Vista is Cool, but Don't Upgrade Just Yet
I’ve been toying with Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 a bit on my machine. I have to say that some of what Microsoft has done is very nice. Vista is a little different, but more of an evolution than a major change. Office 2007 is very different and will take some getting used for folks who have been using Office since the days of Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. However, you should steer clear of Vista until you know what you are getting into.
Vista is Windows Evolved
If you already use Windows XP (or Windows 2000 for that matter) Vista is similar to what you are already used to. The Start button has changed into a little globe with the Windows logo. The new Aero interface adds some fancy whiz-bang transitions when you open new windows, menus, or perform other tasks.
The file manager adds new tools to help you navigate, find operations without right-clicking and organize music and images (in case that matters to you). Overall, you might have to get used to the look and feel a bit, but it has not changed much. It should be a pretty easy transition.
Office 2007 is Different
If you’ve never seen Microsoft Office or a word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation tool before, you will really like the new Office 2007. Microsoft has completely changed the user interface on its major Office applications for this release. The new look provides a visual, web-like interface that helps you find everything you need without any menus. For those of you who have used Office before (i.e., almost everyone reading this), your first question when you see it will be, “Where’d the menus go?” They went into the new ribbon bar.
This one is going to be a bit of a challenge for those who have a formula for doing work in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They will have to learn a new formula. Fortunately, Microsoft offers some resources to help. They provide a “universal translator” for each application that displays a menu item or option you are accustomed to and it interactively shows you where that is now located in the new interface.
Here are some links (since the Microsoft web site can be a little tough to navigate):
- Office 2007 home page with training resources
- Test drive Office 2007 with a Citrix connection in Internet Explorer
- Interactive tools to help you find where your favorite features have moved
But Don’t Upgrade Yet
Some of these changes are cool, and some of them are exciting. Accounting firms will probably not be too interested in making big IT changes until at least April. Even then, be very careful about the upgrade and consider leaving your old fleet in place with Windows XP—and only install Vista on new machines. If you buy new machines in the meantime, you need to make sure you understand the possible problems as well.
If you read much IT news you may already be aware of this, but there are a number of problems already reported with Vista. As with any new launch, many hardware vendors are still struggling to catch-up. Many important hardware components, such as graphics and sound cards, are not supported on Vista yet. Many common applications, such as older versions of Intuit Quickbooks (i.e., anything before Quickbooks 2007), will not work with Vista, and some versions will probably never work with Vista.
It’s all the same doom and gloom we heard prior to the release of Windows XP all over again. Wait until you’re sure the applications you need are supported before moving to Vista. As with anything, make sure you look before you leap.
The good news is that Microsoft Office 2007 does work with Windows XP, and it is not getting much bad press. You still need to evaluate your plan and probably should evaluate the product in detail before you upgrade, but this looks like a go. You will need to train your staff and consider what you need on the server side to take full advantage of the new features, but there are not so many warning flags to consider when moving into Office 2007 as there are for Vista.
We are going to take our time for both upgrades at Boomer Consulting, Inc., and we recommend all our clients and friends do the same. I like what I see in both of these products and look forward to migrating to both Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007—but not just yet.
