I’m blogging from Redmond following the MVP Summit. While I can’t share much of what I’ve learned this week due to non-disclosure agreements, I will share some stuff that is already public (but that may be hard for the average person to find). The first thing I want to pass along is a link to a public blog with information on the new Office 12 User Interface (UI).
I think it’s about time Office got a UI overhaul. I think I heard that the Office team asked customers what features they wanted in the next version, and something like 50% or more of their requests were for features that are already in Office. Basically, the UI has gotten so overwhelming that users aren’t getting the full value of their software. Office 12 will surely change that, and probably add some other goodies along the way. Keep an eye on Jensen’s blog for more information. Office 12 is expected to ship around the same time as Vista – likely in October of 2006.