Review by A Family Effort

Hard to tell if I would actually recommend this upgrade/install option to someone.

I don’t use everything in Office, so this will be a limited reviewnnPros - MS WORD:n-I love the new look for the software - the full screen operations - looks nothing like standard Windows applications - very Windows 8.n-Love the live layout and alignment guide to help you create a more professional document.n-Love the table editing options (I’ve always hated table in Word).n-No use for searching online videos or images as I use my own, but the smart art is brilliant.n-Love the integration of screen capture.n-Love the drop down history for levels of undo, but would prefer that it had an option to keep the future steps in case you selected one level too far back.n-Like the option to use the comments when working on a document with another team member.

In Excel:n-Love the Flash Filln-Love the Quick analysisn-Love the recommended charts to save time in representing datannI could go on and on about the software, but at the end of the day, since this new license forces me to get a second copy for my laptop – which I only use 12 weeks of the year – I could easily do without all the bells and whistles and stick with my 2010 version or use Open Office.

In my mind, if MS is that concerned about shrinking margins or marketshare, then at least offer a $10-20 option to put on a second system instead of making the legitimate customers who actually buy the software go the route of buying a second copy. Seems like one small step for MS and two backward steps for its customer base, as they walk away from their loyalty.