Microsoft made available the office 2007 System concomitantly with Windows Vista. Pairing up its two flagship products also meant two separate releases, first the business launch in November 2006 and then the general availability at the end of January 2007, when Vista and Office hit the shelves. With the focus placed almost exclusively on Microsoft's latest Windows client, the evolution of Office 2007 throughout the past year slipped into the background. However, in early 2008 one thing is clear. Office 2007 compared to Office 2003 is not in the same position as Vista and its predecessor Windows XP.

While Vista's perception in contrast to XP is nowhere near the Wow Microsoft was aiming for at the beginning of January 2007, Office 2007 has had no trouble establishing itself as the next stage in the evolution of the Office suite and a definite step forward from Office 2003. Despite this, office 2007 could do with some publicity and what better source than Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to bring it to the limelight.

"People are often curious about which applications and technology I use, and if there are features in the new version of Office that have changed the way I work. Without a doubt, Office 2007 enables me to get my work done more easily and quickly than before", Gates stated in an article posted on Office Online.

This is one of your last chances to step into the office of Bill Gates. Back in 2006, Microsoft announced a two-year timeframe in which Gates would transition out of his day-to-day role with the company. In mid 2008, this period will expire and Microsoft will move onward with Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect and Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer. Now, Microsoft has a long lasting tradition of dogfooding its software solutions and, in this context, it is only natural that Gates wouldn't be using OpenOffice. From the Office 2007 System, the Microsoft Chairman has emphasized Outlook, SharePoint and Office LiveMeeting.

"If you visit my office, you will probably notice right away that I have three large flat screen displays that sit together and are synchronized so they work like a single very wide display. The large display area enables me to work very efficiently. I keep my Outlook 2007 Inbox open on the screen to the left so I can see new messages as they come in. I usually have the message or document that I'm currently reading or writing in the center screen. The screen on the right is where I have room to open up a browser or look at a document that someone has sent me in e-mail", Gates added.