Aside from the Windows Vista presentation, Microsoft will also disclose at the Professional Developer's Conference 2005 in Los Angeles, the first details on the next Office version, Office 12.

So far, the most interesting information related to Office 12, which has stirred up the largest number of comments is the one about the Open XML standard. According to the Redmond company, the new standard will allow a better interoperability between various Office versions.

The surprise is that during PDC, the first images from Office 12 appeared. You can view them here in all their splendor at http://pdc.xbetas.com/?page=o12preview1.

We can tell you that Microsoft has redesigned the menu bar, which has now tab-like buttons. The new buttons open a series of shortcuts and buttons, everything being better organized than the previous versions.

The images depict the menu bar from Word 12 and Excel 12, and the interface with translucent effects. These images also provide a good clue on how the Windows Vista Save menu will look like.

It's worth noting that nowhere, not even in the Save As dialogues, there aren't any clues related to the Open XML format.