Office 200x: When do you want it?
I think it would be logical to tie the next release of Office to Windows Longhorn. And I am willing to wait. This way all of the resources on the Office team could simply focus on optimizing Office .Next so that it leverages the next revolutionary OS that is Longhorn. Doing this, Microsoft could rip the cover off of Office as we know it and build the most compelling, upgradeable, version of Office ever.
Trouble is, I fear the ?machine? will rule and fall into their cycle of ?must deliver a version every 12-18 months?. Therefore, instead of unified release of drop-dead wonder and amazement, we will be ?blessed? with a release that touts incremental feature enhancements a la Office XP ? forgettable, uneventful, and ultimately not upgrade worthy. Meanwhile, the technological gains enabled by Longhorn will not be fully realized because of a fractured development effort.
I understand that Longhorn is far away. I get that it brakes the mold of ?what do we do in the meantime? for the marketing/sales folks. I do think it allows plenty of time to focus on driving Office 2003 upgrades ? I?d like to think it wouldn?t be a bad thing to have the latest release as the most installed version out there.
By rushing an ?Office 2004? out the door while the paint is still drying for the ?Office System? logos on city buses, I simply don?t get as excited about the possibilities as I would with the ?grander vision? I see possible with Office Longhorn.
I am sure that Microsoft is busy planning Office 2004, 2005, and 2006. I am bet they will come out with some pretty cool stuff. Just not sure if I can get too jazzed about ?another smart tag?...