Quiz of The Week: Is Microsoft Office Your Friend?

Microsoft – it’s like Marmite. Some people love it, and there are obvious reasons for that. Its software is familiar, useful and widespread. Some hate it too. Not just any company gets a £688 million fine from EU for anti-competitive practices.

One of the products that has cemented the American corporation’s importance over the years is Microsoft Office. It was created over 20 years ago, by putting together a number of applications developed for desk jockeys. By 2011, it had sold around 750 million copies worldwide, including 100 million of the latest edition, Microsoft Office 2010.

According to the company, Office sales still experience double-digit growth. And with Office 365 Microsoft hopes to take all its users on into the new age of the Cloud.

Our own research last year showed Office was a definite favourite with TechWeekEurope readers, with over 30 percent using the software to increase workplace productivity.

And now, some interesting trivia:

• It was the first version of Word that introduced the mouse to the masses.
• Excel arrived on the PC two years after it appeared on Apple computers.
• In Japan, you will find Office bundled with InterConnect – a “business relationship database”, complete with support for digital business cards.
• Microsoft announced it was working on Office for Linux in 2006, but no release was ever published.
• The next version of the software suite, Office 15, will feature touchscreen-friendly interface.

None of that will help you in the quiz, we are sorry to say. Go on then, how well do you know Microsoft Office?

Take our quiz!

But before you do that, here’s some inspiration, in the form of a Microsoft developers’ song, right from this year’s Norwegian Developers Conference. (Warning: might be considered offensive!)

And if you like this quiz, try some of the others!