This is a continuation of the article I started several weeks ago (and interrupted by my Chicago vacation) on the hardware and software I personally use. In this edition, I will focus on productivity software.
As you might guess, my productivity software revolves around Microsoft’s Office 2010. While I have used other similar software, such as the free OpenOffice, I always gravitated back to Office. For several years, I used Office 2003. But this year, I moved forward to Office 2010 (skipping Office 2007). In the words of my favorite Microsoft blogger, Paul Therrott, it was a “no-brainer.” Compared to the 2003, this new version is a major revision and I do like most of its new features.
But, let’s talk briefly about the components of Office that I use the most.
1. Microsoft OneNote: Without a doubt this program is the most often-used software on my computer. To put it as succinctly as possible, OneNote is a collection point for almost everything: thoughts, ideas, information, personal information, plans, projects, captured data from the web and almost everything else you can think of. I use it several times a day to store info about my daily activities, to-do lists, data gathered from the Web and much more. OneNote is a large notebook, divided into sections and subsections that you create…and it looks like a notebook with 3 levels of tabs. It is difficult to describe without seeing it, but I encourage anyone who want to become better organized to take a look at it on the Microsoft Web site.
2. Microsoft Outlook: This is my e-mail software of choice, although it goes way beyond that single use. Of all the components of Office 2010, Outlook has the largest number of improvement and new features, far too numerous to mention here. Besides e-mail, Outlook handles my address book, to-do lists, calendar, scheduling, and notes. My cell phone is a Blackberry and I use their desktop software to sync all my Outlook data to my phone. Believe it or not, I use the Notes section of Outlook to make up my grocery lists, so if you see me wandering around a grocery store with my phone in my hand, you know what I am doing. I also have another list of books I want to buy someday so I am ready whenever I wander into a bookstore.
3. Microsoft Word: It’s the most used word processor in the entire world and for good reason. You are all probably very familiar with it so I won’t go into details about it, but it is better than ever. A quick word here about the Ribbon Interface now used it all Office products: while I am not 100% comfortable with it, I have found a work-around in that I can put my own most often used functions in a toolbar at the top of screen and keep the ribbon closed until I need it. I created my own personal toolbar for each of the Office products.
4. Microsoft Excel: As the most used spreadsheet in all the word, I use it and like it very much and, again, won’t go into details as you probably know more about it than me.
5. Microsoft PowerPoint: As a retired person, I don’t have a need for it anymore. I only mention it as it has so many new improvements in the 2010 version that make it better than ever before. As it does automatically create presentations for the Web, I might play with it someday for my own Web site.
The other productivity software I should mention here is Quicken. I am using version 2009 to handle my personal finances. It is far more powerful than my humble needs, but it is a good program still, after all these years.
More to come…
