News 

Although many of the new features in Office 10 Beta 1 are relatively minor simplification improvements, voice recognition is a significant addition to Microsoft's office suite.

Users can switch between 'dictation and command' and 'control' modes, allowing for both free-text dictation and control over menus, toolbars and so on. Bill Gates has been harping on about the benefits of voice control for some time now, but Microsoft now finally looks ready to deliver a working product - and only several years behind Dragon, L&H and IBM, too.

Another noteworthy feature in Office 10 is 'subscription mode', which allows users to register over the Internet and renew the working life of the software. Office can still be installed in standard mode (Beta 1 users are given the choice during the initial installation), but key functionality will be disabled if the product isn't registered after 20 uses. While privacy campaigners are sure to baulk at Microsoft's

ADVERTISEMENT

forcible extraction of personal details, the company will undoubtedly market this as an anti-piracy initiative and swear blind that the data will be used solely for that purpose.

Whichever operating mode is chosen, it appears that the next release of Office will be ultimately unusable for users without Internet access.

Office 10 is also a good deal more robust than previous versions. Microsoft has added what it refers to as 'airbags', including a Save-on-Crash feature and Hang Manager, which aims to revive unresponsive applications long enough for users to save work in progress. The Beta 1 release now includes a Safe Mode, similar to Windows 9x and 2000, for troubleshooting Office applications that persistently hang or refuse to start.

Other additions and modifications suggest that Microsoft is finally listening to feedback from Office users. The single document interface (whereby each document opens in its own window), which was included in Office 2000 despite fierce criticism from testers, can now be disabled, and the loathsome Office Assistant no longer appears by default. AutoCorrect has become smarter, and has finally learned not to repeat corrections that have previously been reversed by the user.

Office 10 Beta 1 requires Windows 95/98, NT4 SP5 or Windows 2000, but for some reason doesn't work with Windows ME (although Microsoft claims that future versions will support the new operating system). It is scheduled for release next year, but pricing has yet to be confirmed.

Joel Harrison