My Outlook: Office Doesn’t Excel

Do you know what they improved between MS Office 2013 and 2016?  NOT A DAMN THING!

Okay, to be fair, there were some totally awesome improvements, like…window stacking?  And new Excel graphs.  And there’s this map function apparently.  And better database integration support.  This would totally be worth buying a new license.

Of course, that’s not their MO anymore.  I realize it’s clichéd to blame Millennials for things as I’m apt to do, but it’s totally their fault.  They expect software to have no upfront cost, and to be completely cloud-based.  So now, Microsoft pushes subscription services instead.  Yay, just like DRM!  You never actually own anything anymore.

On the business side, we have the same thing: perpetual contracts, even when the new software adds no value.  So what did Office 2016 change?  Well, they moved all the functions around so I had to find them again.  And now, repeated keystrokes cause some type of application layer panic and everything crashes.

excelcrash
How about you just let me CLOSE the program?

Rant complete.  But I’m not one to complain without suggesting a solution.  I offer you an alternative: LibreOffice.  It’s an open-source fork.  So while you may be forever forced to use Microsoft products at work, you can still make a choice in your personal computing needs.

Now I’m going to get back to work and see if Excel launches.

–Simon