I wont go into detail about all the changes, but the UI got a major overhaul. To be fair I really like the new interface, though I haven’t used it much. They moved to this new “Ribbon” system, and it gives you a live preview of alot of the style changes (especially in word). In Excel the “Conditional Formatting” is really COOL! You can have what boils down to mini bar charts or background colors based on the cell numerical value. Its going to be really great for visual data analysys.
I’ve spent a little more time with Outlook 2007 than anything else (cause I use Outlook for my work). Again I like the changes they’ve made. There is a “To-Do Bar” on the right hand side that stays really small but still lists your calendar items for the day, and # of tasks due for the day. With a single click it expands out or back. Also, in some older mail clients, they hand newsgroup readers. Since newgroups went out long ago, they’ve brought it back — but instead its a decently well functioning RSS Agitator (which also integrates with IE7’s RSS feeds, so you dont dupe). Many features have gotten significant overhaul’s, like the calendar and it all looks rather shiny.
I have to say, 2007 is a big improvement over 2003. I’m actually impressed with something M$ did for once. Of course, in a week I’ll probably post a blog cussing and swearing at the damn thing because its unstable or some such bit… But for now I’m pleased.