Microsoft Office 2007: Worth the upgrade?

Q: Should I upgrade to the new version of Microsoft Office?

A: Let me start by clarifying what Microsoft Office is. Microsoft Office is a suite of software products that generally includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft Office does come in different flavors, however, such as the Standard version, the Professional version and the Home and Student version just to name a few, so be sure to check and double-check which software products are included with each suite.

A little over a month ago, Microsoft officially released its new version of Office, dubbed Microsoft Office 2007. Unlike previous upgrades to Microsoft Office, this upgrade is radically different. The entire user interface has been redesigned from the ground up.

This can be either good news or bad news depending on your experience with the previous versions of the Microsoft Office products. This is actually one of those ironies where the more experience you have with the previous versions, the harder it will be to learn the new version. For those of you with little or no experience with Microsoft Office you have nothing to lose by starting with the new 2007 version.

To answer your question on whether or not you should upgrade, I would suggest this. Get on the Internet and visit the Microsoft Office web site at office.microsoft.com. There you will find a link to download a free 60 day trial of the new Microsoft Office 2007.

Choose the version you want to test drive, download the software and install it. Then take advantage of the free 60 days to see if you like the new version. If not, you can always uninstall it and go back to your previous version of Office.

This post was originally broadcast Friday, March 30, 2007 on Tech Talk with Noobie, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday between 11:30 a.m. and noon. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to .