It doesn't seem two minutes since Microsoft Office 2013 burst onto the scene, yet the new version of Office - Office 2016 - has just been released.
Office critics are already saying that there isn't a lot of difference between this and the previous version, but you pay your money and take your choice. Or perhaps vice versa.
The big differences that Microsoft are raving about are:
- introduction of the Tell Me Tool
- better collaboration features
- improved research facility within the document
- new facility to insert your own handwritten equations
- enhanced version history
As usual, there are different flavours of the Office suite, and it might be a good idea to list and then clarify the differences between them:
- Office for Windows 10
- Office 2016 desktop suite
- Office for Windows 10 apps - free to use, and preinstalled, on Windows 10 phones and small tablets
- Office 365 - subscription required
- Office 2016 for touch - merely a description of the "touch friendly" feature of Office 2016. It's not a separate product. Office 2016 is divided into the areas of desktop and "touch" for mobile devices. The mobile versions often have "app" in their names.
- Universal App is a touch-friendly but cut-down version.
Apparently Office 2016 will still include the Office Upload Center, designed to keep your OneDrive documents in sync.
The ribbon is still with us.