Office 2010 – First Look

Well, I’m back at the computer after a well earned break from all things electronic, mobile phones, computers and the like. I’ve been on stress free Norfolk Island, a highly recommended holiday place 2½ hours from Sydney in the Pacific Ocean.

Paradise Found!

Back home, I decided it’s time to have a quick look at Microsoft’s latest creation, Office 2010. Though it’s still in the beta stage, it is available for downloading similar to Microsoft’s scheme they used for Windows 7.

Prior to going away for my break I registered my interest with Microsoft in trying out the Beta version.

Locating the Download Site

To locate the download site I used Bing and typed “Microsoft Office 2010”. In the list I chose, “microsoft office 2010 download”.

You will be presented with two options to download. It doesn’t matter which one you choose as the end result is the same – a downloaded beta of Office 2010.

Tip! Once you select the Download Now button, you can choose “Run” or “Save”. The former option commences the download and, once completed, installs Office 2010. Mostly I choose “Save” as I can then use downloaded applications on another computer. With Office 2010 I intend using it exclusively on my laptop while keeping Office 2007 on the desktop.

The downloading process can be slow depending on the speed of your internet connection. I received an email from Microsoft providing me with a product key which I used once Office was installed. Incidentally, this took several goes before I achieved this. So, if you find this happening don’t give up keep trying!

First Look at Office 2010

What do you get?

I’ve really only looked at two features of Office 2010 so far, Word and PowerPoint. Both look to have some extra features.

To whet your appetite below is a screen shot of Word. You will note the similarity to Word 2007. Keep in mind that Office 21010 is only the beta version so lots of features though listed are unavailable.

From where I sit it, Office 2010 looks like a real “goer”. I would be interested to hear other folk’s opinion on this new creation of Microsoft.