Category: Uncategorized

This week we needed to create a document for our children’s teacher. Given the lack of free time — or the desire to spend what time I have at home with my family and not in front of the computer composing a layout for a school project — I took the content and headed over to http://office.microsoft.com/.

There, on the Microsoft Office Online site, I searched for templates in the search bar and came to the Office Templates page. From slide design, to OneNote pages and Word templates, chances are that you can find something to kick off a project… and spend more cycles concentrating on the content.

In the end, I ended up quickly finding the right template: of all things, a Publisher template for a Wedding program in a Renaissance theme, that made for a great teacher appreciation card. It’s not all work with Office… maybe at home Microsoft Office should be Microsoft Home Office 2003.

Added bonus: my favorite online personality, the Crabby Office Lady, has a  preview of 2007 Microsoft Office system (aka “Office 12″ or “O12“). I’m using the version of Office in my office on a Vista PC along side my tried and true Windows XP Tablet PC with Office 2003: The Release Version (sounds like a movie, doesn’t it) and am having a great experience.

From Crabby: 

“What I’m dancing around here is that, yes, there are some pretty big changes with the upcoming 2007 release, but I can guarantee you that it will be worth your time and effort to explore what these changes are, and learn to get used to them. In the end, the changes we’ve made will make you more productive and efficient at your job (and that is the point, isn’t it?).”

I have yet to try Groove or Infopath in O2K7, but I am looking forward to trying it as I live in Office Communicator during the day. (See “Crabby gets into the Groove with virtual Office” as she notes how you can launch an Communicator instant messaging session right from a Groove 2007 workspace.) I whole-heartedly agree with Crabby’s assessment: the UI is lovely, Word’s Quick Styles rock and the improved charting in Excel.

Although, I must say: for credibility, I’ve found that a chart’s believability is often inversely proportional to its slickness, so maybe improving the visual enhancements in Excel is a bad thing. Same thing applies to Powerpoints: if you are going for a more believable presentation, go black and white and keep the colour gradients to a minimum. (With an acknowledgement to Dilbert on the subject…)

More info:

• 2007 Microsoft Office system preview site where you can register for news and beta information


• MSDN Channel 9: Seventeen Minutes with Bill – Listen to what Bill Gates had to say about the new 2007 Office release as well as where and how software can make the world a better place.


• Microsoft User Interface video – here you can get a view and a better idea of what the Ribbon is like in O2K7


• Windows Vista home page


• Microsoft OfficeLive Beta site

Tags: Microsoft, Crabby, Office, O2K7, template.

Of interest…

Not going to E3? Now you can visit the show somewhat vitually courtesy of Xbox.com. 

Xbox.com brings you coverage from the floor of the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3).

Here’s a few of the articles available now on the Xbox.com web site…

• 
  
  Bill Gates at E3
  Surprise at press briefing.
  
  
• 
  
  
  

  Press Briefing Video
  Highlights from the Xbox media briefing in L.A.

  
  
• HD DVD Explained
  Here’s a guide to understanding the HD DVD format, as well as the upcoming HD DVD accessory for Xbox 360.
  
• Spectacular Windows Vista Lineup Announced
  Microsoft and other leading publishers promise groundbreaking experiences across numerous genres.
  
• Peter Moore’s Pre-E3 Chat
  The Xbox VP talks about new games and hints at some of the surprise announcements from Microsoft

Today CNN reported in an e3 preview that Ipsos (major research firm) found that of the Americans who play computers or console video games, 45 percent of them play games online.

So, what is that… 1.8 people out of 10?

From Ipsos:

“Today, the personal computer remains the dominant hardware platform consumers rely on to access the Internet in the U.S., and has been instrumental in launching the age of digital media into mainstream America. However, as the entertainment industry prepares for the growing interest in digital video and gaming services to complement digital music, recent research conducted by Ipsos Insight shows that some more avid media consumers prefer other hardware platforms to explore this next stage of the digital entertainment evolution. In related research, the company also found that Americans don’t have a huge appetite for replacing old entertainment options with new ones. Watching movies and TV content on the PC or portable devices is not exciting to mainstream America yet.”

Other insights from Ipsos’ survey on Tomorrow’s “Digital Den”:

• Most Americans today (88%) use some form of device that can display and/or deliver digital entertainment content.


• Among this 88% majority of ‘digital platform’ users, three in five (61%) prefer their broadband-equipped PC for digital entertainment purposes.


• among those who regularly use a DVR, preference for the DVR (37%) is on par with the broadband-enabled PC (39%).

All interesting reading.

Also see my past entry on the anticipated rise in DVR and content subscriptions.

Tags: Microsoft, survey, dvr.