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"Ummm" thanks, but I'm not an idiot. I've done that, even importing those PDF images of each build back into a PPT document for PC distribution. I've also exported as Quicktime video. I've tried everything. But none of that flies as a real presentation, does it? Definitely NOT a substitute for the iWork.com web-based sharing we had before.

Sorry but you came across as one. What's not real about setting Adobe Reader to full screen and using the arrow keys? Unless you need animation ********... in which case exporting as PPT has always worked fine for me. :confused:
 
Who needs to keep their Office updated anyway? They will just have the same functions, just an different UI:p

The Office at my workplace's PC is still 2003:p:p:p

I'm still using Office 2007 at work and have no plans to upgrade. For our needs, 2007 is just fine. Although I still miss the UI of '97-2003 Office.

I have Office 2011 for my Mac and it's just fine for me as well. I think only super-serious power users might want the latest version of Office if there happens to be a new feature.
 
MS stop crippling Office for the Mac. Keep it updated along with your Windows counterpart. After all you guys certainly know the Mac inside out. There is no excuse.

Actually, I think you'll find that MS can do whatever the hell they wish to their software products, without excuse. After all, it is theirs. Obviously MS see no advantage in having all of the Office features in the Mac version.

It isn't as if Apple even do iWork for anything other than OS X, so I'd consider yourself lucky that MS see time to make a OS X Office.
 
Where is Apple's iWork upgrade? At least Microsoft updates their software eventually.
Apple is updating iWork suite often and for free. Sure no major new features if you don't count iCloud but price is low and software is good.
 
I think Apple Needs to Step Up

I would prefer to see iWork updated by Apple with better integration with iCloud and an online version like Google Docs.

A lot of people have been bashing Google Drive - but it has been consistently updating its products with new and additional features (can you hear me Apple?). More importantly - even the Google version of Excel has received more Data tool upgrades including pivot tables! That alone gives people more functionality than most use.

If Apple would update and upgrade iWork and develop a web based version that integrated well with the on site client - it would have a winner. Microsoft knows what it is doing here and it sees Google as its primary competitor - not Apple.

Apple has the better operating system - has been building our large data centers - and has optimized its hardware beyond its competitors - it needs to focus resources on its software stack. A tightly integrated and full featured office suite with updated iLife is a winner across the Mac ecosystem.
 
Im enjoying my adobe subscription since it provides a wealth of apps. I can't see myself signing up for this though.
 
As for the AppStore, Apple in no way emphasises quantity over quality. Actually the opposite is true: the review guidelines state that they may reject apps for not being significantly novel or different (e.g. another fart app). Apple is constantly banging on about how even though Android has many of the same apps, the iOS versions are usually much better quality. Quality of 3rd party software is a big deal for them. Have you taken a look at the apps they demo on iPad retail units? It's a great selection of pixel-perfect masterpieces like djay and garageband. Look at the quality apps they promote all over their ads.

I'm not a dev but I've been observing the way Apple handles software in general for awhile now and everything they do seems pretty much geared toward driving down the price of software and commoditizing it to sell more iDevices

They use a single crowded storefront model forcing devs to undercut each other to make it on the Top 100 list

They've revamped the app store UI to make app discovery more difficult

They underprice their first party solutions at < $10 when they could charge more and elevate the standard pricepoint. They started doing this on desktop too, dropping the price of each of their first party suites to $100-200 when their competitors charge >$400.

Far as quality, they have guidelines meant to maintain control of the walled garden and keep out porn, but other than that, they whitelist almost everything. They have no problem with IP ripoffs, cookie cutter apps, etc

This is all part of a software commoditization strategy meant to sell hardware and it's been working for Apple. But for those of us who really want powerful apps that need a pricepoint higher than a couple bucks to be developed, it sucks. If you want an actual DAW on your iPad instead of a toy app like Garageband, it's never gonna happen.
 
I'm not a dev but I've been observing the way Apple handles software in general for awhile now and everything they do seems pretty much geared toward driving down the price of software and commoditizing it to sell more iDevices

They use a single crowded storefront model forcing devs to undercut each other to make it on the Top 100 list

They've revamped the app store UI to make app discovery more difficult

They underprice their first party solutions at < $10 when they could charge more and elevate the standard pricepoint. They started doing this on desktop too, dropping the price of each of their first party suites to $100-200 when their competitors charge >$400.

Far as quality, they have guidelines meant to maintain control of the walled garden and keep out porn, but other than that, they whitelist almost everything. They have no problem with IP ripoffs, cookie cutter apps, etc

This is all part of a software commoditization strategy meant to sell hardware and it's been working for Apple. But for those of us who really want powerful apps that need a pricepoint higher than a couple bucks to be developed, it sucks. If you want an actual DAW on your iPad instead of a toy app like Garageband, it's never gonna happen.

As for the AppStore UI: don't mistake blunders for policy. Yes the new search results screen is poor and hinders discovery, but I don't for one second believe that was Apple's goal; why would it be?

I wouldn't say Apple has "no problem with IP ripoffs". Do you realistically expect them to screen every bit of content that comes through for worldwide IP infringement? You know there's been a big problem with scammers on the AppStore evading the screening process, which has lead to AppStore descriptions and screenshots now also being screened on every update? How on Earth is Apple supposed to filter all of that and still provide a reasonable turnaround time to developers and customers? Cut them some slack. Just because they don't notice an infringement does not mean to say they've taken on any liability that it's legal.

I don't know what first party software devaluation you're referring to: Apple tends not to make first-party application software if it can avoid it (the Pro apps are a bit of an exception; they were acquired at a time when the Mac was faltering and Apple desperately needed to stop these guys jumping ship). The purpose of iLife was always to be bundled: it's part of what a Mac does. Macs can help you make home movies, etc. It could easily be part of OSX. The purpose of iWork is a bit of a puzzle, sure - then again, it couldn't justify the enormous (and frankly too high) price of MS Office.

What first-party software devaluing is Apple guilty of? I can't see any. They bundled iLife with the hardware to make the overall product stronger to customers, and they acquired some Pro apps decades ago that they felt were important to the platform and in danger of losing.
 
My workplace of over 110,000 employees still uses Office 2003 and XP.
If it ain't broke...

My dad's Hospital he works at still uses windows 2000 for many of its computers along with xp. Office 2000 is as advanced as it gets there.

This is how Irelands healthcare system is run.
 
Microsoft's behavior here is really quite poor.

Consider the fact that Microsoft cut its teeth on point and click, object oriented computing on the Macintosh back in the early days when Bill and Steve were best friends.

Now this is the way they treat paying customers? Yes, if you use a Mac.

MS stop crippling Office for the Mac. Keep it updated along with your Windows counterpart. After all you guys certainly know the Mac inside out. There is no excuse.

Of course we should be grateful that MS deigns to give us Mac users anything. We're just a tiny portion of their business. And don't get me started on the non-existent iPad version of Office :rolleyes:

So MS "owes" mac users something? Wow. This is what we get for dumping Windows. Is that a surprise? No. I knew this before jumping to a mac, so should everyone else.

And why in god's name should MS help the iPad with MS Office instead of making it exclusive to their own tablet? That said, I think the Surface will bust and eventually they will port Office over to the iPad. Until then, we Apple users just need to bide our time. We're used to it.
 
I used (the admittedly beta version of) Office 2013 and it was good but a bit flakey, especially Excel, which would crash even it you were using it.

Hopefully the full version is more stable.
 
As a home user I would not spend $99/year to keep my Office subscription. I'd move to iWork at that point. I paid the home price for 2011 when it came out and intend to keep using it.
The standalone Mac Office 2011 is about $100 for as long as you want. I don't really see the point of paying a $99/year subscription for basically the same thing...
 
As for the AppStore UI: don't mistake blunders for policy. Yes the new search results screen is poor and hinders discovery, but I don't for one second believe that was Apple's goal; why would it be?

Because it helps them make money.

Apps harder to find --> developers have to undercut each other to get noticed -> software becomes more of a commodity --> their premium hardware becomes more differentiated --> Apple maximizes its profit

I wouldn't say Apple has "no problem with IP ripoffs". Do you realistically expect them to screen every bit of content that comes through for worldwide IP infringement? You know there's been a big problem with scammers on the AppStore evading the screening process, which has lead to AppStore descriptions and screenshots now also being screened on every update? How on Earth is Apple supposed to filter all of that and still provide a reasonable turnaround time to developers and customers? Cut them some slack. Just because they don't notice an infringement does not mean to say they've taken on any liability that it's legal.

I don't care much about the IP ripoffs than I do about iOS being a budget market. IP ripoffs, cookie cutter software, lowest common denominator apps - they're all staples of a budget market. Those $1-5 software CD's you used to see in the bargain bin at Fry's aren't exactly indicative of quality, but they're now the standard on mobile. So when I hear that iOS or Android has quality software as a standard, I disagree.

What first-party software devaluing is Apple guilty of? I can't see any. They bundled iLife with the hardware to make the overall product stronger to customers, and they acquired some Pro apps decades ago that they felt were important to the platform and in danger of losing.

Yeah I was using the Pro apps as an example. Logic 9 was $500. Apple it dropped to $200. Logic's biggest competitor is probably Pro Tools, which is $700. They were already outcompeting Pro Tools on price. They had no reason to price drop further unless they didn't care about software profits and were leveraging software for some other purpose. Which they were. Same with iWork and its cheap pricepoints that act as bait to get the consumer to switch over to the Apple ecosystem and buy a Mac or iPad. Far as the price discrepency between iWork and Office, those products have two different ways of monetizing. That's also the reason for the price difference between Apple and MS OS's.

Regarding third party devaluation, I disagree with the hardware part of this article but I think the software part is spot on
 
Surprisingly, I think Microsoft's subscription idea isn't too bad, considering all you get with the price. Consider this:

  • Microsoft Office is already roughly $400 for the standard edition
  • Microsoft releases a new one roughly every 3 years
  • The subscription based on 3 years is less than buying it
  • You get 5 licenses
  • You get Skype minutes and other services
  • Cloud based, always available on any machine, kinda of like Steam.

Great incentives when you think about it.
 
Office 365 is pretty wonderful, too. People just scoff at paying for Office 365, but it's not just MS Office in a subscription bundle.

Our business switched email servers to Office 365 and it has been fantastic for the office. Better calendar sharing, Lync messenger is great for communication (and shows when those are away - as well as when, where, and why), and perhaps the best part about it - you can use any computer and automatically have access to your entire Outlook in 2 formats:

- Outlook itself: it'll just automatically download all your emails, contacts, and calendar events onto the new computer
- Office 365 web mail: it is pretty near a perfect clone of the Outlook interface but in browser format. It's such a huge upgrade compared to Outlook for Mac (total turd bucket) when I'm at home (Win 7 at work, OS X at home).
 
All the more reason to abandon clunky Microsoft bloatware. LibreOffice or Apple's office suit are both excellent options. Personally I think nobody should be sending documents around in proprietary format these days. Use open file formats and insist everyone does. M$ whole strategy is to keep office from using open standards. It's the way they've done it with the Internet too. They love to thwart standards because they know that if the playing field was even they would lose everything.
 
I would prefer to see iWork updated by Apple with better integration with iCloud and an online version like Google Docs.

A lot of people have been bashing Google Drive - but it has been consistently updating its products with new and additional features (can you hear me Apple?). More importantly - even the Google version of Excel has received more Data tool upgrades including pivot tables! That alone gives people more functionality than most use.

If Apple would update and upgrade iWork and develop a web based version that integrated well with the on site client - it would have a winner. Microsoft knows what it is doing here and it sees Google as its primary competitor - not Apple.

Apple has the better operating system - has been building our large data centers - and has optimized its hardware beyond its competitors - it needs to focus resources on its software stack. A tightly integrated and full featured office suite with updated iLife is a winner across the Mac ecosystem.

Well said, I absolutely agree. I cannot stand MS office, it's ugly, you need glasses just to view the millions of 'buttons', it's irritating and makes Mac's crash and freeze. I will never use MS again, I am quite happy running my entire show with iWork. So in the event that they improve what you mentioned, it would be great.

----------

Userland programs should never be able to crash a computer. Being able to do so means there is a significant flaw in the underlying OS.

That is a load of rubbish and you know it, MS Office continually crashes and freezes on so many Macs I've lost count, I know because I've had to go to companies and work places to try and fix it. It has nothing to do with the OS and everything to do with the program not being fully compatible or filled with bugs. It's been ongoing since Office For Mac was released and both Apple and MS are more than aware of it.
 
I do not see what this has to do with office software.

You're just a hater aren't you? I'm trying to make the point that Microsoft charging $400 for office software is very similar to Adobe charging $1000s for multimedia software. Seems kind of ridiculous.

If you really intend to keep this thread on topic, why not go after the guy who posted just before you with paragraphs and paragraphs of stuff that isn't strictly office software.
 
hahahahaha

What a holy rollin' crock o' flax! $99 a year for the same old tired software? I repeat $99 A YEAR? That's a fat roll they're on to expect peeps to pay that. WOW.
 
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