Microsoft unveils The New Microsoft Office (pictures)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicks off today's event by announcing an update to its suite of office and productivity software, revealing the desktop version Microsoft Office 2013, and the full suite, The New Microsoft Office.

Ballmer refers to the new Office as "your modern office." It has features integrated with Windows 8, cloud computing, social networking, and other new online experiences.

Kirk Koenigsbauer, a Microsoft corporate vice president, demos the updated PowerPoint software.

PowerPoint's "cockpit" displays more information for presenters, such as a timer and a preview of the next slide.

Microsoft's e-mail client, Outlook, not only gets a new look, but also includes a quick actions tab, in-line reply, and a new calendar view.

Peek provides an interactive look at People, Calendar, and Tasks. It turns addresses in your contacts into interactive Bing maps.

Microsoft's digital note-taking application, OneNote, also gets a face-lift and is integrated with touch-screen capabilities.

With the redesigned Microsoft Office, users can sign into Office apps, store files in the cloud using SkyDrive, and view live media files.

The new Word has a Reading Mode that presents documents in a booklike layout.

Koenigsbauer said that no matter where users are or what devices they're on, Office documents are fully accessible through the SkyDrive cloud. Here, documents are listed on a mobile device.

In SharePoint, groups can comment about documents with threaded replies. Users can also "follow" a document and preview document changes from within the SharePoint newsfeed.

Skype is also integrated with The New Microsoft Office.

New features in Microsoft Excel include Quick Analysis formatting and FlashFill, which lets users copy and paste data sets from a browser without wonky formatting from the transition.

Microsoft Lync, demoed here on a Windows 8 touch-screen device, makes it possible for users to collaborate live on Microsoft Office files like PowerPoint presentations and OneNote documents.

Ballmer summarizes the new, "modern" aspects of The New Microsoft Office.

Ballmer encourages people to try Microsoft Office 365 (the subscription) first. However, Microsoft will offer a fully licensed version that can be installed later on.