Over the years, I’ve come to the realization that when Microsoft updates their software, they don’t really update the whole thing. Occasionally, the end user will see something that just doesn’t seem to belong in such a modern version of the software.
To illustrate what I’m talking about, let’s dig in to the Windows 8 UI. You’d expect that with Windows’ revolutionary Metro interface and sleek, minimalistic icons that there wouldn’t be any atrocities like THIS:
That, my friends, is one whoppingly anachronistic batch of icons. They simply don’t belong with the modern interface in Windows 8. Thus my demand to Microsoft about these outdated icons: Either update all of them, or scrap them entirely.
But that’s just the beginning of Microsoft’s UI crimes. When I updated to Microsoft Office 2013, I was very impressed by the new icon-set and the Windows-8-esque styling. Overall, the UI was very refreshing and welcome. I especially liked the integration with 1 in 10,000 people, where Office 2013 would automatically retrieve documents from SkyDrive and display them when you open the program.
Unfortunately, not even Microsoft spared its Office Suite from a heap of antiquated UI. For me, I quite disliked it when I clicked on Options and a separate window popped up. This was the remnants of Office 2007. Hello Microsoft, we’re in 2013!
The two different window styles visually clash against each other. It was as if I had opened up another program entirely. You would be inclined to think that they would make every element of an updated software consistent. Unfortunately, the UI developers scoffed at the suggestion, giving us the terrible interface that we have today.
Okay, maybe the Options window wasn’t too bad. Then, let’s take a venture into Publisher 2013. First, the obligatory screenshot of the opening page:
It won’t take very long to discover the many Easter Eggs — or rather spoiled eggs — in here. I click on Built-in from the New Document page, and select Advertisements:
You’ve got to be kidding me! I’ve been seeing these templates since 2003 was around, and they haven’t been updated? These look terribly anachronistic in the 2013 version, almost like using a sundial as a watch. Unfortunately, browsing around in the built-in template categories will reveal more or less of the same, vapid, bygone layouts that have clung on like hair lice since the Stone Age of computing.
No Office program is spared from rotten eggs. Even between different Office applications, UI elements can be wholly inconsistent. Take a look at OneNote’s “Print Preview” screen, and compare it with Word’s “Print Preview” screen:
Microsoft can’t even make similar elements across different programs consistent? Sure, one could argue that Word and OneNote are two different programs for different tasks, but they are both used for taking notes, typing, and school projects. Then why can’t the Print Previews be consistent with each other?
What Microsoft really needs to focus on in the next update of Office, Windows, or anything, is to update the whole package and leave no vestigial remains. Microsoft is too good for these stale templates, inconsistent UI elements, and out-of-place menu items. It’s about time we get a real Office 2013, with every last nook and cranny of the UI updated. Otherwise, Microsoft might as well rename its software to “Office 2013 with 1990’s Easter Eggs”
