In last week’s column I talked about different versions of the Windows Mobile Platform and how I don’t understand the new name: “Windows Mobile 6.0” in relation to the underlying Windows CE version. I think today it is time to spend a few words on Windows Vista and Office 2007. Somehow I seems to be very difficult to come up with consistent product names and version numbers. Hey, I loved Longhorn, being the code name for Windows Vista, the latest and greatest version of the Windows Operating System, recently released by Microsoft. I don’t know why I like Longhorn so much, but it probably has to do with the fact that I got used to that code name because it has been around for so long. I still have to get used to the name Windows Vista, even though I love the operating system itself. Vista versus Longhorn is not a dramatic issue for me though. It is just a matter of personal taste that I like the code name better than the official release name, but at least, even Vista is timeless. How different is this with Office. I want you to understand that I really like Office 2007. In all Office 2007 products I really love the user interface innovation. Once, somebody within Microsoft explained to me how Office 2003 was a great product, but users had a hard time finding all the capabilities of that product. I think that made a lot of sense. I am absolutely thrilled about the new user interface that is part of Office 2007. In both Word and Excel, it seems that I always have the correct menu and toolbars in front of me. Even if not, the new tab control assures that I am only one click away from the things I really want to do. No more searching, no more wondering if features are available in these products. Usually with one click of a button I can do whatever I want, be it inserting pictures, reviewing a document or simply creating my own document or spreadsheet. So hey, friends at Microsoft, this column is absolutely positive about the functionality of these new products on which you worked so hard. I am not even talking about the product I think I like best: Outlook 2007. This new version of Outlook really increases my productivity, especially since I am spending lots of time using Outlook in my current job to read and react on emails and efficiently maintaining my task list and calendar. However, talking about Office there is something I don’t understand. To be honest, this started with Office 2003. Unfortunately this is the same for Office 2007. I really liked the product name Office XP (2 versions ago). It clearly indicates that this product was targeted towards running on Windows XP. In perspective, I would have liked to name Office 2003 something like Office XP, second edition. Of course I realize that this will not hold for Office 2007, because this product runs perfectly on both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Therefore I don’t have a proper product name for it yet (hey, there must be some reason why I am not responsible for product names and version numbers). However I do have some problems with using years as version numbers. Let’s move the clock forward to 2009. Giving the release frequency between Windows XP and Windows Vista, and, between Office 2003 and Office 2007, it is unlikely that there will be a new version of either the OS or Office at that time. However, as a consumer, I am less likely to spend my money on an "old" product like Office 2007, after all, it is already two years old. In that respect I like the name Windows Vista better, because there is no time indication in that name. I think we could lose customers in the future, that don’t want to buy Office 2007 because it seems outdated, even though this is not the case. In other words, wouldn’t it be better to stick with version numbers like Office 12? Let me repeat the beginning of my column in some other words. I am not criticizing either Windows Vista or Office 2007. Both are great products and I really believe you should buy them and use them for the best PC experience ever. However, I think I have a point with different product names. Hopefully in the future, the story around product names but especially around version numbers becomes more consistent and easier to explain than it has been so far.

Maarten Struys