Mac Office 2004 Shipping in May

[MacRumors]

MacCentral reports (http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/05/office/index.php?redirect=1081230650000) that Office 2004 for Mac will ship the third week of May. Final code should ship to manufacturers on April 14, 2004.

Office 2004 was announced and demoed by Microsoft first in in January at MacWorld San Francisco.

Customers may preorder the software from various online vendors.

[Wonder Boy]

is it wrong to pirate microsoft software? for some reason, i don't feel bad when i do ;)

[settledown]

Who cares!

[ssnmx]

who cares? this is old news...
another slow day, heh? :rolleyes:

(Don't flame me with: "Office is VERY important." I know it is, but I just don't care...)

[Arcady]

WooHoo, Clippy 2004 in OpenGL with RSAA smoothing!!! :eek:

[AirUncleP]

Just in time......

Did you read that Bill slipped to #2 on the worldwide richest dude list?

We must unite and get him back to number 1!

[wrldwzrd89]

WooHoo, Clippy 2004 in OpenGL with RSAA smoothing!!! :eek:
Clippy, no matter whether rendered in OpenGL 3D or not, is still annoying. Down with Clippy! (As you can probably tell, I have no interest in purchasing Office:mac 2004.)

[afields]

Does this mean we're getting new PowerMacs?!?!











Sorry, couldn't resist. :p

[brogers]

Well, I'm more than a little excited about it. I noticed at the online Apple Store, they are preselling it. There is also a Student and Teachers Edition for a whole lot cheaper that the standard edition. I know the Pro edition has the Virtual PC software with it, but the others I'm not sure about. Anyone know if there is a difference between them...as far as features go???

Or.....does anyone really care??? :D

[Wonder Boy]

Does this mean we're getting new PowerMacs?!?!

Sorry, couldn't resist. :p

try harder next time. don't be that guy.

[ssnmx]

Well, I'm more than a little excited about it. I noticed at the online Apple Store, they are preselling it. There is also a Student and Teachers Edition for a whole lot cheaper that the standard edition. I know the Pro edition has the Virtual PC software with it, but the others I'm not sure about. Anyone know if there is a difference between them...as far as features go???

Or.....does anyone really care??? :D


Office 2004 - Student and Teacher edition: $149.95

Office v.X - Student and teacher edition: $149.95

You think that's cheap??
I got Office v.X for a whooping $7 at my university... :rolleyes:

[wrldwzrd89]

Well, I'm more than a little excited about it. I noticed at the online Apple Store, they are preselling it. There is also a Student and Teachers Edition for a whole lot cheaper that the standard edition. I know the Pro edition has the Virtual PC software with it, but the others I'm not sure about. Anyone know if there is a difference between them...as far as features go???

Or.....does anyone really care??? :D
There may not be any difference. As far as I know, the Student and Teacher Edition of Office:mac X is the same as the Standard Edition, only cheaper. The Professional Edition includes Virtual PC; that's the only difference from the Standard Edition. I would expect this trend to continue with Office:mac 2004.

[wrldwzrd89]

Office 2004 - Student and Teacher edition: $149.95

Office v.X - Student and teacher edition: $149.95

You think that's cheap??
I got Office v.X for a whooping $7 at my university... :rolleyes:
I'd have to imagine some sort of technology grant allows your university to sell Office:mac v.X for $7. I can't get any computer software nearly that cheap at my community college.

[3-22]

I'd have to imagine some sort of technology grant allows your university to sell Office:mac v.X for $7. I can't get any computer software nearly that cheap at my community college.

I think the college works out something, my school does not unfortunately... A buddy can get any Microsoft product for $5 a CD at his school. Guess who is buying me Office 2004... :p

For those of you who say screw Office and Microsoft. Well I would like to say no thanks to the product and MS but with school, work, etc. it would make life very diffifult not to have Office on my Mac. I tried other alternatives but it just did not work out. I just wish Microsoft would bring out Visio for the mac..

[ZildjianKX]

Does this imply VPC comes out this May?

[Grimace]

If you buy a copy of OFFICE v.X now, you get an upgrade to OFFICE 2004 for free so I was looking at the older (current) v.X Professional Upgrade. The system requirements include "Current version of Microsoft Office v. X" - what they heck is the upgrade to v.X Pro for?? Just VPC 6.1??

[brogers]

Office 2004 - Student and Teacher edition: $149.95

Office v.X - Student and teacher edition: $149.95

You think that's cheap??
I got Office v.X for a whooping $7 at my university... :rolleyes:


Notice I said cheaper than the the standard edition or the pro edition. Compared to $7, no $149 is not cheap. That is not a deal that we all get to take advantage of. However, overall even $399 is cheap if you consider what you are getting. As untastful as it may be, this is the standard for documents, presentations and spreadsheeting. I deal with businesses all the country and I have never had someone tell me they are sending me an Apple Works document that I might have to translate. I wish they would. I wish everyone would, but they don't. So in the big scheme of things, it ain't bad.

On the other had, my wife is a teacher and they use Apple Works for most everything.

[ssnmx]

I think the college works out something, my school does not unfortunately... A buddy can get any Microsoft product for $5 a CD at his school. Guess who is buying me Office 2004... :p

For those of you who say screw Office and Microsoft. Well I would like to say no thanks to the product and MS but with school, work, etc. it would make life very diffifult not to have Office on my Mac. I tried other alternatives but it just did not work out. I just wish Microsoft would bring out Visio for the mac..

Office for Windows is $5 and Office for Mac $7...
damn people, always trying to rip Mac users off! :D :p

[frinky23]

Is it even worth upgrading to?

I also can get it legally for $5.

[garybooberry]

At least someone is shipping new product. :p

[Zaty]

I just ordered my free upgrade. I wouldn't have paid $149 but for €15, I couldn't resist :)

[SoGood]

Is it even worth upgrading to?
Absolutely. Support for long file name, unicode and presentation assistant makes it very worthwhile. Oh yes, there's also now compatibility with Word on the PC side with respect to "edit tracking". About time!

[SiliconAddict]

is it wrong to pirate microsoft software? for some reason, i don't feel bad when i do ;)


Only if its not wrong to pirate Apple's software. ;)

[orion123]

Absolutely. Support for long file name, unicode and presentation assistant makes it very worthwhile. Oh yes, there's also now compatibility with Word on the PC side with respect to "edit tracking". About time!

Right, and if you've been curious about Entourage/Exchange compatability fixes, it looks like there is a bunch of good news:

http://macinchat.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=1936046971&f=5376055081&m=495103951&r=495103951#495103951

[MDiddy]

Thats all I'm concerned about. If this doesn't allow Entourage to inegrate with iSync, I'm going to be very dissapointed.

[MacsRgr8]

I don't expect Virtual PC 7 to be ready by then.....

I have heard ZERO stories about VPC 7. Office 2004 preview is hovering on the 'net, but absolutely no info on Virtual PC.

I bet alot of G5 owners are waiting for it. But somehow I feel the wait could be a very long one (... similar to new PowerMacs :D )

[MacsRgr8]

Well there is some info on VPC....

Quote: "Virtual*PC for Mac and the Power Mac G5


We know Mac users are excited to take advantage of the speed of the new Power Mac G5 processor to run Virtual PC for Mac and PC programs. Microsoft is currently working on the next version of Virtual PC for Mac, which will run on the G5. Watch the Mactopia newsletter for updates."

Taken from MacTopia (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/using.aspx?pid=usingvirtualpc)

[gemio17]

wasn't there something about if you bought office in the past couple of months you would get the upgrade for free?? I got the student version in feb. and seem to recall something like that when I ordered it...

[Chappers]

Ah good old UK prices. Student edition Orifice v.X = $237
Upgrade Orifice v.X = $512
Microsloth orifice v.X = $641

I think its the upgrade price that gets my goat (f**ks me off).
"Yeh we know you paid a huge wad of money to borrow our software but you wanna borrow a later version, well its gonna cost I'm afraid.

[impierced]

Office 2004 - Student and Teacher edition: $149.95

Office v.X - Student and teacher edition: $149.95

You think that's cheap??
I got Office v.X for a whooping $7 at my university... :rolleyes:

Universities that have signed contracts with Microsoft are paying millions a year for that software, so really it isn't cheap.

Also, your university fees (technology, etc) are helping to pay for it. You just don't know it..

[applekid]

Eh, sounds like we're only getting complaints from the Mac fanboys out there. If you can't afford it, tough.

I haven't seen anything useful with this new version of Office (that goes for the PC version, too) except for that voice recording thingy for notes. $149 doesn't seem to justify the Student version for me though. Show me some more new and useful features, and I might upgrade.

And for those pirates out there, if you can't afford it then don't buy it and quit your bitching. Send complaints to Microsoft about their outrageous prices.

[jelloshotsrule]

...don't buy it and quit your bitching. Send complaints to Microsoft about their outrageous prices.

"quit your bitching" followed directly by "send complaints"... sorry, i just find that humorous...

[iMeowbot]

Clippy, no matter whether rendered in OpenGL 3D or not, is still annoying. Down with Clippy! (As you can probably tell, I have no interest in purchasing Office:mac 2004.)

Hey now wait a minute! Office on the Mac only has Oliver's Banana PC, which is pretty cool in my book. Where else would a suicidal computer hang out?

Clippit only shows up if you drag him kicking and screaming from the CD, and force him to live on your desktop.

[wdlove]

Well there is some info on VPC....

Quote: "Virtual*PC for Mac and the Power Mac G5


We know Mac users are excited to take advantage of the speed of the new Power Mac G5 processor to run Virtual PC for Mac and PC programs. Microsoft is currently working on the next version of Virtual PC for Mac, which will run on the G5. Watch the Mactopia newsletter for updates."

Taken from MacTopia (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/using.aspx?pid=usingvirtualpc)

I started filling out my free upgrade forms last evening and plan to mail this week. Sounds like my timing is just right.

VPC has been shipping with the Professional addition of Office. So now if VPC 7 comes out at a later date, that means that Microsoft will get to charge extra. Can only hope they might make an adjustment.

[wrldwzrd89]

Hey now wait a minute! Office on the Mac only has Oliver's Banana PC, which is pretty cool in my book. Where else would a suicidal computer hang out?

Clippit only shows up if you drag him kicking and screaming from the CD, and force him to live on your desktop.
I don't like ANY of the Office Assistants. They're all annoying, no matter how good they look, since they all use the same "guess what I'm trying to do before I do it, which most likely isn't what I was trying to do anyway" help routine.

[Jetson]

[wrldwzrd89]

AppleWorks sucks big time. I write software for a living and wouldn't dare release such a buggy piece of crap.
What's wrong with AppleWorks? I haven't encountered bugginess with it. I only use it for the spreadsheet function; I use TextEdit for word processing and I don't need presentation software (if I did, I'd use Keynote).

[AppleMatt]

Well, after reading all this $7 Office talk, I quickly logged onto my universities network and had a look at what they had to offer, I've known that Sophos has always been free, but didn't know about Office.

Well, an Office v.X CD is...£11.70 :D
but
You also have to buy an Office licence...£70. Not including VAT.

So, it's actually cheaper to buy the Student & Teacher edition of Office in the USA (at just £81), than buy the university "subsidised" version over here. Fantastic.

How about other UK universitians? What's the prices like at your unis?
I might email my uni asking why they don't license the big products like Office.

AppleMatt

[autrefois]

wasn't there something about if you bought office in the past couple of months you would get the upgrade for free?? I got the student version in feb. and seem to recall something like that when I ordered it...

Yes--here's the link

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.aspx?pid=office2004tg

[tny]

I don't expect Virtual PC 7 to be ready by then.....

I have heard ZERO stories about VPC 7. Office 2004 preview is hovering on the 'net, but absolutely no info on Virtual PC.

I bet alot of G5 owners are waiting for it. But somehow I feel the wait could be a very long one (... similar to new PowerMacs :D )

The professional upgrade deal says June 30, so expect VPC 7 by then. Note that the Apple store lists Office 2004 Standard and Student/Teacher, but not Pro - not yet.

[jbrown]

[QUOTE=afields]Does this mean we're getting new PowerMacs?!?!

I hate stupid posts like this. Why even say it when it's obvious that Microsoft releasing a new version of Office only means one thing..........that new dual G5 powerbooks will be out next tuesday!!!! :D :D

[frankly]

I just wish Microsoft would bring out Visio for the mac..

Have you tried OmniGraffle? It even reads and saves in Visio format.

The only product I wish they would bring is Project because I haven't found software on the Mac that does what that does. If someone has a suggestion I'd like to hear it :)

Later, Frank

[MacsRgr8]

The professional upgrade deal says June 30, so expect VPC 7 by then. Note that the Apple store lists Office 2004 Standard and Student/Teacher, but not Pro - not yet.

Check.

Here's to hoping ;)

[frankly]

I deal with businesses all the country and I have never had someone tell me they are sending me an Apple Works document that I might have to translate. I wish they would. I wish everyone would, but they don't.

Do you really wish that? I used to be a big time AppleWorks fan five or ten years ago. They haven't updated it in at least four years and it is showing its age.

Later, Frank

[frankly]

Eh, sounds like we're only getting complaints from the Mac fanboys out there.

Is anyone else as sick as I am of people coming into forums and calling those that like to voice their opinion "fanboys"???

I find it to be the least intelligent response I see in a forum.

Later, Frank

[frankly]

There may not be any difference. As far as I know, the Student and Teacher Edition of Office:mac X is the same as the Standard Edition, only cheaper. The Professional Edition includes Virtual PC; that's the only difference from the Standard Edition. I would expect this trend to continue with Office:mac 2004.

Actually there is a major difference that makes the Student/Teacher edition BETTER. You can use it on multiple computers in the same household.

Later, Frank

[briankonar]

apple works is utter garbage (it hasn't been upgraded in years).

microsoft office is a complete ripoff even for the student teacher pricing.

somebody really needs to create a decent Mac OS X Office Suite that is affordable yet quality software. i had alot of hopes for Open Office, but they've gone nowhere.

[frankly]

apple works is utter garbage (it hasn't been upgraded in years).

microsoft office is a complete ripoff even for the student teacher pricing.

somebody really needs to create a decent Mac OS X Office Suite that is affordable yet quality software. i had alot of hopes for Open Office, but they've gone nowhere.

I'm sorry but if you have ever used Microsoft Office on a regular basis then you wouldn't be saying that it is a ripoff at $149. I agree that the regular price is too high but it is well worth $149. Please name me the equivalent apps that do the same thing for less than $149...........


Later, Frank

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Connetix's common excuse for the slownees of VPC was that they didn't have access to the M$ code in order to make it run faster..

Perhaps M$ is keeping VPC under wraps because they've made it fast, fast ,fast... They'd like every mac user to have a windows liscense, so if they made it seamless and speedy, it might work to their advantage..

it could also just be crap that no one will care about..

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)

It's free.. that's less than $149

I'm sorry but if you have ever used Microsoft Office on a regular basis then you wouldn't be saying that it is a ripoff at $149. I agree that the regular price is too high but it is well worth $149. Please name me the equivalent apps that do the same thing for less than $149...........


Later, Frank

[Rasmuskl]

Is it even worth upgrading to?

I also can get it legally for $5.

Wel how about you buy me copy and mail it to me. Heck i will even go so far as to pay you $20 :)

[jsw]

Have you tried OmniGraffle? It even reads and saves in Visio format.

The only product I wish they would bring is Project because I haven't found software on the Mac that does what that does. If someone has a suggestion I'd like to hear it :)

Later, Frank

I second the recommendation for OmniGraffle. I bought the Pro version mainly just to support the company, since the standard version was "free" on my G5. It is an excellent product with a very nice interface. It doesn't have the template ("stencil" in Graffle world) library of Visio, but there are numerous free templates out there, and I find it to be an exceptional product. Demo versions are free at OmniGroup (http://www.omnigroup.com). And, no, I don't work for them or know anyone who does, but I like to promote good Mac software, and this is good Mac software.

With OmniGraffle in my arsenal, I don't see any need for me to upgrade to Office'04. Some cool features, but nothing I need. Perhaps if I worked with a lot of other people, but I don't really need to record voice notes when I'm in a meeting with myself (the voices are all in my head anyway :) ).

[jsw]

Do you really wish that? I used to be a big time AppleWorks fan five or ten years ago. They haven't updated it in at least four years and it is showing its age.

Later, Frank

Agreed. It was acceptible in the late 90's. Now it is too long in the tooth. Office blows it away. It pains me to say that, but it's evident to anyone who's used both.

[Escher]

You think that's cheap??
I got Office v.X for a whooping $7 at my university... :rolleyes:

And how much are you paying for tuition, ssnmx, so that your school can subsidize your version of Office? :rolleyes:

Escher

[bitfactory]

Right, and if you've been curious about Entourage/Exchange compatability fixes, it looks like there is a bunch of good news:

http://macinchat.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=1936046971&f=5376055081&m=495103951&r=495103951#495103951

NOT good news - this still isn't REAL Exchange Server support. Outlook 2001 in classic is still the only way to get close.

great job Microsoft! you still can't get it right!

[Parikh1234]

Holy crap an update for a apple product :eek: ..... too bad it has to come from microsoft. :mad:

[DaBuzz]

Have you tried OmniGraffle? It even reads and saves in Visio format.

The only product I wish they would bring is Project because I haven't found software on the Mac that does what that does. If someone has a suggestion I'd like to hear it :)

Later, Frank

FastTrack Schedule (AEC Software) is about as close as you'll get. They will even translate Project files you submit to them, but in my experience, Project 2000 files didn't get translated too well.

OmniGraffle Pro works great - except for the lack of stencils like Visio Pro has.

For everyone here bitching and whining and bashing Microsoft - I don't know what world you are living in, but in the land of corporate America (and the world), and American government. Even IBM, which until recently required the use of SmartSuite internally, has given in to Office (it used to drive me CRAZY to get Freelance presentations!). Office is as essential to Mac users as OS X. As an IT manager, I depend on Office for everyday and business-critical work. I have had to resort to OmniGraffle and FastTrack because of the lack of Visio and Project on the Mac. I don't like having to use my Dell desktop to edit a Project file or Visio network chart. Office is the most important app for the Mac to be taken seriously in the business environment.

When I first got my PowerBook, my co-workers would ask me "Does it run Windows (or Word, or Excel", or "Will you be able to open the Word file I am sending you?" - and these are IT people.

In an ideal world, SmartSuite and Corel's suite would be contenders, on both platforms. If not for market share, at lest for competition's sake and to keep Microsoft on its toes.

I am eagerly awaiting Office 2004 - I had my pre-order in on 4/1, as soon as the Apple site had it up. Some of its features put it ahead of its Windows counterpart, so I will have another thing to gloat over them.

[CTYankee]

Notice I said cheaper than the the standard edition or the pro edition. Compared to $7, no $149 is not cheap. That is not a deal that we all get to take advantage of. However, overall even $399 is cheap if you consider what you are getting. As untastful as it may be, this is the standard for documents, presentations and spreadsheeting. I deal with businesses all the country and I have never had someone tell me they are sending me an Apple Works document that I might have to translate. I wish they would. I wish everyone would, but they don't. So in the big scheme of things, it ain't bad.

On the other had, my wife is a teacher and they use Apple Works for most everything.

My friends office uses Corel Word Perfect. Yes, word perfect. There are maybe 15 people and only 2 like it. The rest ask why not Office, the response: "We are a Word Perfect office". So even PC people can be stubbornly anti MS.

[danbirchall]

The professional upgrade deal says June 30, so expect VPC 7 by then. Note that the Apple store lists Office 2004 Standard and Student/Teacher, but not Pro - not yet.

That's just the Apple store, though. Other Mac retailers are also accepting pre-orders for Office 2004. Look around - http://www.macmall.com/ has Office 2004 topping its front-page "Special Offers" list, http://www.macconnection.com/ and http://www.maczone.com/ have Office 2004 top center on their homepages. (MacZone even offers a free copy of Zoo Tycoon for Mac if you buy the Student and Teacher edition.)

All three of those sites are taking pre-orders for Standard, Student and Teacher AND Professional editions of Office 2004 - and all three of them have information on ship dates for Office 2004 Professional Edition!

Of course... they all have DIFFERENT information on ship dates...

MacMall says Office 2004 Pro "Starts shipping end of July 2004."
MacZone says Office 2004 Pro "Product Ships July 7th, 2004"
MacConnection says Office 2004 Pro is "Coming in June"

Do we really know any more than we did before, at this point? No. But people who "should know" are throwing out numbers in the June-July timeframe. I'm a little disappointed since I have to do something all Windows-y in VPC every 3 months, and it looks like the June run will still be on my G3. Come September, though, I hope to have VPC on the G5.

[soosy]

I cringe every time MS touts "Mac only/Mac first" features. I'm totally not interested. Just give us a version that is EXACTLY on par with Windows. Give us Visio. Give us Project. Give us REAL exchange support. Make sure red x's don't appear when we open documents with images.

But at least long file name support is a start.
(Why did that take so long exactly? :P)

[wrldwzrd89]

I cringe every time MS touts "Mac only/Mac first" features. I'm totally not interested. Just give us a version that is EXACTLY on par with Windows. Give us Visio. Give us Project. Give us REAL exchange support. Make sure red x's don't appear when we open documents with images.

But at least long file name support is a start.
(Why did that take so long exactly? :P)
I'd also like to see a more complete Mac Office suite from Microsoft, with Visio, Project, Publisher, Outlook (Mac OS X native, please) and Access (I know Publisher and Access aren't the greatest applications for their fields, but having Mac versions will ease compatibility issues). Any other MS Office/Windows applications I forgot? I'd like to see those too.

<edit> I won't buy any Mac version of Office until these applications appear and work as advertised, too.</edit>

[fatfish]

Who cares if M$ have released another version of office. My office manages quite well without it, I guess most of you guys could too if you were all a little more positive.

We send all our files as pdf's, if we receive any M$ docs we send them back and ask for it to be resent in a universal format such as pdf's. We have never had a problem with this approach.

OK so some docs need to be able to be edited, no problem-if it's plain text, there are numerous universal products that can do the job. If its graphics or publishing then office is not up to it anyway.

Granted there are more features with office, but who really needs them, for us it just complicates the interface, we like it nice and simple.

And yes I have purchased a copy, before anyone suggests different, I thought we might need it, but having bought it, this is how I know now we don't need it

Can't say I agree with those that rip off copies though, bottom line is that's stealing, maybe you's should all think a while before ripping it off, it only promotes this silly and untrue notion that office is a universal product.

Lets hope Apple bring out an update soon that breaks office 2004.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

I have office purely for receiving docs.. everything that goes out from me is PDF, and no one has a problem.

As long as people can read the doc (most everyone is a newb, so they freak easy, but you know that) then they don't care. They double click it, and it opens right there and can be read and moved around. That's all people care about.

Problem is, since people (read: execs) know nothing about tech/standards/usability, they creat all docs in .doc. I'm hoping that the more PDF's they get, the greater the likelyhood that someone will ask "hey, how do I make one of these things??" :-)

Who cares if M$ have released another version of office. My office manages quite well without it, I guess most of you guys could too if you were all a little more positive.

We send all our files as pdf's, if we receive any M$ docs we send them back and ask for it to be resent in a universal format such as pdf's. We have never had a problem with this approach.

OK so some docs need to be able to be edited, no problem-if it's plain text, there are numerous universal products that can do the job. If its graphics or publishing then office is not up to it anyway.

Granted there are more features with office, but who really needs them, for us it just complicates the interface, we like it nice and simple.

And yes I have purchased a copy, before anyone suggests different, I thought we might need it, but having bought it, this is how I know now we don't need it

Can't say I agree with those that rip off copies though, bottom line is that's stealing, maybe you's should all think a while before ripping it off, it only promotes this silly and untrue notion that office is a universal product.

Lets hope Apple bring out an update soon that breaks office 2004.

[fatfish]

As long as people can read the doc (most everyone is a newb, so they freak easy, but you know that) then they don't care. They double click it, and it opens right there and can be read and moved around. That's all people care about.

I had assumed (probably wrongly) that as like on the mac, it is a simple click to create a pdf from office for windows, if not then I have even less respect for it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking office as a product, I'm sure there are those that need it. I just object to the unfounded belief that everyone needs it.

[wrldwzrd89]

I have office purely for receiving docs.. everything that goes out from me is PDF, and no one has a problem.

As long as people can read the doc (most everyone is a newb, so they freak easy, but you know that) then they don't care. They double click it, and it opens right there and can be read and moved around. That's all people care about.

Problem is, since people (read: execs) know nothing about tech/standards/usability, they creat all docs in .doc. I'm hoping that the more PDF's they get, the greater the likelyhood that someone will ask "hey, how do I make one of these things??" :-)
Same here - except not all my output is in PDF format. I use plain text or RTF sometimes too (but I probably shouldn't use RTF - it doesn't always transfer correctly across platforms). I like the way PDF preserves formatting, even for the most complex documents, and how Mac OS X makes creating a PDF from any application that can print so simple.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

You know, I'm really not sure.. I work with a Mac (yay!!) and won't work with anything else, so you may be able to make a PDF in wondows office, but I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't.

That being said, you can use acrobat on the wondows side, or OpenOffice to do it should it be funky.

I'd be interested in knowing too.

I had assumed (probably wrongly) that as like on the mac, it is a simple click to create a pdf from office for windows, if not then I have even less respect for it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking office as a product, I'm sure there are those that need it. I just object to the unfounded belief that everyone needs it.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Yeah, that's once of those things that you take for granted when you get away from your Mac.. Often, when someone I work with, or know, has a simple thing they can't do on windows, my first response is usually "why wouldn't the OS, or a program distributed with the OS or computer, just allow you to do that?"

For all the gripes we've been having with Apple lately on hardware, you've just got to give it to them on the software side.. it's just so simple to get things done. But I'll stop my love fest for the software and just give a grumpy face to the hardware :-( ;-)




Same here - except not all my output is in PDF format. I use plain text or RTF sometimes too (but I probably shouldn't use RTF - it doesn't always transfer correctly across platforms). I like the way PDF preserves formatting, even for the most complex documents, and how Mac OS X makes creating a PDF from any application that can print so simple.

[wrldwzrd89]

You know, I'm really not sure.. I work with a Mac (yay!!) and won't work with anything else, so you may be able to make a PDF in wondows office, but I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't.

That being said, you can use acrobat on the wondows side, or OpenOffice to do it should it be funky.

I'd be interested in knowing too.
Acrobat for Windows comes with an Office plug-in that makes creating PDFs from Office documents simpler than it would be otherwise. I was once at a job that had this configuration - I even tried making a few PDFs with it. It was easier to use than going through Acrobat, but nowhere near as simple as Mac OS X makes it (just click print, click save as PDF, give the file a name, and Mac OS X does the rest). This works with ANY application than can print (in Mac OS X), not just Office.
<edit>Yes! I'm a macrumors 6502 now!</edit>

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Is that a freebee? The plug-in I mean.. or does it only come with the preemo version of Acrobat?

Acrobat for Windows comes with an Office plug-in that makes creating PDFs from Office documents simpler than it would be otherwise. I was once at a job that had this configuration - I even tried making a few PDFs with it. It was easier to use than going through Acrobat, but nowhere near as simple as Mac OS X makes it (just click print, click save as PDF, give the file a name, and Mac OS X does the rest). This works with ANY application than can print (in Mac OS X), not just Office.
<edit>Yes! I'm a macrumors 6502 now!</edit>

[mrbrown]

I just like to point out, if you look VERY closely at the Mac Office 2004 Professional box, you can see "Includes Virtual PC 2004"

[Doctor Q]

Is that a freebee? The plug-in I mean.. or does it only come with the preemo version of Acrobat?The free part of Acrobat is Acrobat Reader (for displaying pdfs). I think you have to buy Acrobat to make pdfs from Word docs with Adobe software.

[ClimbingTheLog]

I don't expect Virtual PC 7 to be ready by then.....

I have heard ZERO stories about VPC 7. Office 2004 preview is hovering on the 'net, but absolutely no info on Virtual PC.

Well, we do have Microsoft's line on it:


There will be three versions of Office 2004 for Mac:

* Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Standard Edition. This includes Word 2004, Excel 2004, PowerPoint 2004, Entourage 2004 and MSN® Messenger Version 4.0.
* Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Student and Teacher Edition. This is the same offering as Standard Edition, but is available for a discounted price for qualified students and teachers.
* Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Professional Edition. This is the same offering as Standard Edition, but also includes Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7 with Windows® XP Professional.

Introducing Virtual PC for Mac Version 7

Mac users who need a bridge to the Windows world can benefit from Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7. It provides access to Windows-only software, networks and devices -- without users having to leave their Macs. Virtual PC for Mac Version 7 with Windows XP Professional will ship for the first time as part of Office 2004 for Mac Professional Edition and as a stand-alone product in the first half of 2004. Virtual PC 7 will be available with other guest operating systems a few months after this debut. Customers can look forward to key enhancements over the current version 6.1, including performance and usability improvements, as well as compatibility with the Macintosh G5.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/Jan04/01-06Office2004IntentPR.asp

Office Pro will ship by June 1st. How do I know this? Simple - Microsoft has their Technology Guarantee program where you can buy today and upgrade for shipping & handling. The terms of the program are:
1) you must buy the old version within 30 days of availability of the new version.
2) you must buy by June 30th.

For the standard version, you have to buy it by May 14th, 30 days after availability (give or take a few days). So, why does the program run through June 30th? Must be for the pro version.


I bet alot of G5 owners are waiting for it. But somehow I feel the wait could be a very long one (... similar to new PowerMacs :D )

Alot of potential G5 owners are waiting on it. My workflow depends on VPC. No VPC no G5. New VPC, new honkin' G5. I hope Apple knows this.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Well, that's no fun.. I'm guessing there might be some free apps out there, maybe on Version Tracker (http://www.versiontracker.com) but for your average windows user (which is all of them) they'll fork over for the Acrobat..

I should look at a windows XP set up more closely.. poke around.. get some ammo for my Apple bias ;-)

The free part of Acrobat is Acrobat Reader (for displaying pdfs). I think you have to buy Acrobat to make pdfs from Word docs with Adobe software.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

What do you do with VPC?

Alot of potential G5 owners are waiting on it. My workflow depends on VPC. No VPC no G5. New VPC, new honkin' G5. I hope Apple knows this.1

[zamyatin]

The free part of Acrobat is Acrobat Reader (for displaying pdfs). I think you have to buy Acrobat to make pdfs from Word docs with Adobe software.

That's right. At a previous employer, we had MS Office (on Windows) and had purchased Adobe Acrobat Pro so that we'd get the plugin allowing PDF output from MS Office. You need the Pro version, which is in the range of $500 per seat. MS Office by itself does not have this capability.

However, smart companies will just use OpenOffice, even if they won't give up MS Office entirely. You can use its one-click export to PDF feature without need to purchase additional software. For us Mac users, the NeoOffice/J version is my favorite -- www.neooffice.org/java/

[ssnmx]

And how much are you paying for tuition, ssnmx, so that your school can subsidize your version of Office? :rolleyes:

Escher

It's about $3,500 and going up :(
I know the university pays for it and they charge me.
But at least it's not like tuition is high AND I have to pay for Office.
If I did, I wouldn't buy it...

[kirk26]

Soooooo, when can I see a calander properly in the public folders finally? Oh well, there's always Office 2006 or something...

[fatfish]

I just like to point out, if you look VERY closely at the Mac Office 2004 Professional box, you can see "Includes Virtual PC 2004"

Just out of curiosity, what uses do people have for VPC. I just use mine to test things (like QT movies etc) for windows users.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Yeah, I just asked that a couple posts back... I've never used VPC for anyhting other than just to see how it runs (poorly).. Thus far, it's been too slow and underpowered to do anything remotely productive.. Even running the emulate OS doesn't really work at that speed.

So what do people use it for And what do you do with all the time you're waiting for the cursor to move across the screen??

Just out of curiosity, what uses do people have for VPC. I just use mine to test things (like QT movies etc) for windows users.

[ZildjianKX]

Yeah, I just asked that a couple posts back... I've never used VPC for anyhting other than just to see how it runs (poorly).. Thus far, it's been too slow and underpowered to do anything remotely productive.. Even running the emulate OS doesn't really work at that speed.

So what do people use it for And what do you do with all the time you're waiting for the cursor to move across the screen??

I use it to run simple applications that are only available for Windows and not mac... or some engineering software that is Windows native. I've been waiting 7 months on damn VPC 7 to come out... it's driving me crazy.

[Some_Big_Spoon]

But doesn't it just take forever? Opening up IE on the fastest G4 takes a few minutes, let alone something that's really processor intensive..

Do you just get up and walk around for a while? Watch TV? Go to the gym? Then come back an hour later and execute the next command?

I use it to run simple applications that are only available for Windows and not mac... or some engineering software that is Windows native. I've been waiting 7 months on damn VPC 7 to come out... its driving me crazy.

[dontmatter]

hmmmmmm, do I want to buy a piece of software hoping the bugs will be fixed, and get some fixed, new ones popping up, and most of all, new features so that there can be new bugs to fix so people will buy the next version? I think not. And yet somehow, I just know sooner or later i'll end up with it on my computer.

Oh well, it seems apple's done a bit of the same lately (but, dont' get me wrong, it's in far less than microsoftian degrees). Why do I feel each new OS build leaves me hoping for a better, conclusively good version on the next one, after which will only come new, GOOD features?

sorry, drifting off topic...

[Doctor Q]

When your school is selling MS Office cheap, you aren't paying full price for it in your tuition, for two reasons:

1. The university gets a volume deal.

2. The cost to the university is spread over all students, not just those who buy Office, so those who buy are subsidized by those who don't.

[ClimbingTheLog]

What do you do with VPC?

QA windows versions of the work I do and run the occasional mass consumer app for which there's no Mac equivalent.

Sure, I could buy a cheap PC for $800 to sit alongside a G5 but I don't want to go through the hassle of maintaining and backing up another machine. Yeah, I could script it all, but I don't want/have to. I want to invest in good hardware (video/raid cards, firewire drives, expensive keyboards, etc.) all in one place.

[bar italia]

Just out of curiosity, what uses do people have for VPC. I just use mine to test things (like QT movies etc) for windows users.

www.partypoker.com

[sushi]

Just out of curiosity, what uses do people have for VPC.
Use it sparingly -- mainly for PC only applications.

Glad to see Microsoft continuing to update and support the Mac platform with Office and VPC. Whether we like it or not, Office is the defacto standard in the business world. Sure you can use other apps, and distribute via pdf or ther means. But having MSFT Office on the Mac makes things simplier and easier for the masses.

In fact, for those that I have gotten to switch recently, the main selling point has been that MSFT Office is available for the Mac platform. Good stuff!

Sushi

[Spyd3y]

what is exactly is entourage?

and what is virtual PC? :confused:

[sushi]

Sure, I could buy a cheap PC for $800 to sit alongside a G5 but I don't want to go through the hassle of maintaining and backing up another machine.
800! :eek:

Just built a system (Athlon XP 2500+, 256MB RAM, 40GB HD, 54X CD-RW, 10/100 Base-T, extra cooling fan to run 24/7) for $350. Got a mouse and keyboard for $25. Got a used 15 inch monitor for $25. So for about $400 I have a good cheapie running system.

In the FWIW department, SETI@Home runs about the same speed as on my G4/933 tower. So it is by no means a slow system. Then again, I use it only for typical office type applications. Don't do games or video/graphics with it. But for $400, it can't be beat.

Will I get VPC 7? Sure. Because I want to use VPC on my PowerBook Ai15. Don't feel like lugging around another laptop! :)

Sushi

[Alex Bischoff]

I'm pleased that there's a new version of Office coming out as maybe this means I can get an older version for cheap (until switching to OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/) last year, I was still using Office 97 on my Windows box).

Come to think of it, can anyone recommend an online store where I could buy an older version of Office:mac? I don't have any version installed on my PowerBook at the moment (so I'm not eligible for upgrade packages) and I'm not in academia either (so I don't qualify for those discounts). All I really need is a version of Office:mac that's native to OSX.

[Zaty]

I'm pleased that there's a new version of Office coming out as maybe this means I can get an older version for cheap (until switching to OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/) last year, I was still using Office 97 on my Windows box).

Come to think of it, can anyone recommend an online store where I could buy an older version of Office:mac? I don't have any version installed on my PowerBook at the moment (so I'm not eligible for upgrade packages) and I'm not in academia either (so I don't qualify for those discounts). All I really need is a version of Office:mac that's native to OSX.

Only Office v. X runs natively in OS X. You can either buy a copy of v. X now and get the upgrade to Office 2004 for free or wait until the third week of May get 2004. No matter which option you choose, you will have to pay full price unless you get a special discount somewhere.

[plisken]

Does anyone know if Office 2004 (Outlook) for Mac will support an
email archive feature? I am currently using Office X and I have not
been able to find this option or if it is even supported. Thanks!

[neon]

Just out of curiosity, what uses do people have for VPC. I just use mine to test things (like QT movies etc) for windows users.
i use an imac at work and use vpc for lotus notes (lotus notes is awful but its what the company databases are on)

we tried lotus for the mac but something to do with the versions, it just wasnt happening

[thevessels]

psssh,
the only reason i would get a new office version would be is ...

IF THEY HAD PUBLISHER!!!!

oh my, when will the have a mac version of publsiher...
that will be such a good day

WHEN?>!

-chris

[iMeowbot]

The only product I wish they would bring is Project because I haven't found software on the Mac that does what that does. If someone has a suggestion I'd like to hear it :)

PMX (http://www.jtechsoftworks.com/) might do what you want. It can read/write MS Project files too.

[displaced]

I'd also like to see a more complete Mac Office suite from Microsoft, with Visio, Project, Publisher, Outlook (Mac OS X native, please) and Access (I know Publisher and Access aren't the greatest applications for their fields, but having Mac versions will ease compatibility issues). Any other MS Office/Windows applications I forgot? I'd like to see those too.

<edit> I won't buy any Mac version of Office until these applications appear and work as advertised, too.</edit>

I'd love to see a feature-complete Access:mac. But it ain't going to happen, at least not from Microsoft. The lack of Access is (imho) the number 1 reason why the Mac doesn't make significant inroads into business desktops. There's far too many companies absolutely reliant upon ad-hoc Access applications. Although the cost of (for example), switching a company to other Mac desktop software is negligible, the cost of completely re-implementing an Access database app in a cross-platform alternative can pretty huge (in both time and money).

I must say though, that considering the Microsoft MacBU's limited resources, they do a pretty damn good job. I quite enjoy using Office apps on OS X, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's new in v2004. It's strange how Microsoft feel like 'just another vendor' in the Mac world, compared to 'major pain in the arse' in the PC world. I don't feel like I have to have MS Office, but I like that it's there :)

[orion123]

Soooooo, when can I see a calander properly in the public folders finally? Oh well, there's always Office 2006 or something...

It looks like that is happening

[jkeithh]

When I went to Macmall to preorder the Office 2004 for Mac, the Standard and Teacher and Student edition said it would ship in May. Professional says it will ship is July.

[BornAgainMac]

But doesn't it just take forever? Opening up IE on the fastest G4 takes a few minutes, let alone something that's really processor intensive..

Do you just get up and walk around for a while? Watch TV? Go to the gym? Then come back an hour later and execute the next command?

I have an eMac with 1 GB and a 1 Ghz G4 and I give Windows 2000 about 384 Mb. IE comes up in a few seconds and I can run things like Picture It with no problems. I have a 1 Ghz Windows laptop to compare it with and VPC is about 1/4 as fast. I didn't feel like I was waiting for it too much. Not bad. Perhaps you need more memory on your G4.

My G3 600 Mhz iBook with 640 Mb was very slow. I wish I can run it on my G5.

[wrldwzrd89]

For us Mac users, the NeoOffice/J version is my favorite -- www.neooffice.org/java/
Thanks, zamyatin, for that link. I've been looking for that Java-based Open Office derivative so I could try it out on my iMac as a substitute for AppleWorks. I'll download it as soon as I return to my iMac (I'm posting this on a Windows machine).

[wdlove]

what is exactly is entourage?

and what is virtual PC? :confused:

Entourage is an E.Mail program. It happens to be the one that I use, works great for me. The main reason that I started with Entourage, because Mail won't work on my machine.

Virtual PC is an emulation program for Windows. It allows you to run the Windows OS of you choice on your Mac. Not as fast as a PC machine, at least not yet.

That will be interesting if the Professional edition isn't released until July. Maybe it's because of finishing touches on Virtual PC 2004 as. The Professional edition is the product I want.

[iPC]

My friends office uses Corel Word Perfect. Yes, word perfect. There are maybe 15 people and only 2 like it. The rest ask why not Office, the response: "We are a Word Perfect office". So even PC people can be stubbornly anti MS.
Most PC people are anti-MS, but have nothing else to use. Your average office can not afford to buy all new hardware (Macs), and re-train everyone how to use their new computer (OS X versus 98/Me/XP), as well as new apps with different interfaces. Your average office worker can barely deal with change on something they recognize (Win98 to WinXP for example), much less something all new.

A new car is not scary to people, but a new computer is. Still haven't figured that one out yet.

*edit for spelling*

[GFLPraxis]

Only if its not wrong to pirate Apple's software. ;)

Apple = Good
Microsoft = Evil

Games, Apple, and all other software = Don't pirate them
Microsoft = Burn and die, fools!

[Manatee]

I'll upgrade when there's evidence of a significant performance gain in Virtual PC 7.

The other apps already do about 800% of what I need.

[iHack]

I'm a consultant working with a number of municipalities, universities and engineering firms in the Netherlands.
I run into compatibility problems with Office v. X all the time because most of my clients are still using Office 97 and NT 4.0 (or a mixture of Win98 and Win2K). I have to send them RTF's. I'm guessing this will not be any better if I buy office 2004. And they subsequently blame Apple for any incompatibilities. Go figure.

As anecdotal evidence, I would like to share the following: At the university I worked until recently, and where they sell XP for a few euros to students and employees, all new computers that come with XP pre-installed are re-installed with NT 4.0. I used to have Win2K on my computer. The IT-helpdesk guys had me sign a form forfeiting all their support because my machine was non-standard. This was good, because they made me administrator of my own machine, effectively freeing me of their soup nazi regime.
At a municipality I'm currently working all computers run on NT 4.0, Office 97 and a fixed resolution of 800x600. Even on 17" CRT's. Horrible.
And they are banning USB flash memory sticks. Because they are afraid for the integrity of they data (who knows what kind of silly programs I may be putting on the hard disk). But they are using NT 4.0!! Which is a bigger threat to their data integrity, I ask. Anyways....


M.

[wookitus]

Just out of curiosity, what uses do people have for VPC. I just use mine to test things (like QT movies etc) for windows users.

I design websites on a mac but I need to test my designs in PC browsers. This is the best way to do it because you can have multiple copies of Windows running multiple versions of IE all on one mac.

[sushi]

At the university I worked until recently, and where they sell XP for a few euros to students and employees, all new computers that come with XP pre-installed are re-installed with NT 4.0. I used to have Win2K on my computer. The IT-helpdesk guys had me sign a form forfeiting all their support because my machine was non-standard. This was good, because they made me administrator of my own machine, effectively freeing me of their soup nazi regime.
At a municipality I'm currently working all computers run on NT 4.0, Office 97 and a fixed resolution of 800x600. Even on 17" CRT's. Horrible.
And they are banning USB flash memory sticks. Because they are afraid for the integrity of they data (who knows what kind of silly programs I may be putting on the hard disk). But they are using NT 4.0!! Which is a bigger threat to their data integrity, I ask. Anyways....
Wow! I feel your pain.

NT4.0 sucks.

NT 6, er., Win 2K is so much better in that regard.

NT 4's support, or lack thereof for USB, PCMCIA and other devices is terrible.

I feel your pain...as someone who used to work in a NT4 environment.

And as for MSFT file compatability -- even within the PC family versions -- or lack there of I feel your pain as well.

Sushi

[~Shard~]

Some of the new features in Office 2004 look interesting, but not enough to warrant buying a copy for myself - I'm running Office V.x and that suits me just fine and will for some time to come! After all, a word precessor is a word processor, a spreadsheet program is a spreadsheet program... ;)

[BornAgainMac]

I'm a consultant working with a number of municipalities, universities and engineering firms in the Netherlands.
I run into compatibility problems with Office v. X all the time because most of my clients are still using Office 97 and NT 4.0 (or a mixture of Win98 and Win2K). I have to send them RTF's. I'm guessing this will not be any better if I buy office 2004. And they subsequently blame Apple for any incompatibilities. Go figure.
M.

Send them as PDF files from the Print command (save as PDF) if they don't need to edit the docs. Probably the fonts are causing problems.

[iHack]

Send them as PDF files from the Print command (save as PDF) if they don't need to edit the docs. Probably the fonts are causing problems.

I'n not sure it's the fonts. If I save a .doc file in Rich Text Format, most of them don't even notice the (slight) difference in the icons and probably are hiding the extensions. When I send them a .doc file plus an .rtf for compatibility's sake I get: "hey, you sent me two word files, I can open one but can't open the other, what's with that?"

One can only sigh.

M.

[Jookbox]

Right, and if you've been curious about Entourage/Exchange compatability fixes, it looks like there is a bunch of good news:

http://macinchat.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=1936046971&f=5376055081&m=495103951&r=495103951#495103951

"Exchange mail, calendar, address book information - all work, and they appear to work well."

this is sooo awesome. i won't need to use outlook on my pc to make appointments with coworkers now.