Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster


Microsoft has sweetened the deal for imminent Office for Mac buyers that don't want to be left behind come the January launch of Mac Office 2008.

From now on, a purchase of ANY version of Mac Office 2004 product (Student and Teacher, Standard, or Professional Edition) will be eligible for an upgrade to the top of the line Mac Office 2008 Special Media Edition for only the price of shipping and handling.

While Microsoft had previously had a technology guarantee in place after announcing the Office 2008 packages, the update applied only to the comparable updated version (Standard Edition 2004 would be updated to Standard Edition 2008).

Article Link
 
About time

I'm looking forward to kissing another Rosetta app goodbye. But what's this different version? Why oh why do MS love so many versions. I have an aversion to their versions😛
 
Who cares! They were slow and now they're gonna miss out on my business because of it. Maybe they'll be able to sell me once iWork 08's gets old and I'm looking to upgrade productivity suites again.
 
Why even use MS Office though? Since iWork '08 came out, I've only used MS apps at work where I'm forced to. Just seems to me like MS can't deliver a true competitor, so they have to sucker people in with deals.
 
well, for those of us that have to use MS Office, this is actually a cool deal.

I can get the Student/Teacher version for very cheap right now ($39 through my university) and I'll only pay $7 to upgrade to the newer version that will no-doubt cost much more.
 
Wow, that's a pretty good deal (if you must use it, that is)

Which is probably exactly why it's so cheap. I use Office 2000 and Office 2003 on various computers, and the functionality differences are minimal for my use. And I'm not aware of anything new in Office 2007 that has made me want to run out and buy it.

At a certain point, it's really just ridiculous. Who on earth would pay almost $700 for Office these days? I just don't think of Office as being on par with other software suites in that price range for video editing or graphics, for instance. When you've got free open source options, Google developing free online office apps, and things like iLife for $79, where's the market? It seems like Microsoft realizes they should drop the retail price $500 but doesn't want to devalue the suite that much...so instead they find all these reasons to run insane 90%+ discounts.
 
Just wondering... how good is the Automator support in Office 2008 standard and special media editions? Is it worth getting it over Office 2008 student&teachers?
 
Too late...I found Neo Office.

The price was right, it works great and it is up to date.
Absolutely. For anyone who has to use Microsoft Office formats for their job or school, NeoOffice is totally the answer. It's slick, decent looking, and handles both-way Word and Excel conversion like a charm. I've set mine to automatically save in doc and excel format, with no issues to date. (Wait - once, images in a text document lost their border padding. That was the one issue I had over a year and a half now. Pretty serious, I know.)

And it's free. Try it out - you might like it!

(Disclaimer - I haven't used Microsoft Office on my own computer in 6 years. I'm sure it's a nice bunch of programs, though. Just not indispensable.)
 
I'm looking forward to kissing another Rosetta app goodbye. But what's this different version? Why oh why do MS love so many versions. I have an aversion to their versions😛

Not that I'm complaining, but remember that Apple has put out a new version every year since 2004 (im counting 08 as 07, as it was released then)

But yeah... this is a good move. I hate having to buy something, knowing that a new version is just around the corner.

EDIT: Oh...now i see what you're talking about with versions. haha... yeah... not a big fan of that myself 🙂
 
I have to use PowerPoint for my job, and can't risk using NeoOffice.

I will see how much I can get it from my school (I just paid $69 for Leopard). I can't wait to use it at full speed! ARGH!

Matthew
 
ah yes, the usual great Microsoft promotions available in the US and Canada only.

not that i care.
 
This is a sweet deal. While I own Office 2004, I can buy the student and teacher edition for under $125 and get Office 2008 for S&H. Even better since I have a bunch of Amazon gift certificates lying around.
 
Not interested

Now that I've got iWorks 8 I'm less than interested in this upgrade. Of course that may change if I run up against something I just can't do in iWorks.

Or alternatively I can just get the cheapest Office 2007 offer and run it in Parallels. Choices are good things to have.
 
Is there a setting in iWork to save stuff in .doc etc?
It seems everytime I save something someone emails back saying they can't open it.
Most everyone I communicate with are on windows machines.
Might try that neo office too.
I get weird stuff in Mail as well, sending info gets messed up.
A slight headache that I haven't really sorted out... Yet.
Later
 
Like it won't be available on torrent sites the day it's released. I have NO ethical issues in borrowing software from Micro$oft. 😡
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.