And I can’t believe some of the dumbass bullshit reasons people are giving for why the ribbon is good.
Like “Exploratory learning?” What the fuck kind of bullshit buzzword nonsense is that? If you have to hunt for stuff, you are going slower. Period. There is no argument possible, unless you are batshit fucking crazy. There’s no twisted take on reality in which having to hunt for things in the interface is an improvement in efficiency.

The ribbon interface as a tool for novices to learn about features makes some sense. Forcing every user, including those who’ve worked with the product for a decade or more to suddenly have to go back to kindergarten is just stupid. Please introduce me to the fucktard who made that decision, so I can call him a fucktard to his face.

Ben

I have to use Word 2007 regularly for work, including the part of it that Outlook 2007 uses to edit emails. I still cannot come close to the level of productivity I used to have when using the previous versions of Office. Things that used to take only one or two clicks using a toolbar/menu interface now take three or more clicks…. and that’s once I figure out where it’s been hidden. It is a colossal waste of time to have to constantly hunt for things.

I used to be able to make custom toolbars that I could load up with my most used commands, and then float that near where I am working. The addition of that capability back in Office 97 was a huge boost in productivity and usability. Now that we have lost that ability, the closest thing is the Quick Access (ha!) Toolbar at the top left…. but you can’t tear it off and put it near where you need it, so you always have to move the mouse pointer all the way up, click, then all the way back down. Again, big waste of time. Yes, I know about keyboard shortcuts, and I do use some, particularly the Copy, Cut and Paste commands, but if I wanted to memorize all those different key combinations, then I may as well go back to the old WordPerfect on MS-DOS and forget about a graphical user interface.

Now, I am not a computer-illiterate person. I’ve been using computers since my first TI-99/4a back in the early 1980s. For a living, I am an Access and VB application developer. Note also that it is because of the terrible Office 2007 user interface that we are still using Access 2000.

You seem to imply that I am stuck in the “stone age”. I’m not. I am all for change when it is a change for improvement, but I have yet to see the Ribbon as an improvement. It adds nothing of value to my use of the software, and if anything, it hinders my use of it. I’ve had to use it now for two years and I still find myself cursing it nearly every time. I literally start to become angry at the software, because I find myself fighting it just to try and get the job done.

Just because it’s new, doesn’t mean it’s better. Look at Vista as another example of something Microsoft released, proclaiming that it was new and shiny, so it must be better, right? It’s widely considered one of the worst OS releases ever.

I installed OpenOffice.org on my personal laptop and so far I find it does everything I need, cost me only the few minutes it required to download it and install, and there’s NO RIBBON Nor will there be, because it would not be permitted under the license requirements for the Fluent (or is that Effluent?) interface.

Sorry, but as far as I am concerned, it’s still a big thumbs down on the Ribbon. I’ve given it two years to win me over and it has failed miserably.

Mike

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-us&p1=2488&x=12&y=17

BTW, I really love the Ribbon and now I appreciate it much more after having seen Jesen Harris presentation. Once you figured out how to use the Ribbon (which takes a few days to get used), it becomes a powerful tool. I followed up the Ribbon since the early betas of Office 2007 (mid 2006 I remember), and at the very beginning I refused to give it a chance, but now I really do love it! Even I see menus and toolbars like tools from Stone Age. Sorry but time goes on!

Best regards,
Jorge

Sorry… Have to disagree here.

Requiring three clicks now when it used to take one or two is NOT an improvement in efficiency.

Additionally, in Office 2007 I am NOT interested so much in finding new features previously hidden… I’m more concerned with finding the features I actually need, which used to be right in front of me but are now hidden.

There’s no new features in Office 2007 that I feel are worth the cost of the upgrade (or downgrade IMHO) , especially when you factor in the cost of lost productivity.

If you want to waste valuable time trying to figure out the Ribbon, go ahead, but I’ve got better things to do.

Mike

I do however confess that migrating from one known application or “style” to a new style can be daunting. This has been widely presented as a “new learning curve’ which may impact productivity.

I have created a tool that everyone can use to ease the fear and learning curve of migration “Mhelp for Microsoft Office” (including video-clips for both Office 2003, 2007, Vista IE and Media Player). In this I have created thousands of brief video-clips (30 seconds to two minutes each). One video-clip demonstrates with animation (screen-shots), narration and text a step-by-step method of learning the new Ribbon interface (or the XP toolbar). We have even included the valuable Microsoft built migration tools (2003-2007 emulator and etc.) that makes migration a breeze. Mhelp integrates directly into Office applications.

Our product is not by any means perfect but its a start and you can download it for 30 days free. Enough time to get you up and running and thereafter available by subscription at our Mhelp website.
http://www.MhelpICT.com

Please send us your critical (good and bad) feedback so we can improve our product.

Regards,
Shayne L. van Vlerken

Maybe it’s an era for “UI custom changing”,
just like how you can change the skins of an app.