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And if Apple didn't highlight it people would complain that they're purposely trying to bury it. I'm sure Apple is quite happy to see Office on iPad as it takes away one of Microsoft's advertising points - that iPad is just a toy for consumption, not for productivity and content creation.

I think Apple will be happy because they are going to make money, and that's all they really care about with this.

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Microsoft loves losing money. They are morons, seriously! Adobe did the same thing. Adobe has more of a leg to stand on but what Microsoft doesn't understand is that nobody likes paying for a subscription. We want a one time fee. $10 a month!?!?!?! Try $10 per Office App you want ie. Excel, Power Point, & Word would be $30. Then, call it good FOR-EVVVV-ERRRR, FORRR -EVVVVV -ERRR (Said like Squintz Paliadorous). F subscriptions. Microsoft is too greedy and their greed is catching up with them. Days of charging $300 for their Operating Systems because businesses relied on your product are over!!!! You are going down Microsoft.... It doesn't have to be like that bub!

Thankfully Apple isn't.

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HUP, which a lot of companies use, allows a laptop and a computer for £8.95 and that's office pro. So yea, office 365 is a rip off.

The average home user doesn't have 5 pcs, so that's a bit superfluous. I'm basing on the casual home user as these are the people who are the main iPad audience. Same reason I pointed out that office 365 is a rip off for the standard home user in comparison to the home version of office. iPad only has word, excel and PowerPoint.

I'm not saying small businesses are not better off with office 365. I'm just saying that the average (and majority of) iPad user is being ripped off if they went for office 365.

I'll bet plenty of families have 5 pcs/tablets.
 
Microsoft Word is already the #8 top grossing iPad app on iTunes.
Making Apple $30 for each Office 365 subscription it sells.
 
I think Apple will be happy because they are going to make money, and that's all they really care about with this.

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Thankfully Apple isn't.

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I'll bet plenty of families have 5 pcs/tablets.

I'm tempted by Office 365. In addition to my iPad, I have a Mac with Windows running on Boot Camp. That's 3 devices right there.
 
Tim is laughing all th way to the bank. Apple gets 30% and MS gts out of the hardware business. Apple wins even more enterprise share. This hurts HP, Samduck, Dell, Google, etc. and helps Apple. Tim is elated.



Or maybe Apple and Microsoft cut a different deal behind closed doors and agreed to publicize the 30% cut to avoid backlash from other developers?

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I'm tempted by Office 365. In addition to my iPad, I have a Mac with Windows running on Boot Camp. That's 3 devices right there.

And that's just for you. Now take a family with a husband, wife and a couple of kids, five devices is pretty easy for a group like that.
 
This doesn't hold true for everyone. I just saved the two documents I was working on in Excel on my Mac and tried opening them in Numbers. The first one was truncated at 65,535 rows (There are approximately 750,000 rows in the spreadsheet), and the second one wouldn't open at all (password protected cells + unsupported features). These aren't files I created either, so I need them to work. Excel is the defacto standard, and unless you're doing basic things the iWorks apps aren't going to cut it.

1. Why are you working with a 50,000+ row spreadsheet using [the buggy and underpowered] Office for Mac? The only thing I use the mac version of office for is tiny projects. Any serious data work usually merits booting into windows.

2. Why are you working with a 50,000+ row spreadsheet using an iPad?
 
Or maybe Apple and Microsoft cut a different deal behind closed doors and agreed to publicize the 30% cut to avoid backlash from other developers?

It's a mutually beneficial move, not one party forcing their will upon another. MS could've worked around Apple's in app cut simply by requiring you to subscribe to 365 from the website. It wouldn't be that difficult to do, and anyone really truly interested in Office for iPad wouldn't have a single problem jumping through that one extra hoop.

The iPad gets some recognition as a truly serious enterprise device, and Apple rakes in a healthy amount of cash with only a minimal amount of effort. MS expands their user base, makes even more money off the sales, and gets people deeper into their ecosystem. In an indirect sort of way, it might even drum up a bit of interest in their own hardware. Everyone wins, no one loses.
 
Or maybe Apple and Microsoft cut a different deal behind closed doors and agreed to publicize the 30% cut to avoid backlash from other developers?

Or maybe not a single developer in the app store has to pay 30% - but they all sign a contract where they are told that they need to say that they are supposed to pay 30%. For whatever reason suits you, I'm sure you can attempt to make it sound plausible.

(I avoided the term "tin foil hat" succesfully :D )
 
For the use of office stuff on iPad only, the iWork suite is more then adequate but for anything more then office is the ducks nuts for productivity!
 
Or maybe not a single developer in the app store has to pay 30% - but they all sign a contract where they are told that they need to say that they are supposed to pay 30%. For whatever reason suits you, I'm sure you can attempt to make it sound plausible.

(I avoided the term "tin foil hat" succesfully :D )

My version is much more plausible than yours. :p

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It's a mutually beneficial move, not one party forcing their will upon another. MS could've worked around Apple's in app cut simply by requiring you to subscribe to 365 from the website. It wouldn't be that difficult to do, and anyone really truly interested in Office for iPad wouldn't have a single problem jumping through that one extra hoop.

The iPad gets some recognition as a truly serious enterprise device, and Apple rakes in a healthy amount of cash with only a minimal amount of effort. MS expands their user base, makes even more money off the sales, and gets people deeper into their ecosystem. In an indirect sort of way, it might even drum up a bit of interest in their own hardware. Everyone wins, no one loses.

I agree, it works well for both parties.
 
It's a mutually beneficial move, not one party forcing their will upon another. MS could've worked around Apple's in app cut simply by requiring you to subscribe to 365 from the website. It wouldn't be that difficult to do, and anyone really truly interested in Office for iPad wouldn't have a single problem jumping through that one extra hoop.

Would that have given users that sign up via the app the subscription for free?

The iPad gets some recognition as a truly serious enterprise device, and Apple rakes in a healthy amount of cash with only a minimal amount of effort. MS expands their user base, makes even more money off the sales, and gets people deeper into their ecosystem. In an indirect sort of way, it might even drum up a bit of interest in their own hardware. Everyone wins, no one loses.

You'd think that most people are familiar with Microsoft Office and those who really don't know it by now will just see it as another app. Either way, it definitely won't help the "Surface" sales in terms of convincing people to move... I wonder why Microsoft did finally decide to offer their cash cow #1 for the iOS platform.
 
The Office 365 subscription is beyond stupid. Everyone hates it
Yeah, you are much better off paying 399.99 for Professional each year you want to upgrade to get all of the same features on 1 PC or mac and not getting the online storage or international Skype calling. :rolleyes:

Even if you upgraded once every 4 years and you needed office on a PC and a mac, you would be spending "MORE" buying non-subscription versions and not have access to the iPad version. What if you had more than two computers that needed office?

With the sub, you can install everything you get in the Professional version of Office on 5 PCs or Mac and up to 5 tablets.

Can you explain to me how your math adds up? You sound like one of those people who spend 50 bucks on gas driving around with their coupons all across town so they can "save" 20 bucks on groceries.
:D
 
Why is this front page news? Seriously? Microsoft pay Apple the EXACT same cut of in app purchases as every single other app store developer does! Wow whoopee doo.....

Is this some attempt by Mac Rumours to make Microsoft look bad? For doing the same as is required of everyone else?

Please explain why this story is on the front page.

We don't have to explain it. You can read the original article. It's right there in black and white. :)
 
Either way, it definitely won't help the "Surface" sales in terms of convincing people to move... I wonder why Microsoft did finally decide to offer their cash cow #1 for the iOS platform.

I think they just can't ignore the potential sales they can generate from the iPad's huge user base. They know that the Surface isn't going to sell anywhere near what the iPad does. Microsoft is still primarily a software company and maybe the new CEO understands that better than what was the other guys name? :D
 
Would that have given users that sign up via the app the subscription for free?

No, but doing it from within the app gives Apple their 30% cut. MS could've taken the Amazon route if they wanted to. I doubt Apple would've held up the release because of it.

...though I doubt it would've gotten its nice little badge on the front page of the App Store if they went that route.

You'd think that most people are familiar with Microsoft Office and those who really don't know it by now will just see it as another app. Either way, it definitely won't help the "Surface" sales in terms of convincing people to move... I wonder why Microsoft did finally decide to offer their cash cow #1 for the iOS platform.

You never know how these things go. Obviously, not everyone is brand loyal, nor a tech pundit. I'd say there's a healthy amount of people out there who like the iPad because of what it does, not because of who makes it. If they end up using a bunch of MS apps, and get entrenched in their ecosystem, they could very well jump to the Surface at some later date. Especially if MS plays their cards right and does something like "hey, you know those apps you love so much on your iPad? You can get them for cheaper here on our Surface"!

As for why they're doing it now? Quite simply because it'll make them a ton of cash. The real question here is why the hell they didn't have this version of Office ready to roll when the Surface RT came out.
 
Wow, you really believe that crap?



I smell its new so its must be better variety of buyer.


I when I worked tech side (now admin) would meet these people.

Aww man, when are we getting Office XYZ?

I'd say I don't know, thats management stuff. But, to be social, I'd ask so what exactly is lacking in the current office that you so desparately need?

Basically most of the time it was like watching Spinal Tap in real life and said user being Nigel going well....it goes to 11.

Personal/home use, even on windows side I was a firm believer in every other release for office, it that. I did undergrad and grad studies and oddly enough no sensei ever docked me points for using office 2003 in 2009.

Sometimes I cheated though...many were more programming so it was more turn in source code text files. Ofc if people think libre to office can get ugly....they should send 200 lines of code written in a linux text editor not saved in a more windows friendly text format to a wndows user. Now that....gets ugly.


I apply this to all my software. Some apps I use like text editors or back when was an adobe drone for example. They have the now common you pay us say $99 and you get updates until a new version or a year...after that no support for you but you can use that old moldy stuff.

So after a year up or the obligatory new version out...I'd read up on the new features, demo them out...and go jsut not seeing a need to pay the upgrade fees. Sometimes the following year they'd impress me, sometimes not.
 
Yeah, you are much better off paying 399.99 for Professional each year you want to upgrade to get all of the same features on 1 PC or mac and not getting the online storage or international Skype calling. :rolleyes:

Even if you upgraded once every 4 years and you needed office on a PC and a mac, you would be spending "MORE" buying non-subscription versions and not have access to the iPad version. What if you had more than two computers that needed office?

With the sub, you can install everything you get in the Professional version of Office on 5 PCs or Mac and up to 5 tablets.

Can you explain to me how your math adds up? You sound like one of those people who spend 50 bucks on gas driving around with their coupons all across town so they can "save" 20 bucks on groceries.
:D
Your use case assumed upgrading every 4 years. Some of us have and still use Office 2003. I have and continue to install it (Office Professional 2003) on every Windows machine I own over the years without restriction. I paid less than $100 for it back then.

The subscription model works great for corporations. But for consumers, not so much. Anyone who thinks that Microsoft offers the subscription model because it is better for consumers than a purchase model is hopelessly naive.
 
I think they just can't ignore the potential sales they can generate from the iPad's huge user base. They know that the Surface isn't going to sell anywhere near what the iPad does. Microsoft is still primarily a software company and maybe the new CEO understands that better than what was the other guys name? :D

I absolutely agree, there's no way around the iPad crowd if they want to grab hold of the tablet market and they finally have realized that.

MS Hardware.... - I have no idea who actually manufactures their hardware so far, but I love their mice, I have three MS wireless 6000 on my desk right now, best mouse ever (I tried hard with the "magic" mouse, the touch stuff is great, the low profile is a mess). Unfortunately they just don't seem to have a lucky hand with their full blown devices as in Zune or Surface.

(And the other guy... he was just weird)
 
This doesn't hold true for everyone. I just saved the two documents I was working on in Excel on my Mac and tried opening them in Numbers. The first one was truncated at 65,535 rows (There are approximately 750,000 rows in the spreadsheet), and the second one wouldn't open at all (password protected cells + unsupported features). These aren't files I created either, so I need them to work. Excel is the defacto standard, and unless you're doing basic things the iWorks apps aren't going to cut it.

You are clearly not an average user, that's HUGE!

(My first thought was, it sounds like you should be using a database, but I kept that one to myself...)

Gary
 
No, but doing it from within the app gives Apple their 30% cut. MS could've taken the Amazon route if they wanted to. I doubt Apple would've held up the release because of it.

...though I doubt it would've gotten its nice little badge on the front page of the App Store if they went that route.



You never know how these things go. Obviously, not everyone is brand loyal, nor a tech pundit. I'd say there's a healthy amount of people out there who like the iPad because of what it does, not because of who makes it. If they end up using a bunch of MS apps, and get entrenched in their ecosystem, they could very well jump to the Surface at some later date. Especially if MS plays their cards right and does something like "hey, you know those apps you love so much on your iPad? You can get them for cheaper here on our Surface"!

As for why they're doing it now? Quite simply because it'll make them a ton of cash. The real question here is why the hell they didn't have this version of Office ready to roll when the Surface RT came out.

I agree, brand loyalty is completely overrated, going by plain statistics there are far more win users that own an iPhone or iPad than Mac Users. So it's really just a matter (not really :D ) of what this Office for iPad will make users do - stick to their own devices or make them go out and buy a new Surface.
 
I don't disagree. But there's no reason for either company to make a weird "disclosure deal" like that, they don't think like fanboys and stuff...

Maybe they do. :D All joking aside, I don't think that Apple and Microsoft are enemies like Apple and Samsung. They have a long history of somewhat peaceful coexistence.
 
Your use case assumed upgrading every 4 years. Some of us have and still use Office 2003. I have and continue to install it (Office Professional 2003) on every Windows machine I own over the years without restriction. I paid less than $100 for it back then.

The subscription model works great for corporations. But for consumers, not so much. Anyone who thinks that Microsoft offers the subscription model because it is better for consumers than a purchase model is hopelessly naive.

Your use case only makes sense if you upgrade once a decade, only need one copy and have no need for the "Pro" version with the extra apps.

If you are still on Office 2003 then you are probably better off with Libre Office which is free since you would not be using the latest and greatest "features" of office anyway.
 
Maybe they do. :D All joking aside, I don't think that Apple and Microsoft are enemies like Apple and Samsung. They have a long history of somewhat peaceful coexistence.

I agree. And personally I don't think that Apple and Samsung are "enemies" either as they are enjoying each others compan(y)(ies) quite a bit. I'd rather see them as "legal clarifications" - whatever they result in. But the stupid "Apple and Samsung are playing Battleship" is a pretty naive way to see the legalities they are going through these days.
 
Sorry, but where I work (university) nobody uses MS Word for any kind of documents unless it's supposed to be some kind of joke. And if I look at what my colleagues at other institutions use, the only thing that I can say about MS Word is that it is universally ignored. But maybe that's just at university.

Where I work, and where I went to school, Office was the standard. You submitted your papers in .doc or .docx. You did your presentations on PowerPoint. People who did it on KeyNote and then exported for a powerpoint presentation would have missing pictures, formatted differently, and if their presentation sucked, it just amplified how bad it was.

Plus, with any powerful tools, it gives you a lot more options. BTW, I got the University version for $49.99 as a sale, so it's really just $50 for 4 years for me. And I'll get upgraded versions as they come out, with 20GB of cloud storage. It's a better deal than the other options out there. Just have to look for the sales.
 
I absolutely agree, there's no way around the iPad crowd if they want to grab hold of the tablet market and they finally have realized that.

MS Hardware.... - I have no idea who actually manufactures their hardware so far, but I love their mice, I have three MS wireless 6000 on my desk right now, best mouse ever (I tried hard with the "magic" mouse, the touch stuff is great, the low profile is a mess). Unfortunately they just don't seem to have a lucky hand with their full blown devices as in Zune or Surface.

(And the other guy... he was just weird)

I like their mice and I've had a couple of keyboards over the years too. And I think the Surface Pro 2 is an excellent product, albeit a niche one. Personally I think the Windows RT version of the Surface just adds confusion for most people. I understand what they were trying to do, but I think they would have been better off it just ran Windows. They tried to make it be their version of iOS, but iOS runs on the iPhone and iPad where there is a Windows Phone OS and Windows RT. I'm confused just typing that. :D
 
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