Are you telling me you had 600 - 1000 functions on your toolbar in Office 2003?
Why I hate the ribbon.
Open word, try an insert a new drawing canvas. Look in insert tab, no button there, after some hunting its found under the Shapes drop down button.
After drawing your canvas on screen, the previously invisible Format tool bar opens, Add a text box and some text.
Now try and play around with the text. Gotta go to the home tab - or pay hover and hope with the formatting floaty box.
Now I want to add (insert) another box, bugger, gotta click on FORMAT tab again.
But know if I click on a blank area of the drawing canvas, the ribbon auto flips back to Home, so I need to click back onto format to get my drawing buttons again.
OK, Ive got my boxes, now I want to color some of them in, click on a box - OH NO, now its taking me back to the Home tab again..what? that wasn't the behavior before. In fact, the selected ribbon behavior constantly changes depending on your previous actions and I cant predict how it will behave!
Any why does the little break out button on the bottom right of some groups open a property box OR a dock-able tool bar (Styles/Clip Board)
And what about inserting a page break - its under the Insert tab. Cool, what about a section break, its not there, its under Page Layout! Why is a page break in a different section from a Section break?
And tables - there are so many options that there are 2 ribbons for table work. I used to have it easy with all button visible on my 2 row super tool bar but know I have to click and hunt for the option I might be after.
(And don't get me started on excel and access travesties)
The simple fact is, tool bars did serve their purpose quite well and there has been no rational reason put forth to remove them completely.
If the ribbon was an option then there would be NO PROBLEM - but the ribbon is mandatory and for some people it is a regressive step. The fact that this is somehow the users problem is a case study in the arrogance of developers/marketeers.