Office 2007 faster than Works 8.5, surprising

I have a Compaq Presario Notebook PC that came with Microsoft Works 8.5 installed. I now have Office 2007 installed on it.

When I installed Office 2007, I was wondering how fast Word, Excel, etc. would launch compared to Works word processor and spreadsheet. When I used Works word processor, I was a bit frustrated with it's long start time; it usually takes about 10 - 12 seconds to open. Sometimes, if it's restarted shortly after being closed, it will start faster but still usually takes 6 to 7 seconds.

Word 2007, OTOH, will start in 3 - 4 seconds after a fresh start of the computer and subsequent starts happen in 1 - 2 seconds.

Works spreadsheet also takes longer to start than Excel. I would think Works word processor and spreadsheet would be the faster starting programs, simply based on the fact that Office is a bigger, more complex program.

 

I hated the Ribbon at first. Now I don't know how to live without it.

 

Halo, my Notebook PC has Vista Home Premium on it.

As far as the totally new ribbon-based navigation design is concerned, the initial learning curve is rather steep. Like many other Office users, I''ve used several previous versions of MS Office, so the change from the toolbar system we've had for so long has not been an easy transition. But, I think I've reached a point where I can say I'm beginning to like it.