Microsoft Office 2015 (2016?)

[skaertus]

I predict Microsoft releases a new Office version for Mac 2015 only because I like the new leadership of the company and they aren't making bonehead moves (yet). They need to be a software company again - sure make hardware products but don't neglect the software. Word for Windows is far better than Word for Mac. The longer they wait to release a new product the more people jump aboard the hate wagon for Office.

Microsoft is definitely releasing Office for Mac. Sooner or later it will release. Microsoft is already late and there are no signs of the new Office. Not even a beta version. But it will eventually come out.

Personally I'm just about there, if a new Office doesn't arrive soon, I hope to never use it again. For those who say they "need" office.. you only really need 2011 for select files and select people. Many other programs are available nowadays. Whether or not you want to use those programs or want to be a stickler for Office is another discussion entirely.

I both need and want Office. Yes, there are alternatives available, but it's not the same thing. Some people may find iWork or LibreOffice as replacements for Microsoft Office. But they are poor replacements.

I need Office because I work in a corporate environment. Not having Office is not an option. Everybody uses Office and expects me to use Office. I could use an alternative, but there would be the risk of minor incompatibilities. And these inconsistencies are usually not tolerated in a corporate environment.

What if I save a draft contract in LibreOffice and then somebody else has to open it to print and sign and the cross-references are missing? What if I produce a presentation in Keynote and then I have to open it in someone else's computer to give a talk before a large an audience and then the file does not open as expected?

No, I cannot run the risk. I have to use Office. If Office for Mac is not good enough, then I have to turn to Windows so I can use it, because it is what everybody does and I cannot afford to be different.

And you know what? Last week, the IT department of my firm came with a budget to migrate to Office 365. It was not cheap, and I asked for alternatives. The guy laughed at me, like he said: "Are you insane?" or "This is just ridiculous". And I have to agree. Office is a must-have. iWork is a joke, a very bad joke, made for children's homework. And LibreOffice is nothing but an illusion to which open source enthusiasts keep alive so they can dream of a proprietary-free world of software.

But I also want Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office makes my life much easier. It has more features than other programs, and I have the piece of mind of not having to convert files into other formats.

So, yes, I both need and want Microsoft Office, and if Microsoft does not release a new version for Mac, I may end up turning back to Windows. Nothing on the Mac, at least for me, could justify the absence of Microsoft Office, which is perhaps the only killer app on the desktop right now.

 

[sracer]

72 million Macs installed base means still in operation.

How does Apple know how many Macs are still in operation? The only way to know that is if every Mac in use has some way of "phoning home" to Apple. Macs don't have that capability.

Installed base = sold

That doesn't mean "still in operation".

 

[Sky Blue]

How does Apple know how many Macs are still in operation? The only way to know that is if every Mac in use has some way of "phoning home" to Apple. Macs don't have that capability.

Installed base = sold

That doesn't mean "still in operation".

Installed base is a measure of the number of units of a particular type of system—usually a computing platform—actually in use, as opposed to market share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installed_base

Of course they contact apple, through Software Update, App Store etc.

 

[sracer]

Installed base is a measure of the number of units of a particular type of system—usually a computing platform—actually in use, as opposed to market share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installed_base

Of course they contact apple, through Software Update, App Store etc.

That's Wikipedia's definition. Is that Apple's? Every company uses their own definition for commonly used terms.

updated:
Not all Macs have access to the App store. Only those running Snow Leopard and later and are connected to the internet. Not all Macs use software update.

I'm not saying that the 72 million number is high or low. But simply parroting a number from a marketing presentation isn't the best source to use.

 

[Sky Blue]

That's Wikipedia's definition. Is that Apple's? Every company uses their own definition for commonly used terms.

Not all Macs have access to the App store. Only those running Snow Leopard and later and are connected to the internet.

Software Update's been part of OS X since 10.1.

 

[sracer]

... duplicate ...

 

[Sky Blue]

But simply parroting a number from a marketing presentation isn't the best source to use.

lol, ok dude. I guess you know better than Apple what the install base is.

 

[marc55]

Microsoft is definitely releasing Office for Mac. Sooner or later it will release. Microsoft is already late and there are no signs of the new Office. Not even a beta version. But it will eventually come out.



I both need and want Office. Yes, there are alternatives available, but it's not the same thing. Some people may find iWork or LibreOffice as replacements for Microsoft Office. But they are poor replacements.

I need Office because I work in a corporate environment. Not having Office is not an option. Everybody uses Office and expects me to use Office. I could use an alternative, but there would be the risk of minor incompatibilities. And these inconsistencies are usually not tolerated in a corporate environment.

What if I save a draft contract in LibreOffice and then somebody else has to open it to print and sign and the cross-references are missing? What if I produce a presentation in Keynote and then I have to open it in someone else's computer to give a talk before a large an audience and then the file does not open as expected?

No, I cannot run the risk. I have to use Office. If Office for Mac is not good enough, then I have to turn to Windows so I can use it, because it is what everybody does and I cannot afford to be different.

And you know what? Last week, the IT department of my firm came with a budget to migrate to Office 365. It was not cheap, and I asked for alternatives. The guy laughed at me, like he said: "Are you insane?" or "This is just ridiculous". And I have to agree. Office is a must-have. iWork is a joke, a very bad joke, made for children's homework. And LibreOffice is nothing but an illusion to which open source enthusiasts keep alive so they can dream of a proprietary-free world of software.

But I also want Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office makes my life much easier. It has more features than other programs, and I have the piece of mind of not having to convert files into other formats.

So, yes, I both need and want Microsoft Office, and if Microsoft does not release a new version for Mac, I may end up turning back to Windows. Nothing on the Mac, at least for me, could justify the absence of Microsoft Office, which is perhaps the only killer app on the desktop right now.

Outstanding post; you hit the nail on the head!

 

[jahala]

I need Office because I work in a corporate environment. Not having Office is not an option. Everybody uses Office and expects me to use Office. I could use an alternative, but there would be the risk of minor incompatibilities. And these inconsistencies are usually not tolerated in a corporate environment.

What if I save a draft contract in LibreOffice and then somebody else has to open it to print and sign and the cross-references are missing? What if I produce a presentation in Keynote and then I have to open it in someone else's computer to give a talk before a large an audience and then the file does not open as expected?

I am in this same situation. I have experienced all these little compatibility issues when using other software to edit MS Office documents. The time spent recovering from the confusion is not worth the money saved by using alternative software. Word 2011 is great in this respect. On a document level, it is completely compatible. I actually prefer using Word 2011 over Word 2010 or 2013 because I think the interface is better. My biggest complaint is that the Mac Business Unit left out the ability to turn on or turn off the protection against formatting changes on a document. I use this feature all the time because it prevents accidental corruption of formatting.

 

[skaertus]

lol, ok dude. I guess you know better than Apple what the install base is.

Of course Apple must know better than anyone what the install base of Macs is. Perhaps even Apple does not know the exact number, but they should have a good guess. What we don't know is whether Apple is willing to tell the whole world the numbers. Apple may just opt to tell the total number of Macs sold so the figures are inflated. This is a very common trick among companies, and I would not be surprised if Apple did that as well.

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Outstanding post; you hit the nail on the head!

Thanks!

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I am in this same situation. I have experienced all these little compatibility issues when using other software to edit MS Office documents. The time spent recovering from the confusion is not worth the money saved by using alternative software. Word 2011 is great in this respect. On a document level, it is completely compatible. I actually prefer using Word 2011 over Word 2010 or 2013 because I think the interface is better. My biggest complaint is that the Mac Business Unit left out the ability to turn on or turn off the protection against formatting changes on a document. I use this feature all the time because it prevents accidental corruption of formatting.

I actually think Office 2013 is the best, including the interface. But Microsoft did a great job (in what concerns the interface) with the iPad and also with OneNote for Mac. I hope Office 2014/2015 is as great as these products.

 

[Sky Blue]

Apple may just opt to tell the total number of Macs sold so the figures are inflated. .

The number at the WWDC the year before that was 66 million. Apple sells about 4-5 million Macs a quarter.

So, they're obviously not just opting for total Macs sold. If you did that, you'd get a much bigger number.

 

[skaertus]

The number at the WWDC the year before that was 66 million. Apple sells about 4-5 million Macs a quarter.

So, they're obviously not just opting for total Macs sold. If you did that, you'd get a much bigger number.

I think you should be right.

At a Goldman Sachs conference in February 2012, Tim Cook noted that it took Apple 22 years to sell 55 million Macs (http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsav...-cook-live-from-the-goldman-sachs-conference/).

Also in February 2012, it was revealed that lifetime sales of Macs were at 122 million (http://appleinsider.com/articles/12...s_devices_in_2011_than_total_macs_in_28_years).

So, 72 million Macs is probably an estimate of the current installed base. Yes, Apple sells between 4 and 5 million Macs per quarter, but this is now. Sales have increased over the years, so 5 years ago these numbers were lower.

 

[mjt57]

I need Office because I work in a corporate environment. Not having Office is not an option. Everybody uses Office and expects me to use Office.

Not only that but most properly managed corporate IT environments control what software that their companies' computers run.

Certainly, with ours this is the case. If we want to install something on our computers, it has to be done via a rather convoluted process which includes the submission, justification, then testing before being rolled out to those computers which need it.

Here's an example. We have a software package which controls the air conditioning system in our workplace. When the original software became obsolete (the company no longer exists) we had to source the new one. The guys looking after that were made by IT to jump through so many hurdles before it was allowed to run on the corporate network. Prior to that it ran on a stand alone PC which had a serial link to the HVAC's PLC.

Mind you, I'm in Australia, IT's head office is in London and Brussels.

So, for me, for example, to be allowed to run my Macbook Air on the corporate network and to run an office package other than MS Office 2010 (Windows) I'd have to jump through more hoops than a squad of navy SEALs doing BUD/S training...

 

[skaertus]

Is anybody else under the impression that Microsoft will only make any announcement regarding the new Office for Mac after the availability of Surface Pro 3, to avoid stealing its shine?

 

[garycurtis]

I am a retired writer/publisher and use Office 2011 on my new iMac. I'll limit my comments to Word. I regard the UI as overblown and crowded. There is simply too much up there on the screen in terms of icons/controls.

And I have watched word swell from the earlier years. Too many features. Especially in the way it attempts to serve as a page layout program. It doesn't do an acceptable job at page layout. And I have used them all — Pagemaker, inDesign, Quark.

My friend is a professional Word programmer. She is very highly paid by a consortium of attorneys to write Macros in Word for them to process legal briefs. She does this on an iMac, but in the Windows shell. So she is running Office for Windows. And she raves about the programming potential in
Word for Windows.

 

[maflynn]

Is anybody else under the impression that Microsoft will only make any announcement regarding the new Office for Mac after the availability of Surface Pro 3, to avoid stealing its shine?

Well that seems more likely, either by coincidence or by specific action at this point since the SP3 is rolling out in 4 days.

 

[ScottNWDW]

I have a feeling that we may not see a new version of Microsoft Office until OSX Yosemite rolls out. It could be positioned to be fully compatible with Yosemite and by holding off on releasing it Microsoft could just be tweaking it to take advantage of any new features coming to Yosemite. If you know the operating system is changing in a few months why release a major update just a few months prior only to be criticized for being behind the times when the new operating system rolls out. Wait the few months and tout it's compatibility.

If One Note for Mac and the iPad version of Office is any indication where Office for Mac is going I can gladly wait a few extra months, even though I would prefer new version now.

 

[mikecwest]

Installed Base

One thing that does not appear to be mentioned in regards to "Installed Base" is that some of those 72 Million "installed base" machines, does not necessarily mean 72 Million users, for example, my Wife has a MacBook Pro and an iMac...(one user two machines)...I use a MacBookPro and have a Thunderbolt display (Purchased when it first came out, and used maybe 5 times since!) A friend, has an intel iMac from 2006, it was used frequently by him, his wife, and three children. (one machine 5 users)

I have a cousin, who is not tech savvy, or possibly just does not care about updates....The last time I saw his MacBook, it had not received ANY updates from software update. How would would he be included in the count?

I have a friend, with an iMac, he purchased it at the Goodwill store. He has no internet at his house. How would would he be included in the count?

I don't know how it would be possible to have an accurate count of "installed macs," I also don't see why any of it matters.

As far as Pages goes, I like how Pages performs on my MacBook Pro.... Office 2011 performs so poorly on my MBP early 2011 2.2GHZ with 16GB of 1600MhZ ram. Sure, Word 2011 has more features that I don't really use, but is just too slow! Cost of the software is not an issue in my case or decision to now use mostly Pages.

 

[maflynn]

I have a feeling that we may not see a new version of Microsoft Office until OSX Yosemite rolls out.

We're definitely months away from seeing a new version, maybe even longer. I believe MS promised more details about Office 2014 in the spring and that is quickly coming to an end. So they've only committed to talking about it, not releasing it.

 

[skaertus]

We're definitely months away from seeing a new version, maybe even longer. I believe MS promised more details about Office 2014 in the spring and that is quickly coming to an end. So they've only committed to talking about it, not releasing it.

Yes, I thought so too. Still, it's way too long. It even seems that Microsoft wants we Mac users to migrate to Windows so we can have a better Office experience...

 

[jeremydc]

The only reason I did not buy a Macbook Air yet is Office. The only Apple device I have is an 5s. I'm an English teacher in Korea and use PPTs daily to teach my kids. My Ideapad only runs about 3 hours and I would love an Air (battery life) but 2011 ain't going to cut it. OneDrive integrates well on my co-works 2012 air but there 2013 Office is awesome.

As soon as Microsoft releases office for mac (not 365 for the ipad) I'll be getting an Air for sure.

Come on MIcrosoft!!!!!!!!!

 

[skaertus]

The only reason I did not buy a Macbook Air yet is Office. The only Apple device I have is an 5s. I'm an English teacher in Korea and use PPTs daily to teach my kids. My Ideapad only runs about 3 hours and I would love an Air (battery life) but 2011 ain't going to cut it. OneDrive integrates well on my co-works 2012 air but there 2013 Office is awesome.

As soon as Microsoft releases office for mac (not 365 for the ipad) I'll be getting an Air for sure.

Come on MIcrosoft!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it is being a while. We are in the final days of Q2 2014 and still no news on the forthcoming Office for Mac!

 

[skaertus]

Do you think a new Office will come before or after the release of Yosemite?

 

[jeremydc]

Do you think a new Office will come before or after the release of Yosemite?

It would logical to come after the release right? I'm stuck using the online version when I borrow my gfs air....


Retina Air and Office 2014/2015 would be awesome. I would need both to switch over though

 

[maflynn]

Do you think a new Office will come before or after the release of Yosemite?

At this point of hearing nothing from MS, I'd say its less likely to occur before Yosemite .