Microsoft Office 2013
The last version of Microsoft’s Office
suite of productivity tools was several years ago. Now, with Windows getting an
overhaul, so too is Office. We got our hands on a Samsung Series 7 Slate with
Windows 8, and a preview edition of Office 2013 to see what desk-jockeys and
students have to look forward to.
Microsoft
Office 2013
1. New Looks
The new Office suite is integrated into the
innovative Start screen (since Microsoft has decided to stop referring to it as
Metro), with the different tools being clustered together, making it easily
discoverable on the main screen. The interface design concept also carries on
the new Windows look as the curved edges of the previous incarnation have been
removed and replaced with the angular lines that define Windows 8. A change in
colour also makes the new Office look cleaner and fresher
2. Shades Of The Past
One would have expected that Office 2013
would work like an app but it doesn't. Instead, it's still tied to the traditional
desktop window. After all the changes with Internet Explorer, it's good to see
that some things never change. Honestly, running in a window works better than
running full-screen, especially when dealing with multiple documents. However,
it can get confusing when searching for information online (using the app style
Internet Explorer) and having to switch between swiping through screens and
clicking on windows.
3. PDF editor? Yes please
This has to be the best addition, and now
permanent feature, for Office 2013, ever. Previous versions of Office could
output PDF files through a very odd and somewhat counter-intuitive process.
With the current Office, this has changed and the nice people at Microsoft have
given us full control over the contents of PDF files. This is a nice touch
considering the suite extends this option to other Office apps like Excel and
Power Point.
4. Skydrive Backup
There is a big push by Microsoft to get
everyone connected onto their ecosystem, and it's no different here. To even
use Office 2013, one must have a Windows Live account to log in with. This is
to help with the option to save files directly to the cloud. Similar to the
options that Apple provides for their iCloud, Skydrive allows Microsoft users
constant access to their files from anywhere they are. The plus side is that
they aren't tied to a single device as the new Office supports multiple users.
There's also a feature that allow users the option to continue reading a
document from the last place they left off. This can be done even on a
different computer, something great for those of us who have multiple screens
and can't remember where we saved anything.
Microsoft Office 2013
·
V: 9/10
·
F: 10/10
·
P: 10/10
·
D: 9/10
·
U: 10/10
Verdict:
Absolutely nothing to complain about.
9.6/10 Score
