I enjoy the latest version of Microsoft Office 2013, even knowing that there are a variety of free productivity suites out there. I'm sure you're questioning why you'd spend money on it when you can have the same set of office software from Google Docs and several other services for much cheaper or even at no cost. However, after having used Office 365 Home Premium on both a tablet as well as a desktop computer for the past few days, I'm here to confirm that there are plenty of good reasons to switch.
A note on the nomenclature of Microsoft Office The vast variety of versions of the Microsoft Office suite is available across the business and home categories. You can download and purchase standalone versions using either Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 ($139) or Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013 ($219). There are also versions with bulk pricing for both large and small companies. However, what Microsoft is betting on are the subscription plans that come with added benefits including unlimited updates when they are made available and offer a lot of the same software available for download. They include Office 365 Home Premium ($99.99 per year) and Office 365 Small Business Premium ($150 per year). There's also a fantastic deal for students currently in school, Office 365 University at only around 40 dollars per year (with an initial two-year minimum subscription). Pricing breakdowns and the naming conventions are complex however ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley tries to clarify the confusion in this article.
update: Microsoft released on 6 March 2013 that it has modified the licenses for standalone editions of Office 2013. At the time of launch, if purchased Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 or Home and Business 2013, you could utilize the suite only on one computer for the duration of the computer. Following the resounding complaints of users over the license's restrictiveness, Microsoft has changed it to permit users to move Office 2013 to another computer at least once every 90 days. In this way, if you're required to purchase a new PC it will be possible to be able to move Office 2013, whereas previously you'd need to purchase another copy. CNET Blog Network author Lance Whitney provides more details about Microsoft's changes to its license here.
All that being said the product I'm reviewing will be Office 365 Home Premium, and I'm quite pleased with the features I've seen -- particularly when I can install the software onto five machines for the price of $100 per year. First of all, it's available everywhere you go and on any device, you're on at the moment. With full support for touch screens, the whole suite has been redesigned to work with Windows 8-powered phones and tablets that making the workflow much simpler than before, no matter what device you're using. With a new interface, these elements are combined to create the most powerful Office to date.
The office is a subscription service. As I've mentioned previously it's cloud-based. Office 365 suite comes in different versions for business and home and home users, with the home version accessible today, while the Business version will be expected to be available in February's final days. It is possible to purchase one of the standalone versions of desktop versions of the latest version of Office however, I'm not sure it's the most effective way to use Office. In the current version, it's obvious that Microsoft prefers you to subscribe to the subscription since the standalone versions will not receive all the updates in time that you receive with Office 365 Home Premium. With a subscription plan, Microsoft promises that you will never need to purchase a new version of Office the next time. However, whether you pay once for the latest version of Office or subscribe to Office 365 in general, you'll receive the identical experience that I'm describing here. It's only when Office is upgraded to the latest version, that the standalone versions will be outdated.
Why should you buy the latest Office? In one word: ease of use. It's not just about the ease of using the same software you've previously used -- this is about the entire suite. What Microsoft has accomplished in its new version is to create Office usable on tablets that run Windows 8 and by converting its myriad of productivity tools to be compatible with touchscreens, the company required that most actions be just a mouse (or tapping) away. This means that while it has simplified the suite of tools out of necessity to support Windows 8 and use on tablets, it's also simpler to use than before, regardless of what device you're using it with. It's important to remember that the program works regardless of whether you're running Windows 7 however it will not support earlier versions of Windows. When you sign up for a subscription, the Mac version only lets the user run Office 2011 on five Macs, and improvements for the Mac version to come in the coming year. That's right, Mac users will see nothing new.
When you run Windows, Microsoft lets you install Office 365 on five different computers using a single subscription. Each has an individual experience, which is linked to every Microsoft account. It means that you can be working on your PowerPoint project in one space with your account, while your daughter is writing an essay on hers. Each of you can assign the Office applications a personal theme and will each have access to the latest documents linked to your account. Your work is linked to your Microsoft account and is backed onto Microsoft's SkyDrive and you'll be able to access your work at any time. You already have 7GB of storage space on SkyDrive today for free, however, when you sign up for the Office 365 Home Premium subscription plans, you can get an additional 20GB.
The attributes that distinguish Office 365 apart from most free alternatives are the ability to integrate with the other apps within the suite as well as an extensive selection of templates that can satisfy almost every requirement for productivity. The templates are all designed with polished and professional looks which means you'll not waste time making documents from scratch. The suite of applications works seamlessly together with Microsoft's services making sharing, collaboration, and communication much more efficient.
Installation
Installing Office is identical whether you purchased an individual copy or subscribed to the subscription. It starts with a simple visit to Office.com. Just enter the key that you obtained through the seller (Microsoft, Amazon, or any of the others) Follow the steps from there. Then, you'll download the digital versions of the software within the suite for use right from your computer.
Its interface
The interface for the entire suite of applications has been revamped and improved, mostly. The Ribbon was a disappointment to many people when first came out in Office 2007 and is still a feature of the latest version of Office. However, before you begin to complain be aware it is that Microsoft has made the Ribbon an optional feature this time. You can now show or hide the vast array of tools in every tab, and then decide the amount or extent you'd like to utilize the tools. I wrote in my review of Office 2010 I liked the Ribbon however I've heard from people who don't agree to know it's a good thing Microsoft has made the right decision to make a change.
In addition to the Ribbon, The interface is similar but more user-friendly than Office 2010 and before. The newly added start pages to Word, PowerPoint, and Excel let you access the latest documents linked to your account, as well as brand new templates as soon as you launch. The smooth buttons and ample white space make them appear less cluttered. Other tweaks to the interface are focused on tablets, like the menus that are radial in OneNote that display various options (like sharing as well as search as well as zoom options) in a circular pattern around the area that you click. The overall appearance of the suite is more efficient and cloud-integrated and the new launch pages for the main applications will be especially helpful for people who are looking at the same document on multiple devices.
Software
The core applications of the suite have been upgraded with a new design and features that work on touchscreen tablet computers, laptops as well as smartphones. With Office 365 Home Premium you will get the most popular Office software, including Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, and Publisher.
Microsoft has created Office 2013 a more pleasant experience everywhere, and it's evident not only in the interface but also in adjustments to the apps which will make getting work completed much more easily. For instance, a brand new Read Mode in Word lets you browse documents on the tablet-like flipping pages of a book and provides only tools that aid in typical reading actions like controls to define words, translate, and search the Web. However, the more exciting features that are now available in the latest version of Word let you watch videos inside documents (with an internet connection) which makes Word documents far more useful as a tool for presenting. Other time-saving features include the ability to break up portions of the document to keep them out of the way while reading and the navigation pane shows the exact location you are within the document. A few of these options might appear to be common sense however what Microsoft has created has meant that some of the more complex actions that were available in earlier versions of its suite take just a couple of taps or clicks in Office 2013.
The most important thing to remember about this is the fact that the most beneficial options are just a single tap (or click) away. In Excel For instance you can access The Quick Analysis Lens which lets users click on a small button to explore a variety of ways to visualize highlighted data within a spreadsheet. From there, it's just one additional button to add formatting build Sparklines, or create tables or charts. If you've been making a presentation with the same theme in PowerPoint, however, you would like to update it to a different appearance.
With just a few clicks, you can switch themes (and switch between different versions in themes) and the content will change to match the new look. PowerPoint has a brand new presentation view which lets you interact with the presentation using notes and perform actions like changing slides, all behind the scenes. Outlook also has time-savers and a brand innovative feature called Peeks which lets you look at your calendar or an appointment without opening the message window. Additionally, there are social connectors that show information such as Facebook status if you're linked to a friend via Facebook and Twitter. These quick-fix tools make life easier and eliminate steps that you'd need to complete in previous versions of Microsoft Office.
Alongside the improvements and tweaks to the well-known Office program, Office 2013 gives you the ability to share your work through Publisher as well as a method to build custom databases (with very little experience with databases) within Access. Publisher allows you to arrange and organize your content for brochures, flyers or posters, and calendars.
It allows you to quickly import pictures and use click-and-drag to rotate them to get the best look. The application comes with stylistic effects for text and it lets you include subtle shadows or reflections that give the work a professional look. After you're done Publisher also lets you easily send your project for printing to any printer using standard-compliant layouts as well as standard image file formats that don't require any special software for the shop. With Access You have powerful databases which you don't need an extensive amount of training to use. You can build complicated customer contact lists or make use of pre-made tools for managing projects as well. Access already has templates you need, so you'll rarely have to begin starting from scratch. Like the rest of the programs that are part of Office 365 Home Premium, Access is a good starting point. Office 365 Home Premium suite, Access provides you with various common starting points, but it is for you to create the gaps by adding your data and content.
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