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Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Menus are out in the next version of Microsoft Office
LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft Corp. will try to extend the dominance of its two biggest software franchises with a set of significantly redesigned Office programs to be released in conjunction with the next Windows operating system.
Microsoft showed the next version of its widely used Office productivity software for the first time Tuesday -- revealing a new approach that abandons the standard drop-down menus in favor of a "ribbon" that presents the commands in a thick strip across the top of the window in such programs as Word and Excel.
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| The next version of Microsoft Word sports a streamlined interface. Zoom for larger image. | ||
The new version, dubbed Office 12, will be released in the second half of next year, around the same time as Windows Vista, the company said during the opening session of its Professional Developers Conference here Tuesday morning.
Bill Gates told the audience that Microsoft will use "the largest marketing activity" in the company's history to support the product launches next year.
It's the first time in a decade, since Microsoft's landmark Windows 95 generation, that the two programs will be released concurrently. The company believes the combination of the products will be a "huge step forward" for users and "potentially a very large catalyst" for the computer industry, said Charles Fitzgerald, Microsoft's general manager of platform strategy.
The success or failure of the new programs will be critical for Microsoft, as well. Office and Windows for PCs remain the company's largest businesses -- bringing in $23.3 billion in combined revenue in Microsoft's last fiscal year, or more than half of its total.
A continuation of that financial juggernaut would further assist the company as it seeks to expand into other areas, such as video games and online services. Microsoft has achieved profitability in some of those areas, such as its MSN division. But it also faces stiff competition from the likes of Google and Sony in those markets.
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