Changing Ribbon on Microsoft Office Starter 2010

[clint_uk]

I just got a new PC and as such am now using Windows 7 instead of the WIndows XP I'm used to. I got the cheap Word and Excel versions (Office Starter 2010) as standard and I was wondering if the following things can be done about the layout in these programs:

1- Can I change the toolbar/ribbon to not include some features to have it less cluttered, if so how?
2- Can I take that damn block off the right hand side with all the get started crap on it, once again if so how?

I've checked the file page and can't seem to find anything relevant to what I want but maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe cos' this software is basically free Microsoft have decided to be a holes and make it uncustomisable to persuade you to purchase the full version...who knows..

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks very much in advance

[VHG]

>Or maybe cos' this software is basically free

It IS free, so I dont think you can complain if some features are not there.

Of course it is an attempt to make you go out and buy the full product (it is also an attempt by Microsoft to continue Word and Excel being the industry Office standards).

If you go to this web page ot tells you what you can and cant do with it

(see the section "What end users cannot do with Office Starter 2010" and one of them is "Customize the quick access toolbar"):

http://www.microsoft....ice_2010_starter.aspx

[VHG]

Just found a review of it on the Telegraph web site.

Note it says "The catch, and you’ve spotted there must be one, is over on the right-hand side of the screen. A panel around 200pixels wide sits there and can’t be removed."

http://www.telegraph....ice-Starter-2010.html

[rojash]

Of course a simple answer is to bin the hamstrung Office and replace it with a fully fledged Office suite such as Open Office, which is completely free, won't try to get you to buy anything, and is not hamstrung.
You can configure it to read and write MS format documents by default.
http://www.openoffice.org/