Office will be simpler to operate, Gates says - The Boston Globe

Office will be simpler to operate, Gates says - The Boston Globe: "The next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Office software will feature simpler graphics and try to anticipate users' tasks as the company hopes to make the product easier to use, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said yesterday.
Microsoft hopes the new features will entice users who have found it unwieldy to wade through the dozens of tool menus and other features packed into Office, the software suite that includes Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel.

The stakes are high because Office is a cash cow for Microsoft, even as it ventures further into areas such as Internet search and video games.

For Microsoft's fiscal year ended June 30, the unit that includes Office had operating income of nearly $8 billion, on revenue of $11 billion. The company's overall revenue was $40 billion.

Gates used this year's forum at a software conference to preview Office 12 and the next generation of Microsoft's operating system, dubbed Windows Vista. Both are due out sometime next year.

During his presentation, the multibillionaire poked fun at his geeky image, drawing laughs from the crowd for his role in a video skit featuring actor Jon Heder reprising his uber-dweeb character from ''Napoleon Dynamite."
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