RSSMicrosoft Details Office 2008 for Mac
By Ed Oswald | Published September 7, 2007, 3:10 PM
Microsoft began offering a few details of its upcoming release of the Office 2008 suite for the Mac platform, by first listing work to Entourage to further support Exchange services and features.
In a post to the Mac Mojo Web log, Mac BU General Manager Craig Eisler said that support for Exchange within Entourage 2008 would be the company's most reliable to date. He said that he had been using the builds of the product for two months and was "delighted" by the stability, reliability, and interoperability.
Customers have taken a central place in the development, and the Mac BU was working closely with the Exchange team to insure that Entourage would continue to be as interoperable with the product as possible.
One of the features being brought into Entourages its the Out-Of-Office reply (OOF) functionality. Previously, Mac users had to log into the online Office application to set up the feature.
"Just like in Outlook 2007, you can configure your OOF to send separate replies based on who sent you a message and automatically turn on and off between certain date and times??"no more worrying about remembering to turn off your OOF message," Eisler said.
Other aspects of Office being worked on are changes to the Entourage calendar and database, new installation and deployment options, SharePoint integration, and new security functionality. Eisler said he would elaborate on these new features in future posts.
"I hope you will enjoy Office 2008 as much as we do - the whole BU is using Office 2008, with builds that get better every day," Eisler wrote. "It's been a monumental project for the team - I'm proud of the work they've done in Office 2008 and we can't wait to get it into your hands in January."
I'm no longer particularly fond of Windows (using OS X and Linux for most things) but I still like MS Word, having used it since the original DOS release (where a Mouse was included in the package).
There's no question that other packages (including OO et al) are getting quite good. Certainly, if you're a new user, who has never worked with MS Word, it's definitely worth investigating alternatives.
Having said that, my position is simple --- I'm always on the lookout for newer technology that gets me more than I'm getting now and if the "more", is worth it, I'll switch in a minute.
Now, I haven't seen any compelling features in OO that would make me say, "darn it, much better than MS Office, it's worth switching, even though I'm an existing MS Office user.
While some may say that the price ($0) is a compelling feature, my position AS AN EXISTING USER is that the price of the alternate tool is generally not much of factor in such a decision because that price doesn't factor in the effort needed to get up to speed with the new tool, learn its quirks, deal with all the little incompatibilities (yeah, there are!), and so forth. If OO was 100% (really 100%) compatible in EVERYTHING, then, yeah, it would be worth looking at. But even then, one needs to consider the future growth path....MS Office is not going to be standing still either.
Think about it another way ---- forgetting one's prejudices for/against MS Office for a moment, if OO cost the same as MS Office, which one would you buy? (Leave out religious answers in your responses, please)
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|Just remember that Office is the biggest selling app on the mac. Just because some of you hate Microsoft more then the devil himself doesn't mean everyone does.
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|How does a Mac user justify purchasing this garbage Microsuck product in light of a more native and lighter NeoOffice which is free? Why do this people, why?
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|That's easy. It's the track changes stuff in Office.
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|I personally prefer MS Office over any other suite.
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|Because NeoOffice is Java? When they get a full port that does not require Java or X11, I'll consider it on my Mac. For now, it's Office.
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|I don't understand why they have Entourage instead of making it like Outlook or what not. Similar tech across platforms is helpful.
Thank goodness for Open Office / Neo Office. :)
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|Can anyone say marketing release?
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|"Previously, Mac users had to log into the online Office application to set up the feature."
bummer
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|Maybe open office xml isn't the same as ms ooxml but if it is, you are wrong.
"Office 2008 for Mac will share some technologies with its Windows counterpart, Office 2007, making for seamless compatibility between the different versions, according to Microsoft. Both Office releases will use the Office Open XML Formats, which will enable users to easily save files and open files in either platform"
http://www.macworld.com/...09/msftoffice/index.php
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|Predictably, there's no mention of MS-OOXML, which Microsoft has yet to get to work on mac Office 2008. Pretty much undercuts the whole "open" argument of MS-OOXML. How'd that Ecma/ISO fast track vote go again? Even with Microsoft gaming the vote: UTTER FAILURE.
Hilarious.
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|*laughs*
Yes. Sure. It's all OOXML's fault. You never give up, do you? Are you paid by the ODF folks for the smear campaign, or are you just copypasting from others who are?
From the Guardian:
The Office for Windows developers have changed the whole interface in Office 2007 to something that's impossible on a Mac*, used a new Windows Presentation Foundation, and introduced new default file formats with Office Open XML. Also, with Apple swapping processors yet again, they've been forced to dump their FreeScale CodeWarrior development system and change to Apple's Xcode system.
* because the Mac has menus at the top of the screen, divorced from the application window.
Barely a mention of OOXML. Although, I am sure you take that as proof...
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