Microsoft to Release Office for Mac 2011 in Late October

[logandzwon]

They are both broken when making a Hackintosh, but the DMCA is the least likely to be pursued (or at least, begin pursuing) in an individual case. And you've been arguing both sides of hating and liking MS Office, till nobody here can keep up. Maybe you should relax for 5 minutes and figure out what it is you mean.

Hi JAT,

I completely agree with you on the hackintosh thing, but you'd need to go back and read the whole discussion, (don't bother,) to understand that the discussion was about the appropriateness of one user calling another user, "childish, stupid, and uninformed" for suggesting that MS office might not be the best application for someone, while simultaneously advertising they are blatantly violating community ethics.

As far as discussing both sides of MS office being good and bad, well that is exactly the point. The application has strong points and weak points. There ARE other applications which serve similar roles, although they are all different with individual strengths and weakness.

But to say, "iWork is toy, and Open Office is a bloated and semi-compatible pile of garbage," is not a discussion of the new version of MS Office it's an uninformative bash on other company's efforts. To ague anyone who wants to use anything else is "childish, stupid, and uninformed" and a fanboy, even when I've only said that OO and iWork have their own merits, is attacking the point of free discussion in open forum. It is cyber-bulling.

 

[kernkraft]

No eye candies on my wedding - I want professional results

Yep, Keynote is WAY better for both novice and experienced users of any level...its intelligent alignment tools are simply second to none.

But for the moment I agree with you on both counts (Word and Excel), as far as it concerns heavy, traditional users.

However, even my PC-using wife asked for my Mac and Pages when we had to create wedding brochures for our guests...page layout in Word is close to nonexistent.

Excel stll has some edge in terms of formulae and overall depth, but Numbers has been QUICKLY chipping away at these advantages.

Not to mention that NeoOffice is a more than capable free alternative; the reasons for owning and using Office are disappearing fast.

To be fair, if I wanted some wedding brochures, I would probably asked some professionals. Not just because of the design, but also because of the quality paper or format that the genre demands.

 

[MRU]

Use both iWork 09 and Office 2011 as one of the 'official' testers and I like both and use both still.

2011 is leaps and bounds improved over 2008, uses less resources, loads faster, and has some great new features.

Outlook is fantastic, I love the conversation feature - it's as remarkable as when first using the SMS feature of the iPhone.

I know there is often a lot of petty hate for Microsfot here, but can say with hand in my heart they are doing a great job with 2011.

 

[50548]

To be fair, if I wanted some wedding brochures, I would probably asked some professionals. Not just because of the design, but also because of the quality paper or format that the genre demands.

That's irrelevant, as these brochures were something intended to be a personal touch on some guest gift bags we gave them (and everyone loved it).

The unavoidable point is: Pages is MUCH better than Word at page layout tasks...for traditional WP, I'll give that Word is still a more solid and well-known offering.

 

[NetScheduler]

NetScheduler has not contributed more then a single useful comment to this entire thread, and yet he's managed to insult several other users.

Sorry Kid that you don't approve of my contributions to this forum. Comments are not always going to be positive. This discussion IS absolutely about MS Office, and when others offer suggestions such as "Why do we need Office when we have iWork or Open Office"??, I feel inclined to point out that these products are incompatible with 99% of the corporate world. I relate MY experiences in business with over 25 years experience.

If you don't like it, ignore it..... My point is that if you need to interact with others in business, there is no substitute for Office..

That's my informed opinion. I've earned the right to make it.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Not to mention that NeoOffice is a more than capable free alternative; the reasons for owning and using Office are disappearing fast.

Wrong. The need is increasing because the need for security and compliance in the corporate world is increasing daily. Apple provides no tools and has ignored its enterprise customers for too long. Microsoft doesn't ignore them. Thats why Office will always be around. Apple just doesn't care about Enterprises because they know its a battle they can't win.

 

[jlc1978]

I love how everyone bashing the Apple apps doesn't give specifics and only says things like "it's a toy."

The only app that is behind is Numbers. Excel for Mac vs Excel for Windows doesn't favor Excel for Mac either if you want to get technical.

True, but at least most spreadsheets created on a Win machine will open just fine on the Mac version - again compatibility is the key; and not just with Excel.

So with Numbers behind that leaves Keynote being far and away better (eg: you don't have to worry about your presentation exploding if you don't test it on the presentation computer first). Pages is also better when it comes to useful features as well as layout (Word can also throw a fit between versions but not as bad as Powerpoint). Mail works with Exchange 2007 well enough.

Better is in the eye of the beholder. Creating a presentation in keynote does you no good if it will be opened a Win version of PowerPoint - you have to check every slide to be sure it will work properly.

Embedded videos - forget about it.

As fro mail vs Outlook; it again depends on what you want to do. Outlook (at least the Win version) is very good at handling folders, Sharepoint integration, etc. Entourage does it in a so-so manner; Mail isn't even close.

Therefore, might I suggest you be slightly more specific with your egotistical rant unless you think the real world uses Excel 24/7.

Much of the real world, at least those that pay me money, use Excel and other MS Office products exclusively 24/7. Therefore I use them.

Would I like to migrate to Keynote? Sure; but it simply doesn't do what I need on an ongoing basis; as I have pointed out above.

Having used Apples since the ][+ I'd love to be Mac only - but faced with ditching MS Office or making money I chose the latter.

YMMV HAND

 

[50548]

Wrong. The need is increasing because the need for security and compliance in the corporate world is increasing daily. Apple provides no tools and has ignored its enterprise customers for too long. Microsoft doesn't ignore them. Thats why Office will always be around. Apple just doesn't care about Enterprises because they know its a battle they can't win.

Sorry, "security and compliance" with what? MS Office-branded products?

Most Apple products already reflect best practices and are being more and more adopted by enterprises...not to mention that even standards created by MS can and are being used by other non-MS products...or do you think MS Office is "safer" than the rest? On what basis, vapor?

But I like your avatar: that Dream Theater album was simply EXCELLENT.

 

[JAT]

But to say, "iWork is toy, and Open Office is a bloated and semi-compatible pile of garbage," is not a discussion of the new version of MS Office it's an uninformative bash on other company's efforts. To ague anyone who wants to use anything else is "childish, stupid, and uninformed" and a fanboy, even when I've only said that OO and iWork have their own merits, is attacking the point of free discussion in open forum. It is cyber-bulling.

The problem is, that assessment for use in the business world is quite accurate. You can dislike it, but facts win. I have enough problems when I create a complicated Excel document and send it to people using the same version of Excel, due to macros I may include, UDFs, and other complications that come up with beginner-level users.

There are too many students here, that don't seem to realize life will be different when they have to deal with other people in a couple years.

 

[50548]

True, but at least most spreadsheets created on a Win machine will open just fine on the Mac version - again compatibility is the key; and not just with Excel.

The saddest thing is that not EVEN MS is able to ensure 100% compatibility between its products.

The other day a friend of mine was creating a PP presentation on its Mac, just to discover that when played on Windows at work it would look much uglier and sort of disjointed in its formatting...pathetic.

 

[NetScheduler]

The problem is, that assessment for use in the business world is quite accurate. You can dislike it, but facts win. I have enough problems when I create a complicated Excel document and send it to people using the same version of Excel, due to macros I may include, UDFs, and other complications that come up with beginner-level users.

There are too many students here, that don't seem to realize life will be different when they have to deal with other people in a couple years.

Thank you.

 

[jlc1978]

Question to all that have iWork and Office. Now I know iWork isn't feature heavy, but is it a valid replacement for Office? Can you give me the lowdown of what should and shouldn't be included?

The answer, for me, is simple. If compatibility with others who may use MS Office is critical (i.e. you'll spend more time checking and fixing compatibility issues than its worth; or compatibility issues will cost you business) , then use MS Office.

If the majority of your work is in-house and you only send straightforward files, such an undergraduate paper that doesn't have massive amounts of formulas (you're a poet and not an engineering / science major) that may get munged in the translation; iWorks is a nice package. Open Office is also a viable free alternative; especially if you save in rtf or MS Office formats.

Not the lowdown you requested; but that's hard to do without knowing how you use each.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Sorry, "security and compliance" with what? MS Office-branded products?

Most Apple products already reflect best practices and are being more and more adopted by enterprises...not to mention that even standards created by MS can and are being used by other non-MS products...or do you think MS Office is "safer" than the rest? On what basis, vapor?

But I like your avatar: that Dream Theater album was simply EXCELLENT.

The issue at hand is everyone knows Microsoft front end. It doesn't seem like anyone here has a grasp on the Microsoft Infrastructure. Exchange is the most prevalent backend system and every company I have worked for has had its Macs leverage it. Issue is Apple doesn't give you enough. Thats why companies like JAMF, GroupLogic, and Centrify are gaining ground.

 

[tarheel11]

upgrade price?

Question from a newbie: For those of us who bought Office 2008 before August 1, 2010 (I bought mine in May of 2010), what are the chances of Microsoft offering the option to upgrade for a lower-than-retail price (say, like $30)?

 

[50548]

Question from a newbie: For those of us who bought Office 2008 before August 1, 2010 (I bought mine in May of 2010), what are the chances of Microsoft offering the option to upgrade for a lower-than-retail price (say, like $30)?

ZERO.

 

[JAT]

The saddest thing is that not EVEN MS is able to ensure 100% compatibility between its products.

The other day a friend of mine was creating a PP presentation on its Mac, just to discover that when played on Windows at work it would look much uglier and sort of disjointed in its formatting...pathetic.

I would say the saddest thing is that MS is not even able to ensure 100% compatibility between the screen and the ****ing paper when you print.

 

[Theclamshell]

Are you serious? Perhaps it's just me, but the Word icon for mac makes me want to kill myself. Really.

You might want to get that checked out

 

[JAT]

The issue at hand is everyone knows Microsoft front end. It doesn't seem like anyone here has a grasp on the Microsoft Infrastructure. Exchange is the most prevalent backend system and every company I have worked for has had its Macs leverage it. Issue is Apple doesn't give you enough. Thats why companies like JAMF, GroupLogic, and Centrify are gaining ground.

They should be soon. iOS was the first mobile OS to offer good compatibility with Exchange, before even MS's. OSX can't be far behind....right?

 

[NetScheduler]

I would say the saddest thing is that MS is not even able to ensure 100% compatibility between the screen and the ****ing paper when you print.

I would say the saddest thing is that ANY software, on any platform, is able to ensure 100% compatibility between the screen and the printer.

 

[TJM6]

I'm about to go pure Mac by getting an iMac to work alongside my MBP with Office. My school uses Office 2007, and so when I first got my MacBook Pro I quickly found out that iWork was a no-go. Although, for the price of iWork, I find little to no reason not to have it for other content creation.

I'm really hoping that Office 2011 is a lot closer to 2010 on Windows as far as compatibility goes. Mainly because it'll make using W/P/X between school machines and my Macs go a little smoother, and because once I ditch this PC build I won't have Windows at hand to correct any bugs Office n my MBP might create.

 

[umrk]

I am not interested, thanks

This product has not evolved for ages. Furthermore, its equivalent Open Office is free. I am not interested in subsidising Microsoft ...

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

They should be soon. iOS was the first mobile OS to offer good compatibility with Exchange, before even MS's. OSX can't be far behind....right?

Not even close. iOS integration is the same as the desktop. I'm talking about real integration. Real AD binding, real SMB/AFP support, how about Apple develops an AD plugin to push MCX files via GPO versus having to setup a dedicated Apple servers. How about some REAL integration.

 

[kernkraft]

The saddest thing is that not EVEN MS is able to ensure 100% compatibility between its products.

The other day a friend of mine was creating a PP presentation on its Mac, just to discover that when played on Windows at work it would look much uglier and sort of disjointed in its formatting...pathetic.

He should have used Apple's Keynote for Windows. But not on a PPC.

 

[cmaier]

This product has not evolved for ages. Furthermore, its equivalent Open Office is free. I am not interested in subsidising Microsoft ...

Huge advantage to Office 11 over Office 08 or the competition is VBA is back, meaning it at last allows entire workflows to be done compatibly on the mac.

 

[KirkL]

Wait...Office Mac isn't sometimes entirely compatible with Office Windows? Am I better off getting Office Windows and running it off of Bootcamp or Parallels?