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Microsoft Has 'No Current Plans' for Office on iPad
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There really is no need for MS Office for the iPad. iWork lite will suffice. For the more complex things that Office would be used for a full blown Mac would be preferable, i.e. having a built in keyboard and higher screen resolution.
This is a mistake by Microsft if true. Even if they dont build anything for the ipad they need a touch based Office package. They will regret this when tablet computing takes off. This leaes the door for apple to really get it right with their iwork applications.
I don't think Microsoft cares one way or the other whether the iPad takes off. Sure, they're developing Courier, but for those who've truly taken the time to look at the information on Courier and the tech demo videos, it's essentially targeted at a different market (such as enterprise environments, and maybe even professional artists/etc).
The iPad is first and foremost a consumer media consumption device. It's not targeted towards the enterprise sector. Does that mean enterprises won't incorporate it in some way? Of course not. But I remember people proclaiming how well the MacBook Air would fit into enterprise scenarios, and that just didn't ultimately happen.
Yep. And realistically, Courier would probably do Office functionality easier than the iPad anyway. Courier has two screens to the iPad's one. Thus, for exmaple, you could use one screen for a touchscreen keyboard, and the other a full Excel window, for example. The iPad, by comparison, would either require that half the screen essentially go towards the keyboard (thus reducing the available screen space for Excel), or you would need to get an external keyboard. But, in that scenario, you could also argue that you could use an external keyboard with Courier, and then have two screens dedicated to whatever you want. Either way, it's win-win for Courier (in this regard).
Well, let's be realistic: it's more that Steve Jobs has a new target in his sights (Flash), and wants it eliminated. People here tend to decry Flash because of generally much-lower performance in OS X (and it's relatively true), but there is absolutely no reason for that lower performance outside of the on-going dislike that Apple and Adobe have for each other. Flash performance in Windows is fine, and I honestly doubt there's any technical reason preventing it from being fine in OS X as well. To me, it's the result of Apple and Adobe not getting along.
That having been said, Apple may designate the way when it comes to smart phones, and may have a majority of the expensive PC market, but ultimately they're still just a small part of the overall computer industry. Thus, Flash isn't going anywhere anytime soon, no matter how much Steve Jobs wishes it so. It would essentially require Microsoft also turn against it, and given that Microsoft embraces it, as has Google now, yeah... many more years for Flash to come, lol.
People have been championing the "Office-compatible alternatives will take hold" mantra for over a decade now, usually due to either the new release of software that was Office-compatible, or for whatever reason. And yet, Office continues to dominate. The reality is, whether it's Open Office, iWork, etc., nothing so far can match the complete functionality of MS Office. People often say "Well, for most people's needs, basic compatibility is more than adequate", and that's true to a small extent. But Office is the standard by which all others are compared.
When people are considering whatever applications to use, they'll almost always go with the one that offers the greatest number of features, irregardless of whether or not they'll use them. It's the "I'd prefer to have it just in case for the future, than not have it at all" philosophy, and it works really, really well when it comes to selling products. Thus, Office isn't going anywhere. People will use whatever app provides the basic functionality they need with the iPad (opening, viewing, slight editing), and leave the heavy usage to a desktop or laptop, where major editing and such is much, much easier. Do you really foresee a lot of people writing dozens of pages on the iPad, using the onscreen keyboard? I don't...
Yes, Sir. They are.
Or they just refuse to acknowledge the importance of this new platform.
How is having to hold, then select, any "easier" than simply selecting right away?
I think people here, in their dislike of Microsoft, blind themselves to the fact that Courier and iPad are essentially targeted towards different demographics. The iPad is targeted towards the average consumer who wants to be able to view videos, do some light reading, basic web surfing, etc., a market it should be perfectly suited for.
From what we know about Courier, it seems to be more targeted at the productivity crowd, for those in enterprises, artists, etc. I know several artists who like to do drawing on Tablets, and who are very much looking forward to Courier if it does come out. There are certain demographics that stylus interfaces are amazing for, and Courier seems to be aimed more at those.
My guess though is that it'll also be fairly expensive, maybe $800+ at least, so I don't really see Courier (if it is ever released) and the iPad even competing against each other.
My thoughts exactly (regarding the issue of whether Office not being on the iPad will be a major concern/issue).
How is Office "awkward"? Pretty much every office-oriented productivity suite of the last decade, has attempted to imitate Office in some form or another (albeit adding their own touches). Office is the standard that all others get compared to.
Even if Office doesn't ever come to the iPad, iWork isn't "going to take the market by storm". iWork for iPad and iWork for OS X will still be vastly different software packages. Sure, they'll look somewhat similar, but given how dominant Office for Mac is, iWork for iPad isn't about to just turn the tables. It'll be suitable for light usage (i.e. opening documents, slight editing, etc.), but when it comes to desktop-usage, people will still probably use what they're comfortable with/experienced with, and for the most part, that's Office.
Not really much of a loss. Microsoft and touch technology are two things that have never worked. I'd hate to see the mess they would make of Office.
Anyway, if anyone is savvy to the Messenger for Mac fiasco, it would take several years for them to even put out a beta.
Are you quite done being hypocritical? Enjoying your Microsoft Office you're enjoying on your MAC??!!
Ah, the one-way street of Apple.
Of course, they are going to say 'they have no plan for Office for iPad'. They are busy with:
1) Office 2010 for Windows
2) Office 2011 for Mac
3) Web-based Office, or Office Online (or whatever they will call)
Both products are developed by 2 different team and possibly different location (Redmond vs Mountain View). Their features are never in syncs EVER!
Plus on top of that they all have 3 years plan setup already, with Microsoft being that big. They can't just focus on iPad that they didn't know it existed 6 month ago.
I just hope they get the Web-based version of Office right first, before put their greasy paws on iPad
1) Office 2010 for Windows
2) Office 2011 for Mac
3) Web-based Office, or Office Online (or whatever they will call)
Both products are developed by 2 different team and possibly different location (Redmond vs Mountain View). Their features are never in syncs EVER!
Plus on top of that they all have 3 years plan setup already, with Microsoft being that big. They can't just focus on iPad that they didn't know it existed 6 month ago.
I just hope they get the Web-based version of Office right first, before put their greasy paws on iPad
I don't get this obsession with Microsoft Office.
For 90% of users at ANY LEVEL in any company its just too complex and over-featured.
iWork is so nice to use, easy and equipped only with the features those 90% of users will ever need. 24 months from now 10million of the 30 million iPad users will know this too and never ever think twice about wanting Microsoft Office.
For 90% of users at ANY LEVEL in any company its just too complex and over-featured.
iWork is so nice to use, easy and equipped only with the features those 90% of users will ever need. 24 months from now 10million of the 30 million iPad users will know this too and never ever think twice about wanting Microsoft Office.
Probably not that big of deal. I am sure there are plenty of apps that can duplicate most of the stuff Office will do.
That is too bad. I was looking forward to being able to use MS Office on an iPad. It is still a standard application used in both work and school and it would have gone quite a way to make the iPad closer to being (almost) a decent laptop replacement. In part I understand why they wouldn't want to support the iPad platform, but at the same time they're making themselves more and more irrelevant.
Just adding some slightly different perspective to some of these points.
It will take about a year to get something out. During the keynote they mentioned went to the iWork team over a year ago. So even if Microsoft started now it would be a year before it showed up. Microsoft is unlikely to talk about anything where the brand new and the timeline is that far out.
Doing Office for the Mac is a call for them. They are currently shipping at about 12 million/yr. It would be another year or so before iPad doing better than that rate. If this all falls on the Mac BU the problem is that while Mac Office is profitable, it may not be profitable enough to support both Mac and iPhone OS development in parallel.
However, not quite the point. App prices on the iPad (and iPhone) are substantially reduced relative to Windows and Mac OS X. These iWork apps are $9.99 . Does Microsoft even want to sell Word for $9.99 ? You can say that any money is better than none, but if iPad's word is $9.99 and does much of what the $100 Word does ... aren't they going to feel pricing pressure on the $100 Word? Is that really worth doing?
Not that Microsoft is afraid of low cost. Going to have Office 10 Starter edition pre-installed on many PCs. We'll see if they line up a deal with Apple to do something similar on the Mac.
Likewise have Office 10 Web Apps. However, that seems to be also require some local software installed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Web_Apps ) Conceptually, those apps can run without Silverlight enhancement rendering and just use AJAX (javascript) that the iPad's Safari should support. The questionable part would be whether the "buttons" were finger sized. However, that may be a faster "port" than something native (if it will render well in that version of Safari ). [ I suspect needs silverlight more than they make out. However, if later versions are HTML 5 enabled that may make it more portable.]
Both the web apps and starter are primarily devices to get folks to buy the full priced version. If the iPad version doesn't kickstart someone into buying the Mac OS or Windows version what is going to be the motivation?
If they port a "starter" version of Word perhaps. I think folks have expectation mismatches here. They won't port all of the features. It would be a "chopped down" version of Office apps. Just like the iWork versions are chopped down versions of the Mac OS X ones. The Mac OS X versions are already chopped down relative to Office so it isn't as noticeable. For MS Office it will likely be much more noticeable or disputing (e.g., the uproar after Visual basic got dropped. )
It is whether there is a market for folks who want to pay to read. If it is some free reader, they can let someone else eat that cost.
That's unlikely. I don't see a free MS Office reader for Linux. It is cheap to do a free reader when the full version is already on the platform. You just cripple and strip out code that already works. Free readers need a buddy app that brings in money for MS.
Back again to the previous point if someone else is doing it and not making money, why duplicate the effort? Besides if they make Apple go through the labor of being a reader/writer with iWork still putting dominating pressure on them. The more Office format content out there the more solid their position. That is also extra money/effort Apple can't put into differentiation; must spend on compatibility.
Free version of Office on majority of Windows PCs sold worldwide versus documents saved on iPads. Which one is the larger number ???? Which one is going to create more content. Microsoft is working that problem. The iPad is not the best answer for that.
It isn't just profit, but profit margin. There are lots of things Apple doesn't do because the profit margin is too small. MS Office's margin are already taking a bit of a hit with all of the "free versions" they are about to deploy with 10. The margins will sink even lower if get into the low price mambo, App store market.
On Mac OS X there is Home:Student and "full" Office. On the iPad they'll likely only be one version whose max price was around $10. If they spend $2 million on a team to do it. That's around 200,000 units just to pay the team and around another 60K units just pay apple (with their 30% tax) to distribute it on those units.
They can cut dev cost by chopping out features but then what do you have left? Apple doesn't allow scripting engines in apps so no VBA. Have to endure another howl of protesting users about how not even Work/Excel/etc without their funky VBA scripts buried inside. The iPad (iPhoneOS) will force constraints onto Office that are part of what Office uses to differentiate itself from its competitors. That isn't going to put it high on the investment priority list.
Just make it like Office 2007 instead of 2008. At least the Windows version has some logic to it. Being able to edit word/excel/ppt files on the go would make a killer app. It doesn't need to be full featured, but it does need to be able to make some changes.
Yes, not bringing the Office Suite to the iPad will be beginning of the end of Microsoft .. read BRLawer posts a little to much?...
The iPad is a nice toy .. not really the area Microsoft makes tons of money .. they are more interested in the business market, where the iPad is close to useless.
Funny how so many people suspect a mean conspiracy to bring down the iPad by MS not porting their software. Yet it is completely acceptable that Apple doesn't have a Windows version of pretty much any of their software, specially not iWorks.
T.
I don't think this is too much of a problem as long as the iPad version of the iWork applications can do a decent job of reading/writing Office documents. My previous experience on the Mac isn't great in this respect but if the iPad versions have addressed this issue then I don't think that we need an official Office application.
They knew it existed. Microsoft is one of the biggest key software players on Mac OS X. Either Apple dropped hints ( "hey, have you guys thought about an iPhoneOS port? It is kind of a hot platform." or "What's stopping you from porting to iPhoneOS, the screen size or blah or blah or blah or blah or blah or blah ? " or perhaps less likey an NDA conversation where don't tip-toe around as much. Never mind it being plastered all over magazines, newspapers, rumor forums , etc. for over a year. That this was a "secret" device 6 months ago is a good chuckle.
They also may have been waiting to see (if Apple wouldn't clue then in with an NDA ) whether the device was Mac OS X or iPhoneOS based. Like some of the folks around here, there were some who thought it "should be" Mac OS X based. In that context, there isn't much to port. However, I doubt that is what they were counting on. It was always more likely an iPhoneOS device. In retrospect Apple really should have labeled it "Mac OS Touch" or "TouchOS" or "TouchOS X" instead of iPhoneOS. Would have avoided lots of expectation mismatch problems later.
It is more so the case that Apple didn't give them the info to do a proper technical evaluation of the port. More than likely Apple just filled in developers who could port something before the launch. Microsoft doesn't have anything on iPhone really. So they may have gotten a courtsey NDA, but given Apple was going to spring iWork on the iPad can see chance Apple took opportunity to play the adversary card in the pre-release phase.
Even without it there are several things about Apples policies about iPhoneOS software that are restrictive and would impede a port. Apple isn't likely to give on those points and Microsoft has other irons in the fire than beating head against the wall.
I do like Excel. I am quite adept at formulas and creating useful spreadsheets. Some of the conditional formatting, etc is missing from other spreadsheet programs. Since I use excel, I tend to use word and power point too.
I do hate having to change all the auto formatting in these programs when first installed.
What I miss from iwork is draw and paint. I actually used those quite a bit. Apple works is getting a little clunky to keep using and I haven't found good alternatives.
I do hate having to change all the auto formatting in these programs when first installed.
What I miss from iwork is draw and paint. I actually used those quite a bit. Apple works is getting a little clunky to keep using and I haven't found good alternatives.
Micro(we don't do)soft(ware)!
Not a big loss. Ironic that a company (MS) that was founded on software can't seem to write any that meets a critical market.
However, I will have to say, that MS is kicking Apple's behind in the home market. I've been pleasantly surprised by the advancements in Windows 7 Media Center, and the Xbox 360 extender functions.
Too bad Apple has surrendered the home market for now. I've been really disappointed that Apple had done ZERO to advance Front Row and the arena of home media. Seems like Apple is pursuing a mobile only approach.
Not a big loss. Ironic that a company (MS) that was founded on software can't seem to write any that meets a critical market.
However, I will have to say, that MS is kicking Apple's behind in the home market. I've been pleasantly surprised by the advancements in Windows 7 Media Center, and the Xbox 360 extender functions.
Too bad Apple has surrendered the home market for now. I've been really disappointed that Apple had done ZERO to advance Front Row and the arena of home media. Seems like Apple is pursuing a mobile only approach.