 |
|
|
Katherine Murray |
| |
|
|
|
An Interview with Katherine Murray
Interviewed by Geetesh Bajaj, October 6th 2007
Katherine Murray (pictured to the left)
is the author of more than 50 books on technology and writes articles
for various Microsoft sites. She also writes and edits the Microsoft
Mindshare newsletter and contributes articles to CNET's TechRepublic.
In addition to books and articles, Katherine publishes BlogOffice,
a blog sharing tips and ideas related to various versions of Microsoft
Office.
Geetesh:
|
Tell us more about yourself and the books you author. |
Katherine: |
I've been writing about computers since the early 80s when
the first IBM PC arrived in town. I wrote my first books
on WordStar 3.3 (I hope I'm not the only one who remembers
that program!) and I remember having my doubts when that
odd program that used windows instead of the DOS command
prompt arrived on the scene.
I write about all sorts of
applications, with a special emphasis on Microsoft Office.
I've written about it so many times through the years
it feels like a friend you've matured with. I absolutely
love Office 2007 and think it is by far the best Office
we've seen yet. The design, the functionality, the graphic
enhancements and research supports are terrific.
|
Geetesh:
|
You have authored books on many computer programs
-- do you think the newer versions of these programs are
easier to use than the older versions, and why? |
Katherine:
|
Not all newer programs are easier to use than their predecessors
(I still flounder when I try to do something a little
advanced with Photoshop), but this time around, Microsoft
Office is definitely easier for new users to learn.
For Office users who are proficient with Office 2003,
the dramatic change in the user interface can be a bit
off-putting; when they first look at the screen, people
sometimes say, "Hey, this looks nice, but where
are all my familiar tools?" As people start to
get into the applications, however, the shift occurs
easily--once you get a feel for the contextual tools,
you realize that Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access
bring you what you need depending on the task you are
performing. That keeps the screen a lot cleaner and
saves you from having to wade through menus, submenus,
and dialog boxes to find the command you want.
I do
think that for program developers there's a tension
between wanting to improve a program by adding features,
making it more powerful, and wowing users and keeping
the program as clean and simple as you can so that it
meets the needs of the broadest range of users. As a
user, I want my programs to be reliable (no crashing),
feature-full (I don't want to have to open another program
to do what I could do in this one), and fast (I hate
to sit and wait while things load). I like to have a
good help system (in my opinion, Office products have
continually improving help and good online resources;
Adobe help needs help!). Most of all, I want the program
to do what it says it will do and do it reliably.
|
Geetesh:
|
Can you share something from your new Office 2007
books. |
Katherine:
|
The First Look 2007 Microsoft Office System book may still
be available as a free download from the Microsoft Learning
site; it was a fun one to write (I actually wrote it on
Beta 1 and Microsoft Press released it timed with Beta
2, so there are a couple of features in there that didn't
make it into the release product). But that book gives
a kind of birds-eye-view of all the different applications
and features in the 2007 Office system (including Office
Groove 2007, which in my opinion is the "sleeper" product
of Office 2007--meaning that it hasn't gotten a lot of
press, but once people start to use it, they will fall
in love with it).
|
Geetesh:
|
What is your favorite new feature in PowerPoint 2007? |
Katherine:
|
I am a very visual person, so I love the simple design features--the
way you can flip among themes easily, enhance photos using
the picture styles, and use live preview to try things on
before you click. I also love the idea of reusable content
and like being able to create your own slide libraries and
boilerplate info to save yourself the trouble of creating
things from scratch every time.
|
Geetesh:
|
Can you share some trivia -- some great feedback,
an unconventional use of your book(s), anything you would
like to share with Indezine readers.
|
Katherine:
|
The applications in the new Office 2007 were designed with integration in mind--to make
it easier for us to move from program to program, leveraging
what we create in one application to include it easily
in another. Often Office users specialize in one program
and only use the others when they have to (this is
to be expected; actually I do the same thing unless
I'm writing about the whole system or a client has
a need for something from a different application).
I would encourage you, if you haven't at least opened
all the other aps in Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Access,
Publisher, Outlook) to take a few minutes, launch the
program(s) and look around. You might be surprised
to find how friendly they are--and how many features
they have that might be helpful to you in your work.
Be sure to visit the Office Online site regularly,
too, because they are continually posting new free
downloads (templates, clipart, articles, and more)
that can simplify your projects or give your creativity
a boost!
|
|
|
