Mac Office 2004 Shipping in May

[ssnmx]

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

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]

VPC

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?

 

[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!

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 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 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]

Office 2004 (Outlook) email archive option?

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]

WHERES MY PUBLISHER??

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 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]

Virutal PC 7 / Office Pro

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]

Virtual PC

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?

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.