Office Ribbon Hero

Microsoft sends word of an add-in for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 and 2010 called Ribbon Hero that is designed to help you boost your Office skills and knowledge. Play games ("challenges"), score points, and compete with your friends while becoming more productive.

Today Microsoft Office Labs released Ribbon Hero, a free add-in that works with Office 2007 and with Office 2010 beta. This is a new prototype that combines gaming and learning to help people understand how they currently use Office, then challenges their Office skills by exposing them to features they may not be aware of – features that allow them to get their work done faster. 

Once installed, Ribbon Hero awards points based on use of features and through challenges that people play right in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Start earning points by using basic commands (such as bold and italic), and earn more as you use more complex features or combinations of features.    

In addition to this, it even lets people challenge their friends and earn bragging rights. Ribbon Hero connects to Facebook and allows people to post scores, compare with others and more to have an Office challenge of their own.

For more info, check out this Office Labs blog post.

Discuss this Article 12

EricoF3
on Jan 19, 2010
hmmm ... Bizard addin...
Ocean
on Jan 19, 2010
Paul said in his last podcast that he's looking to do away with comments on the blog. See you guys elsewhere.
de Silentio
on Jan 19, 2010
Ocean, I certainly understand why. Although, there have been those few occasions when the discussion was productive, and once or twice when I learned something useful.
anonymous
on Jan 19, 2010
This post was mentioned on Twitter by eoghann_feed: Office Ribbon Hero http://bit.ly/4DGIkn
Keleko
on Jan 19, 2010
The comments here are tame compared the comments on an Engadget post. The Mac vs. Windows fights there are much worse. I personally believe that a blog without some kind of reader feedback is much less compelling to read. But, it is Paul's blog. He gets to decide if there are comments or not.
Ocean
on Jan 19, 2010
"I personally believe that a blog without some kind of reader feedback is much less compelling to read." I don't. This site is the Windows version of DaringFireball.net, and that site hasn't suffered for not having comments. Equally here. Gruber says (and I'm sure Paul would agree): "I wanted to write a site for someone it’s meant for. That reader I write for is a second version of me. I’m writing for him. He’s interested in the exact same things I’m interested in; he reads the exact same websites I read. I want him to like this website so much that he reads it from the top to the bottom, and he reads everything. Every single word. The copyright statement, what software I use, he’s read it all. If I turn comments on, that goes away. -- If I turn comments on I feel like it’s two different directions."
rr0de74@live.com
on Jan 19, 2010
@Ocean, the difference is that Gruber avoids conflict and stays on focus/topic. His site and posting never gives you the feel that he is fishing for hits where I find my self thinking that Paul has done that many times. I think if Paul shuts down the comments his site will drop some in popularity, if its popular even now. The site is driven more by controversy that substance. This whole site is 80+ opinion. If you want real answers on how to do something with a Microsoft product, this is not the place to come.
Ocean
on Jan 19, 2010
"Gruber avoids conflict and stays on focus/topic." Yeah, right. I like 'em both, but he throws firebombs with the rest of them. Just yesterday: "Ed Bott: ‘It’s Time to Stop Using IE6’ ★ I hear next week he’s going to say it’s time to stop using floppy disks."
Killsocket
on Jan 19, 2010
Paul doesn't need to turn them off. He needs to stop talking about Apple. Look at the last few blogs he did. Very few comments. And some of them are by Apple fans. You can register 100+ responses (obviously by same people over and over) when he talks about Apple. But talk about Windows and it's a snooze-fest. Just like their products. Can't you feel the excitement? I mean seriously. All Paul can talk about for Windows is Office Ribbon Hero??? Challenge friends to score points and be more productive? That PC guy from the Apple ads becomes more real to me everyday. Way to go Paul.
de Silentio
on Jan 19, 2010
"I personally believe that a blog without some kind of reader feedback is much less compelling to read" I agree. Sometimes there is very useful stuff in the comments of blogs. This one, not so much, but there is at least some entertainment.... and familiar friends.
robertsjoe
on Jan 19, 2010
Bob all over again. FAIL!
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 20, 2010
Ocean "Paul said in his last podcast that he's looking to do away with comments on the blog." Well, since I stopped posting, why bother having it? :-)

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