LOVE IT OR LOATH IT, Microsoft Office is undoubtedly the most successful office suite out there. The up and coming Office 11 beta 1 has been with testers for a little while now and initial reports are good with some reservations. Over at BetaNews the reports are starting to come in that Office 11 beta 2 is about to roll out.
The new beta version, aside from fixing bugs, will include an all new application - OneNote. According to Microsoft, OneNote "enables you to capture, organize, and reuse your notes" and "helps you capture information in multiple ways and then organize and use it according to your needs." It's an interesting concept though we can't help but wonder if Outlook doesn't already let you do that pretty well.
Microsoft has said that the update could start to happen "any time after February 10" which does rather suggest that things aren't quite as ready as it would like them to be. But, to be fair, there are a lot of testers and rolling out can be a complicated process so maybe Microsoft is just being cautious.
The new beta also includes a local install version of SharePoint, the application that allows teams to share information, collaborate on documents and co-ordinate team knowledge. Microsoft has warned that beta testers should back up any important data from their current online system.
All in all, we're looking forward to the next version of Office. Although the suite keeps getting bigger and more power hungry, with the current slowdown in PC sales a whacking great big new suite is just what the industry needs.
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