Thoughts on newer Microsoft programs

There was a time (2002) when I thought The Linux Operating System* was Teh BeST ThinG EVAR!!! and a perfect operating system that would solve all of your computing needs, cure cancer, satiate world hunger and create lasting world peace, and probably invent cold fusion in its spare time.  I mean, it seemed that awesome.

Around this same time I started to avoid Microsoft programs like Word and Excel and Powerpoint and all that garbage.  Its not that these programs were bad--I mean they aren't great, but they got the job done, and they were as good as any other bloated office sweet.  The real reason I avoided them was, simply, they didn't run on The Linux Operating System, and were made by a company desperate to maintain its sad monopoly.

Turns out, karma is a bitch, because I've just been introduced to some office software that I really don't like.

Most of the time, a person is allowed to judge for themselves whether or not a computer program is good, and they are trusted to form an opinion that is true for them.  You open it up, check it out.  Maybe you like it, maybe you don't.  There is one group of software, however, where your own judgement is not to be trusted.  That software is the new-ass office software from microsoft, with its annoying flashy ribbon-shit interface.  You're not allowed to form your own opinions of this software, at least if they are negative, according to friends of yours that like it.  If you don't like it, they say, its because you didn't give it a fair chance, or you haven't used it enough, or you're not doing it right.  Its office software, people; we've had this stuff for more than a decade.  I once had this kid at one job who wouldn't shut up about it and wouldn't leave me alone until I opened up the new Word with the ribbon-shit interface and moused around in it for ten minutes.  I was so glad he worked in the other lab.  The experience gave me a renewed passion for vim and Notepad.

So, long story short, I've managed to mostly avoid the new office software, until now.  My windows laptop at work had XP on it, which they want to get rid of because it works so well, and I had to curb my normal tendency to blow it off and ignore them because I didn't want them to take an interest in me and realize how many desktops I have.  So I traded in my computer for one running some flashy new version of Windows where I don't have permissions to do any work.

It does have a fancy new ribbon-shit verison of Outlook, though.  So far, thanks to this fancy new interface, I no longer know how to use my calendar, and I accidentally deleted two days of emails, and, and this is the best part, writing a new email is now a game of clicking on all these words on the top and hoping that one of these rectangles that appears has words in it like "new" or "compose" in it, and then click on that, and see what happens.  The purpose of this design appears to be to rearrange everything so that the placement of things are as non-intuitive as possible.  But I digress.... If you are lucky enough to see a new-email window appear, then, well, all of the useful features from the old version no longer work.  Like the one where you start typing someone's name to address an email.  I used to rely on that exclusively, because I don't know anyone's email address, because Outlook deliberately hides the email address and insists on showing their name instead.  People's names are great, but they are useless for addressing emails.  The new Outlook apparently also wants to be like facebook, because now when I am writing a nasty email to someone I see their headshot in the corner.

Today I am going to take my computer down to the IT people, who, despite the fact that I am a professional programmer, occasionally treat me like I don't know how to use a computer, and seek their help in restoring some of the functionality I need on my new laptop.  Like having permission to run programs other than outlook.  That would be nice.







*BTW:  every time I write this, in my head, I'm pronouncing it "lin-icks" and NOT "line-ucks" so you should imagine hearing the former when you read this, especially if it bothers you