Microsoft's Office 2011 beta 3 for Mac gets new icons
Microsoft has issued a third release of its private beta program for Office 2011 for Mac, which is expected to reach production by the end of the year.
The new release overhauls the suite's icons, which haven't significantly changed since Office v.X appeared in late 2001 with bubbly translucent icons intended to reflect the Aqua appearance of Mac OS X.
The new 2011 icons are toned down and more serious looking (below). Also refined are the splash screens for each app.
The new suite works to bring more visual harmony between the Mac and Windows versions; Microsoft just released Office 2010, the Windows equivalent of the upcoming 2011 Mac version.
Additional coverage of the latest Office 2011 and the suite's historical development:
Road to Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac: A New Hope
Road to Office 2011: New looks, support for Exchange, VBA
Road to Mac Office 2008: an introduction
The new release overhauls the suite's icons, which haven't significantly changed since Office v.X appeared in late 2001 with bubbly translucent icons intended to reflect the Aqua appearance of Mac OS X.
The new 2011 icons are toned down and more serious looking (below). Also refined are the splash screens for each app.
The new suite works to bring more visual harmony between the Mac and Windows versions; Microsoft just released Office 2010, the Windows equivalent of the upcoming 2011 Mac version.
Additional coverage of the latest Office 2011 and the suite's historical development:
Road to Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac: A New Hope
Road to Office 2011: New looks, support for Exchange, VBA
Road to Mac Office 2008: an introduction
Comments
It helps with Microsoft's branding and these very different icons do not.
lipstick on a pig
Yeah if they spent as much time on the product design as they do on the icons and the splash screen each time, they might have something worth buying someday.
... The new 2011 icons are toned down and more serious looking (below). Also refined are the splash screens for each app. ...
It's kind of hilarious how they still do that thing Microsoft does where they include extra "products" that simply duplicate the capabilities of others, or are split off from last years "products."
There are only really four products in Office and there always has been. This time they have six icons, but three of them are about communicating via email or text or whatever. Outlook and Messenger and "communicator" are really all the same thing (or should be).
It kind of reminds me how they shift the function and grouping of the control panel icons in every Windows release so no one can find them and so that they appear to be all new etc.
Anyone tried "Microsoft Communicator" yet? I tried looking it up but Microsoft's own web page on the product produces an error and won't display.
New splash screen sucks too. Beta 2 screen is awesome.
Also sad is that I will no longer be able to arrange my Office icons in the dock to spell PEWX.
... they think this will make a difference.
Also sad is that I will no longer be able to arrange my Office icons in the dock to spell PEWX.
LOL....I do that as well.....too funny.
Given the clusterf*ck that was Office 2008 (No macros, seriously?), I'm still on 2004, but may move to 2011 if it's more stable a release than 2008 was.
Plus, the way we have it set up at work, breaks every link you send by prefixing it with an underscore, forcing you to copy and paste the links into a browser. Apparently this is a security feature.
As for the icons - I prefer the new ones.
am I the only one who likes the new icons?
No, but some people are a tad too harsh, they're just icons, fine ones at that.
In meantime, I'm still searching for that elusive Kool-Aid icon for my HD.
LOL....I do that as well.....too funny.
A POX on both your houses.
am I the only one who likes the new icons?
I hate Microsoft, but actually I like those new icons. Modernity, as it applies to graphic design, seems to be shifting at an absurdly-fast rate these days, so it's sometimes foolhardy to call something "modern." However, that's how I would describe these icons. The aqua set look dated to me, in comparison.
But as with logos, an icon is an icon. Its usefulness is determined not by the intrinsic properties of the design (should they exist at all), but by the properties it represents. In other words, it's the software, stupid!
No, but some people are a tad too harsh, they're just icons, fine ones at that.
In meantime, I'm still searching for that elusive Kool-Aid icon for my HD.
... they think this will make a difference.
Also sad is that I will no longer be able to arrange my Office icons in the dock to spell PEWX.
Yeah, but on the other hand....they've made it possible for you to have COX on your dock
Worst Icons Ever......
This may be a bit strong, but these new icons most certainly come close.
Yeah, but on the other hand....they've made it possible for you to have COX on your dock
Seriously, is anybody going to use Outlook? I am very happy with Apple's own Mail and how it seamlessly syncs with my iPhone and iPad. Does Outlook offer that but if not, why would anybody use it?