Microsoft"I genuinely can't think of a single reason why having it on the left is better."
I tend to believe the unsubstantiated claims that the change was driven by someone(s) in marketing. In the early 1990's you could see the beginning of the steadily growing influence of marketing on MSFT software design. Since they are attached to the institution with an antisocial personality disorder, Wall Street, they are under constant, irrational pressure to keep increasing revenue.
This has driven a change-for-change's sake behavior pattern in MSFT and many other software makers. I've long had a paranoid pseudo-theory that the changes also reflect the corporate elite's desire to deskill workers whose managers have been conditioned to accept work output mediocrity, confusing trendiness with actual productivity and creativity. In terms of overall utility for sophisticated users, Microsoft Office peaked just before the ribbon came along to strangle every power user in the world.
