Office Newswire: What’s new in Office 15 – 4.18.2012
Ernest Hemmingway is considered by many to be the last great American writer. It’s been all crap since he died. I’m NOT saying books like The Hunger Games, The DaVinci Code, and Twilight are NOT entertaining. But I am saying they couldn’t carry The Old Man’s tackle box.
I recently re-read The Old Man and the Sea. I read it in high school, wrote my report, and forgot about it. But Hemingway impacted me. He fascinates me to this day. His writing is descriptive and captivating. How did he write 128 pages about a man trying to catch a fish and keep its reader enthralled? If I knew that answer, I would stop writing the Newswire and start writing novels!
I visited Key West once and went to see Hemingway’s home. The tour guide said he wrote 80% of his significant works while living there. His writing room was simple. A desk, typewriter, some windows, and the man. And some six-fingered cats. Hemingway loved six-fingered cats, which are believed by sailors to be good luck. His Key West home is the residence of over 25 of these cats known as Polydactyl cats.
Which brings me to today’s Office Newswire…
It occurred to me rather quickly today that today’s Newswire would require an extra section. There is lot of speculation and news regarding Office 15. I interpret this situation as proof that we are ready for the next version of Office. As always, I’ve culled through more news than I care to discuss. I’ve included the best and (what I believe to be) the most relevant items for your review and perusal. Due to all the content, there is an extra section.
Think of this extra section as my version of the six-fingered cat.
Office 15 news!
- What’s new in Office 15 :: Is Microsoft pushing us all toward the cloud? Is their ideal scenario to move away from on-premise versions of Office? I don’t know but if that is their plans… as they say in West Texas… it will be a long row to hoe. There is something new and interesting items here too… especially for developers.
- Does this video spoil Office 15’s surprises? :: The only way this video contains any surprises is if you have not been reading the Office Newswire. I don’t think it is much a stretch to guess that Microsoft is looking to tie Office to the cloud and make it easy to access all your documents across all your devices. I mean, Apple has been attempting this for the last few versions of their OSs. More commentary here
- Microsoft Office 15: What’s an agave? :: Everyone knows what an Agave is… at least where I live just north of Mexico. This is a wonderful plant that is used to make Tequila. Wonderful stuff but it is for people in their 20s. I’m too old for it now. It hurts. This article is the work of Mary Jo Foley. If she is even a little bit correct, it confirms my long-held suspicion that HTML+CSS+Javascript will be a big part of Office solutions in the near future. There is more here (I missed this last month. I apologize. I’ll do better!)
- SharePoint 2013 App Marketplace – the smoking gun! :: MJF made reference of this in the previous item. You know that because you read it..right? Anyways, here is another item containing one man’s investigative work on the matter.
It’s fun to dig up potential facts that Microsoft is not discussing. But something I find interesting is SharePoint + Azure. What’s the plan with those two guys/gals? I tend to view software as dudes. You might think of software as dudettes. Moving on…
General Office news & editorials!
- Death to Word :: I really enjoy a strong opinion. This title says it all. Read this from someone that states a good case for hating Word. I find it funny that the article includes an image of Clippy. No wonder this guy hates Word. What version was that? Didn’t MSFT kill Clippy after Office 2003? Best quote of the article? “A Word file is the story-fax of the early 21st century”. Ouch. I don’t know if he hates Word or if he hates that people are not proficient with it. Who cares?! It’s great reading and he has some great points.
- Why Microsoft Word really sucks :: I know, I know! What’s up with the Microsoft Word negativity? I don’t know. I use Word every stinking day… and I like it. Now, I don’t use it to write content that will be published on the Web. If I did, I would have several #@!$&^%@# things to say! I tried not to include this item but it the typography is great… as is the main image. The writer piggy-backs a bit on the previous item but also offers up several opinions of his own.
- Microsoft adds 6 months to Office 2007’s support lifespan :: I use Office 2010 but I realize plenty of you continue to use Office 2007. For you, here is some good news.
Office tips, tricks & tools
- How to remove splash screen from Microsoft Office 2010 :: It has never occurred to me that this is annoying. But now that I read this, the Office 2010 splash screens are bugging me! Enough… enough I say. Rid yourself of this annoying habit Office apps have of telling us they are opening. Just implement this trick and be done with it.
- PowerPoint Blog – Crop around irregular images :: This is a handy-dandy little trick. I use the Office image tools several times a week. I’ve tried to tackle this problem before and I’m glad to know it isn’t difficult to do but it is tricky!
- Schedule View in Outlook 2010 :: Stop emailing your colleagues to ask when they are available to meet. Use this special Outlook view instead. You can use the time saved to enjoy another cup of coffee… stress free.
Office Developer items of note
- Finding your way around Office developer documentation :: Office developer topics on MSDN can be difficult to track. I have my own library of links I maintain in OneNote. This blog post might help you. I’ve bookmarked in the hopes it will help me next time I research a topic.
- CodePlex LDAP claim provider for SharePoint 2010 available :: From Codeplex.com, this tool supports “search and resolution” when using ASFS.
- The Command pattern in .NET :: This is a “command pattern well suited for GUI interactions.” I figure that makes it Office Newswire-worthy.