...unless you just must have the latest version. But without an upgrade-path pricing option, not sure this is worth the cost of full retail pricing.
Download time will depend on how long it takes your broadband provider to deliver the 665 MB executable. This is the only variable out of Microsoft's control. The things they could control don't add up to a compelling reason to upgrade from any earlier version of Office.
The interface is essentially the same tabbed interface from Office 2007 (that probably still stumps previous users of Office 2003 and earlier suites).
Installation on a desktop computer(4 GB RAM, 3GHZ Intel dual core processor) running Windows 7 Professional and with an existing Office 2003 Professional version already installed took about 20 minutes. Installation was trouble-free. While the document history entries in the Windows start menu were erased after the install, the recent documents history were available within each of the Office applications. I don't use Outlook for email at home, but do use it for calendaring. All of my existing entries were preserved and displayed immediately in Outlook; it also recognized my existing preference to start Outlook in the calendar view).
While the interface is familiar, application launch time is slightly faster, and there is improved feedback to users on recent files accessed in a navigation pane that appears under the File tab.
So, with a familiar interface, a problem-free install and apparent improvements in navigation and responsiveness...why 2 stars? Because the Office Professional suite is very expensive. The only reason I'm doing this review is because I had access to a deeply discounted purchase price via an educational licensing agreement. But if you are currently running an earlier version of Office, I can't offer a single compelling reason to sink anywhere from 220 dollars (for a product key to activate the trial versions on new PCs) to more than 400 dollars (for a version delivered on DVD).
If you have very basic productivity suite needs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) you can consider the stripped down "student version" instead for much less...if your needs don't include Outlook, Access or Publisher. Alternatively, if you have an affiliation with an educational institution that has an academic licensing arrangement, you should have a access to a very reasonably priced Professional version.
Otherwise, unless you're just a "current version junkie" who enjoys having the latest and greatest version of every application, all, I can't offer a good case for spending this much on a set of tools that looks, feels and performs almost exactly like its predecessor. Microsoft Office Professional 2010 - 1 User-2 PC [Download]
I had Office 2007 and this version of office appears to be basically the same. There have been a few tweaks in terms of format and icon placement, that takes time to adjust. The download from Amazon worked great for my laptop and still waiting to download the second copy on my desktop.
Our IT consultant suggested we upgrade all of our computers to Office 2010 to transition our Database applications. That's all fine, but we have one machine still on XP (which is still faster than Windows 7) and there seems to be a glitch with Office such that it loses its configuration on a regular basis. At least once a week when I start up an office application, it will go into the "Product Configuration" screen for about 5 minutes, then require the product key to be entered. Sometimes it then requires a reboot. Very annoying, and what's worse, after spending hours trying to get help from Microsoft, I might as well be asking my dog to help. This is beyond frustrating!'
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