Mac Office 2008 Preview

[sushi]

I agree, I have office for Mac (the very first version).

You are using Mac Office 4.2.1?

Looks like there is a new player in the game for a free office suite...

IBM just came out with Windows and Linux versions of Lotus Symphony, with a Mac version planned

Just went through the demo. This looks very nice.

And I like that they will have a Windows, Linux and Mac version.

At times I get tired of the lack of innovation we see coming out of Microsoft. Yet, for many companies and organizations they don't have a viable alternative. Now maybe we are going to start seeing some. That would be nice.

 

[Virgil-TB2]

I didn't realise you were one of the developers.

Apologies if I was rude(ish), I blame anonymity.

I should also say that I don't actually use Entourage and try to steer most of our users away from it as it's really way over the top for most people in the University environment I work in.

If your interested in advice for the product at this late stage, I would rather see Entourage integrate with the address book I already have and the calendar I already have in OS-X rather than introduce it's own components.

The "My Day" feature might make sense as a widget instead of as a desktop application and regardless of my slight against the thing and my assertion that it's really a stand-in for future Windows Mobile hooks, a good way to sell it *would* be as a web-capable widget that *is* accessible on your mobile. If I was an Apple user that used Office and Entourage, having the "My Day" thingie show up on my iPhone and synced with my desktop would be a selling feature IMO.

However I would definitely focus on iPhone and not Windows Mobile, it already has more market share.

 

[4God]

I'll stick to iWork, thank you.

 

[MikeTheC]

MacBU girl, not guy.

Whoops. Sorry about that one.

1. Why do you give us Mac users Entourage instead of Outlook? You know the feature gap between the two programs puts Mac-using office workers at a disadvantage.

This question is answered in detail in a post in the Entourage Help Blog: Why did Microsoft replace Outlook for Mac with Entourage? It's a long post, but it's a pretty complete history.

Well, the issue I see with this is that you're also laboring for a company that -- truth be told -- would just as soon that the Mac wasn't around. Clearly, if someone at the top were to say "Get Outlook on the Mac!" it would happen.

Now, understand that I didn't pose this question from some naïve perspective. You and I and everyone else here probably already are well aware that there's no love loss between us and your employer. I mean, nothing personal, Ms. Mielke, it's not like we know you from Adam or anything. And let's cut through it: Apple's Mac platform still benefits from the legitimacy that MS Office brings to it's corporate customers, and your BU's products are bringing in a not-inconsiderable extra income for Microsoft. I don't really see that Microsoft (not the MacBU, but Microsoft at large) has a vested interest in going much beyond the present group of offerings because it still lets them leverage the Windows platform. In other words, in my view, you folks are basically pawns.

2. Why have you not put out VB for Mac OS X? You folks have had years and years to do this, but have not. Again, it puts Mac users at a disadvantage.

This was a very hard decision for us. It's a technical issue. Porting the code to Intel is a big development hit for us, and would have further delayed Office 2008. We know that this is a big pain point for some of our users. We also know that we need to get a Universal Binary out there.

Having read the Schwieb blog, I can certainly appreciate the complexity involved in getting VB out for the Mac. It really doesn't inspire any confidence that that's how the rest of Microsoft handles their code; nor does it inspire much confidence that they leave you folks to your own devices in an effort to pick up the pieces, without which there wouldn't be anything for the Mac.

3. Where is OneNote for Mac OS X? Or a fully-cross-platform compatible PowerPoint? Or FrontPage (sorry, guys, but it is a part of Office). Or Visio? Again, without these apps, in companies which make use of them, Mac users are put at a disadvantage.

We constantly revisit our Mac application portfolio to determine whether we should add applications to it. For adding new applications, there are three major questions to ask: what user need would the application solve, what other applications are available that might meet the same need, and how difficult is porting the application from the Windows Office team.

Well, obviously having OneNote and Visio would be a benefit. I can tell you specifically that it is a major stumbling block in the corporate world. A friend of mine who works for Earthlink has indicated that those in the office who use Macs have to really struggle with this, since they use Visio for architecting workflows, software development, building layouts -- it spans the gamut -- and every time a Mac user needs to take receipt of one of these files, they either have to get them converted into PDF or have had to replace equipment so they could get an Intel Mac to go the virtualization route. This is certainly not an efficient methodology!

I don't work for Microsoft, and I'm not a coder, but based on what I've been reading, if I had to guess there's probably a major code-base hurdle you folks will have to overcome to get any of the other apps ported. I could say the same thing about the code base for these apps (and perhaps the rest of the range of Microsoft software) that I did about the state of VB, but frankly that's an issue you are in no position to do anything about. So I'll just leave it for the time being.

As for PowerPoint, we have invested a lot of effort into improving our cross-platform issues. We're well aware of the Red X problem, for example. Cross-platform compatibility is very important to us.

Well, while I don't personally use PowerPoint, I know quite a few people who do, and frankly they'd all be happy for any cross-platform improvements you folks can make.

If you guys think you have it bad as a one of a few Mac users in a big Windows organisation, just imagine what life here is like for those of us in MacBU -- there's 180 of us, Microsoft as a whole is over 70,000. I don't think that anyone's in a more Windows-using environment than we are!

Pardon me for being direct, but what in the world ever made you take a job with Microsoft coding software for the Mac? I mean, you couldn't have picked a more diametrically-opposed company or industry employer! (And no, you don't have to answer that. It's rhetorical.)

 

[Lesser Evets]

Office ate the big one when iWork '08 came out.

Some people still need Office, but that's hard. iWork is far better for the average user. And it is silly cheaper in price tag.

Jobs did a good one there.

 

[veebs]

So do I understand this right? The Ribbon MUST be used, like it or not? There is no 'Use Conventional Toolbars' checkbox or something?

I like Office, I like the way there is no hassle in sharing documents between platforms, I like the way it's existence allows more people to switch to mac without fear of losing all their documents, etc etc.

I don't like the way Office 2004 is an absolute dog speed-wise on my 2.3 GHz MBP. My mother uses Office 1998 on the original iMac (Yes, 233MHz and 128MB Ram) and it FLIES. Way way WAY faster than my own computer, and there isn't much it doesn't do that mine does!

Perhaps someone more knowing than I can explain why every single software company has switched to UB, except MS? The only PPC apps I have on my computer are the Office Suite!!

Hell, a UB version of Office 2004 and I'd be happy!

 

[macintel4me]

So do I understand this right? The Ribbon MUST be used, like it or not? There is no 'Use Conventional Toolbars' checkbox or something?

I like Office, I like the way there is no hassle in sharing documents between platforms, I like the way it's existence allows more people to switch to mac without fear of losing all their documents, etc etc.

I don't like the way Office 2004 is an absolute dog speed-wise on my 2.3 GHz MBP. My mother uses Office 1998 on the original iMac (Yes, 233MHz and 128MB Ram) and it FLIES. Way way WAY faster than my own computer, and there isn't much it doesn't do that mine does!

Perhaps someone more knowing than I can explain why every single software company has switched to UB, except MS? The only PPC apps I have on my computer are the Office Suite!!

Hell, a UB version of Office 2004 and I'd be happy!

and a UB version of Office 1998 and you'd be even happier!

 

[nadyne]

I didn't realise you were one of the developers.
Apologies if I was rude(ish), I blame anonymity.

You get a thick skin when you work here.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[MacPomme]

Personally ... Regards, Nadyne.

Hey Nadyne.

I hope you find the time to answer these few questions.

Subject 1. Dropping VB macro support.

Question 1. Apart from coding time, how is it not in Microsoft's interest to provide VB Macros - even if in an Office 2008 "Service Pack" at some future point? (Please do not answer "we may do this" - my question is about Microsoft's interests 'now' and not it's theoretical futures).

Question 2. What is Microsoft's view to the positioning of Mac Office 2008 vs Office 2007 in the corporate world when one product does not include heavily touted items such as VB macros, OneNote etc? If they are not positioned equivalently, what is the benefit to Microsoft through offering one as a subset of the other?

Subject 2. Mac BU

Question 1. What innovative products has the Mac BU brought to market in the last 3-5 years that were/are not available in the Windows product range? (Entourage is a mail client just as Outlook is a mail client)

Question 2. You mentioned in an earlier post in this thread that you and your fellow Mac BU members "want to develop great products for the Mac platform". What is the biggest challenge you, as a business unit, face in meeting your own expectations for yourselves? Can you look in your heart of hearts and say that you have met your own expectations - in every case?

Subject 3. Messenger

Question 1. Why is it's functionality so markedly different to its Windows cousin?

Question 2. What is the benefit to Microsoft in maintaining such product functionality disparacy?

Subject 4. Powerpoint.

Question 1. (and on a light hearted note) I heard many, many years ago that Powerpoint was called "Hoover" internally within Microsoft - because it sucked so much. Does it still have such a derisive nickname internally?

Cheers
MacP

 

[nadyne]

Pardon me for being direct, but what in the world ever made you take a job with Microsoft coding software for the Mac? I mean, you couldn't have picked a more diametrically-opposed company or industry employer! (And no, you don't have to answer that. It's rhetorical.)

Well, I'll answer anyway.

The short answer is: I like a challenge, and working on one of the most widely-used suites of applications is definitely a challenge.

The longer answer is: Microsoft is the oldest and largest Mac developers. No-one else has been continuously developing for the Mac since it came out. I get to work with a group of about 180 people who all get why I'm a Mac user, and -- even better -- they understand why I want to work on Mac software professionally. The guy in the office across the hall from me (he's the lead tester for PowerPoint:Mac) has been here for more than 10 years. My manager (a senior manager here) has also been here for more than 10 years, and he was a HyperCard developer back in the day. There aren't that many places in the world where you can find such a great concentration of Mac developers with this kind of experience.

I get to work on apps that impact people's daily lives. That's a big challenge, and it's daunting. It's also humbling. If I don't get it right, it has a very real impact on lots of people. I know that the apps that I work on can't be everything to everyone. Pretty much everyone has an opinion about what we should do with our apps, and for anyone who has one opinion, I can find you someone who has the exact opposite opinion. (Yes, even Clippy -- we got feedback which said that someone wanted Clippy back, and that they would pay extra for a version of Office that included him. I've sometimes wondered whether that was just a well-executed practical joke to see if anyone actually reads the feedback sent to us ... ) So navigating all of that is just one of the aspects of this job that makes it a big challenge.

I wasn't looking for a job when Microsoft came knockin'. I was with my previous employer and pretty happy with it. I hadn't updated my resume for at least a couple of years. I'd never considered working for Microsoft. When the recruiter called, though, it sounded intriguing enough for me to have another phone interview with a manager here. And that was intruiging enough for me to agree to an in-person interview, so I flew up to Seattle for it. I spent a day interviewing. Since I wasn't looking for a job and was pretty happy with my previous employer, I felt like I got to make a decision based solely on the people that I met and the work that I would get to do. I liked it, and I'm still liking it now (two years later). Right now, I'm starting the early user experience work on the version after Office 2008. How cool is that?

That was a longer answer than you thought you'd get, I'd wager.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[nadyne]

I hope you find the time to answer these few questions.

Well, I'm not a senior manager or anything, so I'm not sure if you're going to find my answers ultimately satisfying. But I'll give it a go.

Subject 1. Dropping VB macro support.
Question 1. Apart from coding time, how is it not in Microsoft's interest to provide VB Macros - even if in an Office 2008 "Service Pack" at some future point? (Please do not answer "we may do this" - my question is about Microsoft's interests 'now' and not it's theoretical futures).

I'm sorry, maybe it's just that it's late and I've been working all day, but I don't understand what you're asking here.

Question 2. What is Microsoft's view to the positioning of Mac Office 2008 vs Office 2007 in the corporate world when one product does not include heavily touted items such as VB macros, OneNote etc? If they are not positioned equivalently, what is the benefit to Microsoft through offering one as a subset of the other?

I have no idea how marketing happens at the enterprise level, so I can't answer your question.

Subject 2. Mac BU
Question 1. What innovative products has the Mac BU brought to market in the last 3-5 years that were/are not available in the Windows product range? (Entourage is a mail client just as Outlook is a mail client)

We haven't brought new products to the market. Instead, we've focused our innovation on adding Mac-first Mac-only features to our apps. This includes the Project Centre in Entourage and the Notebook Layout View in Word. There's no equivalent to the Project Centre in WinOffice. Notebook Layout View could be considered somewhat analogous to OneNote, although NLV has features that ON does not and ON has features that NLV does not.

Question 2. You mentioned in an earlier post in this thread that you and your fellow Mac BU members "want to develop great products for the Mac platform". What is the biggest challenge you, as a business unit, face in meeting your own expectations for yourselves? Can you look in your heart of hearts and say that you have met your own expectations - in every case?

I think that the biggest challenge is that we can't be everything to everyone. We have to decide to focus our efforts so that we can deliver a more cohesive product. Focusing our efforts means that we're not able to do everything that we want to do, but it also means that we have to be very careful to articulate our goals and do our best to hit it out of the ballpark.

If there is a single software developer who will tell you that they've met their own expectations in every case, I think that they either set immensely low expectations or that they're not telling someone the complete truth.

Subject 3. Messenger
Question 1. Why is it's functionality so markedly different to its Windows cousin?

For us, Messenger serves two roles: it is used by consumers who are hooking up to our Messenger servers, and it is used by business users who are hooking up to their company's internal Office Communication Server. To be more efficient in our coding efforts, we try to provide the functionality that is available to both platforms.

Question 2. What is the benefit to Microsoft in maintaining such product functionality disparacy?

Again, I'm not sure what you're asking here, so I can't answer this.

Subject 4. Powerpoint.
Question 1. (and on a light hearted note) I heard many, many years ago that Powerpoint was called "Hoover" internally within Microsoft - because it sucked so much. Does it still have such a derisive nickname internally?

Heh. I haven't heard that one. A couple of guys on the PPT:Mac team have been here for more than ten years, I'll have to ask them tomorrow morning.

For the most part, our individual apps don't have internal nicknames or codenames anymore. Office 2008 is version 12, so most people just call it 'twelve'. There was a codename for Office 2008 ('Magnesium'), but I think that I could count on one hand the number of times that I've heard anyone use it. Virtual PC 7 was codenamed 'Taco Cat'. They chose their codenames to be palindromes as a somewhat obscure joke about the endian issues that they faced.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[DiamondMac]

iwork '08 or Office '08

Which do you think will be better?

As you can see by my sig, I am a huge lover

With that said, I tried and bought iWork and can't stand it so I went back to Office. I hated many changes that Pages had compared to Office. I gave it a few weeks as well but in the end, my specific comfort level rests with the way Office-Word is setup.

I will be buying and sticking with Office '08 when I can get it.

Maybe the first time I didn't choose an Apple product.

 

[MacPomme]

Well, I'm not a senior manager or anything ...

Regards,
Nadyne.

Apologies for the trimming of your post ...

I do say, by way of compliment, you write better than most PR companies would if they had a half-way decent brief and were responding here. By 'better' I suppose I mean 'more diplomatically'.

I suppose the question I am fundamentally asking is:

"How is it in Microsoft's interests to omit functionality in its suite of applications offered on the Mac, when its market research (irrespective of OS platform) demands Microsoft invest in the R&D effort to provide this application functionality on its Windows platform?"

And following this same logic, "How is it in the interests of the market, that Microsoft has researched and which research has lead to the development of applications for Windows that have more functionality than their Mac counterparts, that Microsoft provide to the one market disparate product sets across OS platforms?"

A corporate market is a corporate market - regardless of whether the market chooses at a particular point in time to lean towards Windows or to lean toward OS X, Unix, Linux or whatever. A corporate market has its own needs.

A small business market is a small business market - regardless of whether the market chooses at a particular point in time to lean towards Windows or to lean toward OS X, Unix, Linux or whatever. A small business market has its own needs.

A soho market is a soho market - regardless of whether the market chooses at a particular point in time to lean towards Windows or to lean toward OS X, Unix, Linux or whatever. A soho market has its own needs.

You see my point I am sure about markets and their needs.

Yet, Microsoft does not offer some applications, and some functionality within applications, on disparate OS platforms, even though it uses/relies/defends itself with arguments such as (a) we listened to you and have come up with ..., (b) using "xyz" application from Microsoft is designed specifically to meet the needs of your industry, and (c) "We're working to expand the possibilities for computing every day, by continually improving and advancing our current products and embarking on fundamental research that paves the way for tomorrow's breakthroughs." Notice in (c) Microsoft says "computing" not Windows or Office etc.

It may appear that Microsoft on the one hand says "we create products for YOU", and then on the other hand delivers quite different products, and substantially less functionality, on platforms other than its own.

How is that in Microsoft's best interests and in the best interests of an anonymous, amorphous, isotropic and homogenous market? (OK that characterisation is a touch irrelevant ... please read below)

[ I know its very early where you are - but its just turning "beer o'clock" here after a hard day in the office ...]

 

[benzslrpee]

because Apple is first and foremost still a competitor. it would be dumb to give your competitor an exact same version of your bread-and-butter product. it's not because Microsoft hates Apple, it's just good business.

 

[D1G1T4L]

Office ate the big one when iWork '08 came out.

Some people still need Office, but that's hard. iWork is far better for the average user. And it is silly cheaper in price tag.

Jobs did a good one there.

Agreed.

I was waiting for Office but once iWork came out I gave it a try and found that it fit my needs at a price point that was very nice.

 

[ddubbo]

Well, I'll answer anyway.

The short answer is: I like a challenge, and working on one of the most widely-used suites of applications is definitely a challenge.

The longer answer is: Microsoft is the oldest and largest Mac developers. No-one else has been continuously developing for the Mac since it came out. I get to work with a group of about 180 people who all get why I'm a Mac user, and -- even better -- they understand why I want to work on Mac software professionally. The guy in the office across the hall from me (he's the lead tester for PowerPoint:Mac) has been here for more than 10 years. My manager (a senior manager here) has also been here for more than 10 years, and he was a HyperCard developer back in the day. There aren't that many places in the world where you can find such a great concentration of Mac developers with this kind of experience.

I get to work on apps that impact people's daily lives. That's a big challenge, and it's daunting. It's also humbling. If I don't get it right, it has a very real impact on lots of people. I know that the apps that I work on can't be everything to everyone. Pretty much everyone has an opinion about what we should do with our apps, and for anyone who has one opinion, I can find you someone who has the exact opposite opinion. (Yes, even Clippy -- we got feedback which said that someone wanted Clippy back, and that they would pay extra for a version of Office that included him. I've sometimes wondered whether that was just a well-executed practical joke to see if anyone actually reads the feedback sent to us ... ) So navigating all of that is just one of the aspects of this job that makes it a big challenge.

I wasn't looking for a job when Microsoft came knockin'. I was with my previous employer and pretty happy with it. I hadn't updated my resume for at least a couple of years. I'd never considered working for Microsoft. When the recruiter called, though, it sounded intriguing enough for me to have another phone interview with a manager here. And that was intruiging enough for me to agree to an in-person interview, so I flew up to Seattle for it. I spent a day interviewing. Since I wasn't looking for a job and was pretty happy with my previous employer, I felt like I got to make a decision based solely on the people that I met and the work that I would get to do. I liked it, and I'm still liking it now (two years later). Right now, I'm starting the early user experience work on the version after Office 2008. How cool is that?

That was a longer answer than you thought you'd get, I'd wager.

Regards,
Nadyne.

When I started to develop on .Net and SQL server it was a pleasure after all that Eclipce, C++,Oracle,Java crap where you need to make twenty clicks in order to get simple action. The bedrock indeed is week, compared to Linux/Unix platform but development is fantastic. Mac X-Code probably the best Non-MS development suite I encountered, but it still far away from .Net family. The same way as iWork still far away from Office 2007.
People over here sticked with brands and can't understand that your work depends on what you do exactly at your work place, not under which logo is on the wall of your office building.
On the other hand I'm familiar with a guy who was fired from Apple, because refused to use Apple buttonless mouse.

 

[ddubbo]

The question for Nadyne.
What didn't you(mac BU i mean) pack Mac Office as a whole and 2008 particularly with MS Access. It's most genius soft Microsoft ever created. At least one third of small and home businesses run apps developed for Access

 

[MattyCurry]

I've just has a thought. If microsoft aren't developing a Onenote version for mac.....that would mean that there isn't any macbook tablet format on the development roadmap any time soon.

damn.

I don't have a mac, maybe I shouldn't be posting here, I don't know. I'm waiting out for a macbook small & light enough for me to use on my travels. Apple so far are ignoring me as a potential customer. This, as you can imaging, is quite annoying. Everyone else gets to have pretty computers, but not me it seems.

I might have to buy the HP 2710p instead. dammit.

And also, evryone in theis forum who keeps wibbling about how bad the ribbon is......clearly have never used it the instant access to smartart formatting options & instant rollover rendering of styles alone are worth the learning curve.

 

[elppa]

And also, evryone in theis forum who keeps wibbling about how bad the ribbon is......clearly have never used it the instant access to smartart formatting options & instant rollover rendering of styles alone are worth the learning curve.

But a lot of them have used the palettes in Office:2004 and iWork '08 which take up less than half the space and are better suited to widescreen displays.

 

[MattyCurry]

But a lot of them have used the palettes in Office:2004 and iWork '08 which take up less than half the space and are better suited to widescreen displays.

I'm on a 17inch widescrenn HP nx9420 here, and in the Excel Home ribbon i've got access to: Clipboard, Font, Alignment, Number, Styles, Cells & Editing. It works just dandily.

In Word, I've gone from having drab black & white documents ( or even worse the company.dot formatted documents!), to having incredibly nice, clean elegant documents, all because of the Styles section, giving instant access to document markup, rather than hiding it within a pullout section.

In powerpoint, having the 3d Rendering of graphs, with what looks remarkably like specular highlighting, giving them this great sheeny rubberised feel, makes spectators jaws drop when i present. The only problem now, as more people use Office 2007, is that everyones doing it.

 

[sushi]

Well, I'm not a senior manager or anything, so I'm not sure if you're going to find my answers ultimately satisfying. But I'll give it a go.

Thanks for your candor and insight.

What is really frustrating with Office, is that there are so many variances.

For example, the Mac version does not have Outlook and Access. So for those of use who work in a corporate environment, we cannot purchase Macs because the Mac version of Office does not have these two key apps.

If you want to sell more copies of Mac Office in the corporate world, then you need Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook. And these Mac versions need to be 100% compatible with the PC versions.

The question for Nadyne.
What didn't you(mac BU i mean) pack Mac Office as a whole and 2008 particularly with MS Access. It's most genius soft Microsoft ever created. At least one third of small and home businesses run apps developed for Access

Access is very popular in the PC world. I do not understand why Access has not been added to the Mac Office suit.

Also, if I purchase a copy of iWork for example, I can run it under Japanese, English, Korean, etc. But with Office, I am stuck with English. Why is that? Why can't Office change languages like many other great apps out there?

Maybe is it the way Microsoft is organized with the Mac BU.

Maybe a better model would be the Office BU with Windows and Mac subdivisions so that the Office suit would be the same on both platforms.

Please remember that a silent majority of Mac users out there use Mac Office to be compatible with their PC using counterparts, or between home and work. I would imagine that if you focused your efforts this way, sales would increase substantially. Right now it is getting harder to justify upgrading to new versions of Mac Office. For compatibility it is easier to just run Parallels and use Office 2007 for Windows. I mean why should I even bother with Office 2008, when I can run Office 2007 and have full compatibility including Access, Outlook, OWA, etc.?

Nadyne I hope this makes sense. Please feel free to PM me if you have questions.

 

[cfountain72]

The 'Ribbon'

I have to disagree with some of the critical comments of The Ribbon. I have been a Mac and PC user for several years, and have used Office for Mac, for XP (2003 and now 2007). While I am sure that hardcore users of previous versions may find it frustrating, I think light to moderate users will love it. The biggest advantage is that it makes many of the more obscure features built into the Office programs much more apparent. Indeed, I am now using some features and formulas in Excel that I was not even aware existed, mainly because they were previously bottled up in two-step, drop-down menus.

I can certainly empathize with those who have grown accustomed to the older verisons and know exactly where everything is. But speaking as someone who has '03 and '07 on my PC work desktop, I always reach for 07.

As far as the iWork vs Office argument, iWork is a great value for the money and will meet practically all home user's, and even some small business user's needs. But at this point in their respective development, if you need to do some heavy lifting, Office is still the way to go.

Regards,
Chris

 

[nadyne]

"How is it in Microsoft's interests to omit functionality in its suite of applications offered on the Mac, when its market research (irrespective of OS platform) demands Microsoft invest in the R&D effort to provide this application functionality on its Windows platform?"

You're asking big strategic question that are well outside my area of expertise. I think you'll have to go several levels over my head to get an answer. So I'm not sure that I can really help you out here.

When it's time to consider bringing new applications into our portfolio, we have to consider several questions, including the user need, what other applications might meet that user need, the number and type of users who are seeking a solution to this need, and the difficulty of porting the applications from Windows to Mac. For example, if a Windows application is coded in C# and his highly dependent on Windows APIs for providing its functionality, then porting it is going to be a lot harder than an application that's coded in C or C++.

I've just has a thought. If microsoft aren't developing a Onenote version for mac.....that would mean that there isn't any macbook tablet format on the development roadmap any time soon.

I like that you guys think that I know about the Apple hardware roadmap! We all know how secretive a company Apple is, we're on a site called MacRumors.

OneNote is used for much more than just tablet PCs. From all accounts (I haven't used it myself, since it would require me to boot up the Windows box that sits headless under my desk at the office), it's a useful app for taking notes.

Maybe a better model would be the Office BU with Windows and Mac subdivisions so that the Office suit would be the same on both platforms.

That's how it used to be, before the MacBU was created ten years ago. There were still application disparities at that point, and ... well, let's just say that this is the group that brought about Word 6. The problem is, Office:Mac is a very small fish when compared to Windows Office. When the beancounters have to make financial decisions, they look at raw numbers. They see that Office:Mac is a much smaller team, has many fewer users, and makes a lot less revenue than Windows Office, and so the Mac version just doesn't get a lot of resources. Being in a separate division means that we are fully in charge of our resources. We have a great relationship with our counterparts on the Windows Office team, and are in close communication with them about our shared goals. The Windows PowerPoint team is in the same building as the PowerPoint:Mac team, so I just run upstairs when I have a question for them, and they come down to my office when they have something for me. We share information. I see all of the results for their usability studies, for example, and they see ours too.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[MattyCurry]

OneNote is used for much more than just tablet PCs. From all accounts (I haven't used it myself, since it would require me to boot up the Windows box that sits headless under my desk at the office), it's a useful app for taking notes.

You should so try it. It's the best thing since sliced bread.

Things onenote can do:

1) Automatic OCR when you paste in an image
2) Take notes of a meeting whilst recording the meeting, and onenote will link your notes with the time in the audio recording you took them
3) calculation of any quick sums you need to do, in page.

and the whole damn thing is searchable

it really is far to good for it's own benefit.


Although, and here's another thought, I thought that the Mac world would be crying out for something like Groove, no? All those ad agencies with distributed staff and very little grasp on the concept of cvs's?

 

[Virgil-TB2]

&

Hey Nadyne ... Question 1. Apart from coding time, how is it not in Microsoft's interest to provide VB Macros - even if in an Office 2008 "Service Pack; at some future point?...

I can't speak for Naydyne obviously, but as someone who has had to use and support MS Office for Mac at my University ever since it was available, I can say that for the vast majority of our users ...

no scratch that, for ALL of our users, the announcement that they were leaving out the VB stuff was met with a resounding cheer.

This is exactly one of those features that people refer to when they talk about how bloated the Office suite is in general.

Other than hard core, (mostly windows based) business users, VB scripting is just not used. Nadyne probably has the stats, but a very very small share of the market needs or uses this and those that do are almost exclusively windows shops wanting to stick to their Windows solution and yet still have it work on the four or five Macs in the organisation. If those shops *started* with a cross-platform solution in the first place, then the MBU would not have to mess up a perfectly good Mac application with a giant kludge just so Windows users can experience seamless interoperability.

If automation functionality *is* needed in Office, it would be much preferred to use the Macs built in scripting and built in automation services than it is to have an ancient VB technology bolted on to Office.