Microsoft Office 2010 Review

I’m a big fan of the Microsoft Office products. Ever since I had to use them in high school computer classes, I’ve found fun uses for them out of school. I always write in Microsoft Word, make plans and schedules in Excel, and use PowerPoint generally just for school related things now, though I have made interesting slide shows with it just for fun.

Microsoft Office 2010 is the newest Office product available. Some may wonder what the big difference is if you already have it, or are using something else. Well, as a writer, blogger, student and overall organized person, I can tell you what I loved about it – as well as the cool new things that may be your “must have” component of it.

Access 2010
With Access 2010 you can build databases easier than in previous versions. I played around with this, but for what I use Office for; this has never been an area I use often. It would be great for those with businesses though.

Excel 2010
Excel makes it easy to sort lists of data and analyze what you’re sorting through. For me, I use it for finances as well as Blog lists. Once you get the hang of how to use Excel, it is a breeze (and very well worth the time to figure out).

OneNote 2010
OneNote is new for me. It allows you to put all of your “ideas” into one area. It allows users to share ideas and brainstorm from different locations. This is perfect for those businesses that have people working from different parts of the country, or even those who work at home on some days.

Outlook 2010
Outlook is used as a way to view your e-mail. It hasn’t ever really been something I use, but it has been some vast improvements on how contacts are setup and is generally just easier to use in this version of Microsoft Office 2010.

PowerPoint 2010
PowerPoint has become the standard way that teachers have started to give notes for their students. Some professors allow students to download them, and having PowerPoint really does help with this (not just the free viewer). Many also require presentations, which PowerPoint makes it very easy to use and visually appealing for your presentation. This upgrade of it does make it easier to use and the new tools simplify your presentation so it doesn’t look as mismatched as some in prior versions (of course this all depends on how it is being made).

Word 2010
I use Word the most. The new layout and tabs threw me for awhile. I liked seeing it all in one area with dropdown menus. However, after adjusting to this new way to use Word, I love it! The upgraded picture editing inside word is fantastic. There are also so many new formats that you can choose from when creating a new document, geared for what you want to use it for. Word 2010 is easier to use and this upgrade really is worth it.

Overall, I am quite impressed with the versatility of the Office products and the wide range of things that you can use the product for. I think that it is an essential tool that each PC should have. If yours doesn’t have Microsoft Office, try it for free – you have nothing to lose!


Try Microsoft 2010 Free!
Microsoft is allowing anyone to try Microsoft Office 2010 for free at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/try/


Thank you very much to Microsoft for providing me with a complimentary copy of Microsoft Office 2010 for review purposes. All opinion, experiences, and thoughts are my own. I was not paid to write anything positive or negative about the product.