Ribbon Hero! ... What?
 

I thought the Ribbon introduced in Office 2007 was supposed to make it so
much more intuitive to find features and to use the product.

So why is Microsoft now introducing a special training tool just to help
users get up to speed with it <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29685>? Office
upgrade rates not going as well as they might like, perhaps
<http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/01/12/office_2007_migration_problems/>?

Re: Ribbon Hero! ... What?
 

On 2010-01-22, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote:
> I thought the Ribbon introduced in Office 2007 was supposed to make it so
> much more intuitive to find features and to use the product.
>
> So why is Microsoft now introducing a special training tool just to help
> users get up to speed with it <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29685>? Office
> upgrade rates not going as well as they might like, perhaps
><http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/01/12/office_2007_migration_problems/>?

For waht it is worth. My impression from what people say is that the ribbon
is a learning curve which is too steep. Too complex, too different a way of
working. So gets 4 out of 10.

Way back in the days of 19 something someone said that if a (shareware)
programme did not gel with them in a few mintues of use it was rejected. I
have to agree with this point of view. Some programmes grab you from the
first time you load the programme. You think this is far better than sliced
bread and it is a winner with you. An example or two, Netscape and Winzip

Re: Command line hero! ... What?
 

impossible wrote:
>
> "Lawrence D'Oliveiro" <ldo@geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote in
> message news:hjb0nu$jiu$1@lust.ihug.co.nz...
>> I thought the Ribbon introduced in Office 2007 was supposed to make it so
>> much more intuitive to find features and to use the product.
>>
>> So why is Microsoft now introducing a special training tool just to help
>> users get up to speed with it <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29685>?
>> Office
>> upgrade rates not going as well as they might like, perhaps
>> <http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/01/12/office_2007_migration_problems/>?
>>
>
> Larry D'Luddite never got over the passage from DOS to Windows. His
> batch file mana simply evaporated, and he's been cursing every GUI
> innovation since. How dare Microsoft make it possible for ordinary
> people to control their own desktop environment with a simple click of
> the mouse!
>
That doesn't stop the ribbon thing being an unmitigated disaster.

Cheers,

Cliff

--

The Internet is interesting in that although the nicknames may change,
the same old personalities show through.

Re: Command line hero! ... What?
 

impossible wrote:
>
> "Enkidu" <enkidu.com@com.cliffp.com> wrote in message
> news:4b5974b4$1@news2.actrix.gen.nz...
>> impossible wrote:
>>>
>>> "Lawrence D'Oliveiro" <ldo@geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote in
>>> message news:hjb0nu$jiu$1@lust.ihug.co.nz...
>>>> I thought the Ribbon introduced in Office 2007 was supposed to
>>>> make it so much more intuitive to find features and to use the
>>>> product.
>>>>
>>>> So why is Microsoft now introducing a special training tool
>>>> just to help users get up to speed with it
>>>> <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29685>? Office upgrade rates not
>>>> going as well as they might like, perhaps
>>>> <http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/01/12/office_2007_migration_problems/>?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Larry D'Luddite never got over the passage from DOS to Windows.
>>> His batch file mana simply evaporated, and he's been cursing
>>> every GUI innovation since. How dare Microsoft make it possible
>>> for ordinary people to control their own desktop environment with
>>> a simple click of the mouse!
>>>
>> That doesn't stop the ribbon thing being an unmitigated disaster.
>
> Calling the ribbon an "unmitigated disaster" strikes me as the kind
> of thing you probably said about the first replacement you saw for
> Wordperfect's Land of a Thousand Keystrokes.
>
WP5.1 was quite a nice editor, but I was pleased to go to the first
version of Word. WP for Windows was a disaster.
>
> Yes, it's strange at first.
>
It's bloody strange, full stop.
>
> And yes, you need to consult the help file a bit more often in the
> beginning while you're getting used to things.
>
Help file? Now I know you are joking, right? Do you really belong to the
0.001% of people who still think that Microsoft Help actually helps?
>
> Still, the ribbon actually works pretty well once you stop staring at
> it and actually start doing some real work.
>
You get a bunch of things that someone else think are useful, and then
you get a little box to click if you want to use something else. I'm
forever using 'something else'. Also the categories or big boxes, I
don't know what you call them take up a huge chunk of screen space.
>
> I suppose that after you've mastered 3 levels of hierarchical menus,
> 31 toolbars, and 20 task panes in Word 2003, it's difficult to
> imagine how any other system could possibly be designed better. But
> I'm delighted to see someone leading the way now with a little
> outside-the-box thinking.
>
It is an unmitigated disaster. I predict that in the next version it
will be removed or toned down. It doesn't help that if you tailor it to
suit your way of working it will revert everything without warning. I've
been using it for some time now and it never ceases to infuriate me.

(Some things that I've always used have totally disappeared, but that is
par for the course with a new version. For example, there appears to be
no way to get at and alter a document's properties now. Pity)

Cheers,

Cliff

--

The Internet is interesting in that although the nicknames may change,
the same old personalities show through.

Re: Command line hero! ... What?
 

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:57:46 +1300, Enkidu wrote:

>> I suppose that after you've mastered 3 levels of hierarchical menus, 31
>> toolbars, and 20 task panes in Word 2003, it's difficult to imagine how
>> any other system could possibly be designed better. But I'm delighted
>> to see someone leading the way now with a little outside-the-box
>> thinking.
>>
> It is an unmitigated disaster. I predict that in the next version it
> will be removed or toned down. It doesn't help that if you tailor it to
> suit your way of working it will revert everything without warning. I've
> been using it for some time now and it never ceases to infuriate me.

And lets not count the non-standard file format that it uses, that will almostl certainly not be used by any
other version of MS Office.


--
"Filtering the Internet is like trying to boil the ocean"

Re: Command line hero! ... What?
 

impossible wrote:
>
> "Enkidu" <enkidu.com@com.cliffp.com> wrote in message
> news:4b5a579a$1@news2.actrix.gen.nz...
>> impossible wrote:
>>>
>>> "Enkidu" <enkidu.com@com.cliffp.com> wrote in message
>>> news:4b5974b4$1@news2.actrix.gen.nz...
>>>> impossible wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> "Lawrence D'Oliveiro" <ldo@geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote in
>>>>> message news:hjb0nu$jiu$1@lust.ihug.co.nz...
>>>>>> I thought the Ribbon introduced in Office 2007 was supposed to
>>>>>> make it so much more intuitive to find features and to use the
>>>>>> product.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So why is Microsoft now introducing a special training tool
>>>>>> just to help users get up to speed with it
>>>>>> <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29685>? Office upgrade rates not
>>>>>> going as well as they might like, perhaps
>>>>>> <http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/01/12/office_2007_migration_problems/>?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Larry D'Luddite never got over the passage from DOS to Windows.
>>>>> His batch file mana simply evaporated, and he's been cursing
>>>>> every GUI innovation since. How dare Microsoft make it possible
>>>>> for ordinary people to control their own desktop environment with
>>>>> a simple click of the mouse!
>>>>>
>>>> That doesn't stop the ribbon thing being an unmitigated disaster.
>>>
>>> Calling the ribbon an "unmitigated disaster" strikes me as the kind
>>> of thing you probably said about the first replacement you saw for
>>> Wordperfect's Land of a Thousand Keystrokes.
>>>
>> WP5.1 was quite a nice editor, but I was pleased to go to the first
>> version of Word. WP for Windows was a disaster.
>>>
>
> But Word for Windows was always great. And so it conquered the world.
>
>>> Yes, it's strange at first.
>>>
>> It's bloody strange, full stop.
>>>
>
> You sound like my grandmother. Get over it!
>
>>> And yes, you need to consult the help file a bit more often in the
>>> beginning while you're getting used to things.
>>>
>> Help file? Now I know you are joking, right? Do you really belong to the
>> 0.001% of people who still think that Microsoft Help actually helps?
>>>
>
> If you can't find a command? Sure.
>
>>> Still, the ribbon actually works pretty well once you stop staring at
>>> it and actually start doing some real work.
>>>
>> You get a bunch of things that someone else think are useful, and then
>> you get a little box to click if you want to use something else. I'm
>> forever using 'something else'. Also the categories or big boxes, I
>> don't know what you call them take up a huge chunk of screen space.
>>>
>
> Again, you sound like my grandmother. I know you're computer literate
> -- maybe you should just pause, take a deep breath, and figure out
> what's what. It's new, it's different, you I'm sure you can handle it.
>
>>> I suppose that after you've mastered 3 levels of hierarchical menus,
>>> 31 toolbars, and 20 task panes in Word 2003, it's difficult to
>>> imagine how any other system could possibly be designed better. But
>>> I'm delighted to see someone leading the way now with a little
>>> outside-the-box thinking.
>>>
>> It is an unmitigated disaster.
>
> So you said, grandma.
>
>> I predict that in the next version it
>> will be removed or toned down.
>
> I predict you'll get used to it.
>
>> It doesn't help that if you tailor it to
>> suit your way of working it will revert everything without warning.
>> I've been using it for some time now and it never ceases to infuriate me.
>>
>
> I've been using it for two years and I've never experienced that problem.
>
>> (Some things that I've always used have totally disappeared, but that
>> is par for the course with a new version. For example, there appears
>> to be no way to get at and alter a document's properties now. Pity)
>>
>
> Hmmm...Help ...F1..."document properties"....let's see what we get,
> grandma:
>
[snipped tons and tons of stuff.]

You need to click "Prepare" to change the document properties!! How
intuitive! How obvious! Then follows a long series of clicks on menu
options and tabs! How simple! How obvious! How elegant!

And how much more satisfying than clicking File, then Document
Properties! NOT!!

Besides, you cheated! You hit a key on the keyboard rather than using
the ribbon.

Cheers,

Cliff

--

The Internet is interesting in that although the nicknames may change,
the same old personalities show through.