The new Office (version 12) sees a total rewamp of the UI. I don’t think this would be such a good move. People don’t accept changed easily. As me and some of my friends are used to saying: “Never underestimate the stupidity of general public”.
Anyway, the change is going more towards Macromedia’s Dreamweaver style tabs to group similar commands together. I think this will be welcomed by the geek community in general. Take a look at the new UI. It’s only a preview.