check out "First Look: Microsoft Office 2010," which is available for free, in its entirety, from Office.com.

-- Doug Kim