No I’m not kidding! When Microsoft introduced the ribbon to the world in Office 2007 many people balked at such a steep learning curve when every other application in the world used a good-old-fashioned menu system, that had been around since the early 1980’s. Why did a 25 year old technology need changing they asked?
Well the ribbon is here to stay and has been further refined for Office 2010, due this May.
To help people with the transition, Microsoft have released Ribbon Hero, a game “for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 and 2010, designed to help you boost your Office skills and knowledge. Play games (aka "challenges"), score points, and compete with your friends while improving your productivity with Office”.
Many people will criticise Microsoft for this, and I can see the quotes now saying “this just proves the ribbon is rubbish / difficult to use” (delete as applicable) and “this just proves that menus are better”, but to be honest, if you want / need to introduce a new way of working, and innovation is a good thing especially where usability is concerned, at least Microsoft have taken past criticisms on board and are making an effort to be helpful.
The game integrates with Office 2007 and 2010 and guides you through common tasks in each of the three main applications. You can download it from:
Source
Well the ribbon is here to stay and has been further refined for Office 2010, due this May.
To help people with the transition, Microsoft have released Ribbon Hero, a game “for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 and 2010, designed to help you boost your Office skills and knowledge. Play games (aka "challenges"), score points, and compete with your friends while improving your productivity with Office”.
Many people will criticise Microsoft for this, and I can see the quotes now saying “this just proves the ribbon is rubbish / difficult to use” (delete as applicable) and “this just proves that menus are better”, but to be honest, if you want / need to introduce a new way of working, and innovation is a good thing especially where usability is concerned, at least Microsoft have taken past criticisms on board and are making an effort to be helpful.
The game integrates with Office 2007 and 2010 and guides you through common tasks in each of the three main applications. You can download it from:
Code:
www.officelabs.com/ribbonheroSource
