Jun13

MS Office 2010 Arrives Tuesday, Try Free Web-Based Versions Now

Categories // In The (Legal Technology) News, Microsoft Office, MS Word, MS Excel Print this Article

We write and talk about esoteric hardware and software that may be of use to law firms, but the reality is that the plain old office suite remains the most used tech product in almost any firm. But "plain old" is hardly a fit description of modern office suites from Microsoft, Corel, Lotus, or OpenOffice.org. For example, integration with cloud-based storage and services, the very definition of "hot" in today's tech discussions, is built-into Microsoft Office 2010. This will boost the ability to collaborate with co-counsel, clients, experts, and others in the creation and editing of Office documents. There are also free web-based 2010 versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint designed to compete directly with Google Docs. They lack the features of the desktop versions of these apps, yet will suffice for creating and editing many documents used by law firms. Office 201o arrives at retail outlets this Tuesday, June 15. At retail, there will be three editions of Office 2010: Professional ($499.99 for full boxed version for 2 pc's, $349 for license key card for one pc), includes: Excel Outlook PowerPoint Word Access Publisher OneNote (new to suite) Home and Business ($279 for full boxed version for 2 pc's, $199 for license key card for 1 pc), includes: Excel Outlook PowerPoint Word OneNote Home and Student ($149 for full boxed version for 3 pc's, $119 for license key card for 1 pc), includes: Excel PowerPoint Word OneNote In addition to these retail editions, there are volume license editions available to PC manufacturers that they can bundle with the PC's they sell you. As has been true in the past, the cheapest way to buy Office 2010 will probably be to include it in the specifications when you order a new computer. If you decide to buy a retail edition of Office 2010, at this point we recommend the Professional edition. We've encountered problems with the beta version of Outlook 2010 in the Home and Business edition when attempting to integrate Outlook with Amicus Attorney.

We write and talk about esoteric hardware and software that may be of use to law firms, but the reality is that the plain old office suite remains the most used tech product in almost any firm. But "plain old" is hardly a fit description of modern office suites from Microsoft, Corel, Lotus, or OpenOffice.org. For example, integration with cloud-based storage and services, the very definition of "hot" in today's tech discussions, is built-into Microsoft Office 2010. This will boost the ability to collaborate with co-counsel, clients, experts, and others in the creation and editing of Office documents. There are also free web-based 2010 versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint designed to compete directly with Google Docs. They lack the features of the desktop versions of these apps, yet will suffice for creating and editing many documents used by law firms. Office 201o arrives at retail outlets this Tuesday, June 15. At retail, there will be three editions of Office 2010: Professional ($499.99 for full boxed version for 2 pc's, $349 for license key card for one pc), includes:

  • Excel
  • Outlook
  • PowerPoint
  • Word
  • Access
  • Publisher
  • OneNote (new to suite)
Home and Business ($279 for full boxed version for 2 pc's, $199 for license key card for 1 pc), includes:
  • Excel
  • Outlook
  • PowerPoint
  • Word
  • OneNote
Home and Student ($149 for full boxed version for 3 pc's, $119 for license key card for 1 pc), includes:
  • Excel
  • PowerPoint
  • Word
  • OneNote
In addition to these retail editions, there are volume license editions available to PC manufacturers that they can bundle with the PC's they sell you. As has been true in the past, the cheapest way to buy Office 2010 will probably be to include it in the specifications when you order a new computer. If you decide to buy a retail edition of Office 2010, at this point we recommend the Professional edition. We've encountered problems with the beta version of Outlook 2010 in the Home and Business edition when attempting to integrate Outlook with Amicus Attorney.

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