by Artemis

Created on: August 28, 2007

When it comes to the financial issues, I believe it all comes back to the person making the decision. MS Office 2003 has been so great that if Microsoft hasn't launched MS Office 2007 by today, people can still do virtually anything they may have thought of, by using MS Office 2003. So, the question here will be: why upgrade? On the other hand, if the price of MS Office 2007 is no big deal, why not? You can do things better with MS Office 2007. I believe the main compelling things from MS Office 2007 are design and ease.

It's much easier to create pretty documents with MS Office 2007 than its 2003 counterparts. The Live Preview feature really helps when picking designs to apply to our documents. With Office 2003, the process requires the application of designs we want to try and performing undo operations when we feel it's not so good and want to try another design. Design-wise, Office 2007 offers more beautiful effects and designs to easily use on our documents, such as bevel look, reflections, art frames, smart shapes, and so forth.

Mini toolbar from Office 2007 also make things easier, so that we don't need to go up far away to reach the standard toolbar like the old days of 2003. Applying bevel look, reflections, art frames, smart shapes and other fancy stuffs in 2003 might take much longer time, while in Office 2007, it's just a few clicks away.

So, you decide, whether the money you're going to spend for the new Office 2007 really worth your efforts earning the money compared to the stylish design and ease of use that Office 2007 might bring to you.

As for me, speaking in financial terms, editions of Office 2007 that most people buy (standard to professional edition) are priced at $239-$329 upgrade price (assuming you already possess Office 2003, and considering whether or not to upgrade). Earning the money may take up to a week of work (most probably, it's less). Does a week of work worth the stylish designs and ease for years to come in carrying out your work? If you remember spending the same amount of money buying things in the past month, which you today forget and has no benefit by today, Office 2007 is a better way to spend your money for (at least, you reap the benefit for years to come). For me, I will go for the new Office 2007 and enjoy all the good things Microsoft offers in the suite.

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