In this week’s blog, we will be talking about the user-interface of all of these systems. For ease of understanding, we will be using a five-point face scale to demonstrate how easy or hard the system is for beginners.
Microsoft
Rating:
Personal Testimonial: I love Microsoft. I have been using it since the 4th grade and it has always been fairly easy for me to navigate. I always found word processing and presentation making fairly easy. I love the variability of slide design in PowerPoint and the look of documents in word. In addition, I always liked how the apps looked and were laid out, I think they’re clean and simple. Maybe I found it easier to use because I consider myself as someone who is tech capable. However, according to reviews online the rest of the population has very mixed reviews about the usability of Microsoft products.
Testimonial 1: Someone under the screen name JudithNotHappy is clearly not happy. According to her post on a Microsoft Answers Forum, she purchased office 2016 and is struggling to download the software she has purchased.
Testimonial 2: According to a quora forum, someone named Rita who has written 10 books on apple software is “a very long time Macintosh user who truly finds Microsoft products to be bloated and very patronizing if you’re not into programming or hand-building PCs”.
Final Remarks: I think Microsoft is a manageable software as long as users research the applications and put in a little time learning how to use them. Microsoft often offers in-app tours when using an application for the first time and those who are not the most tech-savvy can really benefit from this feature. I think that getting acquainted with the features and doing a little research can help fix all the problems people are complaining about online.
Apple
Rating:
Personal Testimonial: To be honest, I am not an avid Pages/Keynote user for Apple products. My go-to app for word-processing has been google docs since middle school. However, in the past, I have started to use Pages a bit more. I find the layout of both Pages and Keynote to be very straightforward and easy to navigate. These programs both share a similar look and are designed for Apple products, which allows (supposedly) seamless transitions between devices. This is where I have struggled in the past with Apple and why I keep going back to Google for word-processing. The programs themselves are intuitive which is good for people who may not be technology savvy.
Testimonial 1: This review is specifically from the perspective of iPad user Jeffrey Battersby on LaptopMag. Battersby said that while the Apple system of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers is impressive and easy to use, the limitations of the environment still exist that are not found on Microsoft programs.
Testimonial 2: Dan Helyer from makeuseof.com wrote five reasons for switching from Microsoft Office to iWork, one of those reasons being a cleaner interface. He also goes on to say that the options for formatting are still there, they are just hidden instead of crowded at the top of the page.
Final Remarks: I think that after looking more at the benefits of iWork, I might consider using it more often. Apple also offers user guides online and help while on the app. I think with the cleaner interface, people who do not have experience working with technology might find Pages/Keynote easy to navigate.
Rating:
Personal Testimonial: Personally, I have had great experiences with Google, and have been using it consistently for school work since high school. During this time, I found myself transitioning from the Microsoft programs and finding the same applications, with more modern features.
Testimonial 1: I am extremely happy with what I found after I started using Google Docs. I was looking for a lightweight tool that I could use without having to install anything on my devices and I found one of the most powerful tools for document creating / editing and never switched back since. Found here: https://www.getapp.com/collaboration-software/a/google-docs/reviews/
Testimonial 2: Overall: My overall experience with Google doc is good but not great. I like it for what it is but if I have to pay a little bit to use a better product I would rather pay to get something a little bit better. Found here: https://www.capterra.com/p/160756/Google-Docs/reviews/
Final Remarks: I think Google is overall very effective in being user-friendly and works hard not only to maintain its quality of experience for its clients but also to improve and continue to raise the standard for the cloud-based experience.
From: Kiya, Maddie, and Catrina
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