Via Slashdot, a very in depth and detailed comparison of Windows and Ubuntu at the European Dell site:

Choose WINDOWS if:

* You are already using WINDOWS programs (e.g. Microsoft Office, ITunes etc) and want to continue using them

* You are familiar with WINDOWS and do not want to learn new programs for email, word processing etc

* You are new to using computers

Choose UBUNTU if:

* You do not plan to use Microsoft WINDOWS

* You are interested in open source programming

Wow. Thanks for that. It's totally outstanding! "Choose Ubuntu if you do not plan to use Windows or if you want to write open source programs". No How deeply they find the nuance. Thankfully, there US site has something a little more....I don't know....'informational'.

Although, as with many things on Slashdot, something in the comments struck me:

Opening a document someone sent you from work in Word 2007 and editing it in Word 2007. Where's the ribbon?

The reply to this is not to say, "well, then, just open it in Open Office." It may look similar to its version in Word, it may not. When Open Office looks exactly like Word 2007+, and works exactly the same way as well, then you can ask your question again.

I think that may sort of explain the ribbon. No doubt, in the late era of Office 03, OO was within striking distance. Most usage requirements were well met by OO one way or the other. 07 added several new features - a few of which were killer - but the huge difference was the 'ribbon', which was a painful UI switch. Might it be that the ribbon was more a result of the need to differentiate the brand than it was to maintain the file>edit>view style UI? I guess I never really thought about it before, but it certainly would make sense.