will there be a new office:mac soon?

[BrianSalts]

hmm? I don't know, but i hope there will be a new one soon to match the hype surrounding office 07 for pc. i'd really like to see that ribbon on a mac.

i'm thinking about getting a mac, but if the current office mac is going to be replaced right after i shell out 150 for the student copy, i won't be pleased.

should i just wait?

 

[mad jew]

I don't think there'll be one for a while. I'm surprised you like the ribbon, I think it's a waste of screen real estate and a seriously flawed GUI concept.

 

[BrianSalts]

well i'm a pc user and i've had the ribbon office since the pre release (i'm a beta tester)- and at first glance i loved it. it's just a lot easier to access functions and stuff.

its hard to get used to at first because u're like, damn i need to format my table by digging through all the menus, but now, it's just point and click.

 

[mad jew]

Okay, I'll be interested to try it once it comes out. However, generally major Mac versions of Office come about a year or so after their PC counterparts. I'll grab a copy of 2007 for my Dell when it's released though.

 

[netdog]

From what I have seen of the ribbon, I agree that it is flawed and a waste of space. While I am sure that Office 2007 will do phenomenal sales, I also wonder if this is the point that we will really look back upon as the moment when open source software started in earnest to come into its own in the productivity application space. As the open source packages mature, and Office moves more toward an "oh wow" look, it seems a perfect point for such a transition to begin. Once universal open source office packages start showing up, I will definitely have a look at them for the PC and Mac before shelling out for another Office upgrade for both platforms. There is nothing about the current 2007 Office beta that impresses me.

 

[fjs08]

>>'ll grab a copy of 2007 for my Dell when it's released though.<<

I am not an actual beta tester, but it's available for anyone to download. I got it for my Dell that I basically play around with. I like it. My favorite is the RSS feeds directly in Outlook.

I thought M/S was done doing anything for the Mac??? Especially with iWorks.
Personally, I'd love to see a new Entourage/Office for the Mac.

Frank

 

[Le Big Mac]

Personally, I'd love to see a new Entourage/Office for the Mac.

Frank

Entourage is better than outlook for the PC. Maybe they'll improve outlook.

Dunno why we need a new office, other than the old one is three years old. I can't think of any features I'd like to have that it doesn't. There are still a million features I don't use. I'm not sure there would be a reason to upgrade, other than for intel macs to get a universal binary.

 

[mduser63]

I thought M/S was done doing anything for the Mac??? Especially with iWorks.
Personally, I'd love to see a new Entourage/Office for the Mac.

Microsoft has committed to new versions of Office and Messenger for the Mac for at least 5 more years. That doesn't mean they'll stop in 5 years, just that they're committed for at least 5 years.

 

[OSXAddict]

I say the heck with MS Office:Mac, just use Neo Office instead based on OpenOffice.org 2.0. They are alpha releases for PPC and Intel, but extremely stable. It can do pretty much everything Office can do for free. The Intel version of Neo Office is only available through the Early Access program until July 1st for $25, but totaly worth it. I'm using the Intel release with no noticeable problems or bugs so far. On July 1st they will make the Intel Alpha release available for free. I say give Neo Office a try.

 

[mduser63]

I say the heck with MS Office:Mac, just use Neo Office instead based on OpenOffice.org 2.0. They are alpha releases for PPC and Intel, but extremely stable. It can do pretty much everything Office can do for free. The Intel version of Neo Office is only available through the Early Access program until July 1st for $25, but totaly worth it. I'm using the Intel release with no noticeable problems or bugs so far. On July 1st they will make the Intel Alpha release available for free. I say give Neo Office a try.

I've tried both. I'll stick with MS Office:Mac. I'm not an MS fan but I honestly have very few complaints with Office. Free is nice, but NeoOffice/J and OpenOffice.org have a long way to go (esp. the Mac versions) before they're good enough for me to like them better than Office, free or not.

 

[OSXAddict]

I've tried both. I'll stick with MS Office:Mac. I'm not an MS fan but I honestly have very few complaints with Office. Free is nice, but NeoOffice/J and OpenOffice.org have a long way to go (esp. the Mac versions) before they're good enough for me to like them better than Office, free or not.

I agree and disagree. If you already have MS Office:Mac, than yeah you should stick with Office, but if you are a bum college student like myself you learn to love open source. I agree that Office:Mac is a solid, reliable product and yes, NeoOffice/J has a long way to go in the interface and performance department, but it gets the job done in a fairly reliable way. I do like messing with bleeding edge software and support the open source movement, but to each his own.

 

[fjs08]

>>Microsoft has committed to new versions of Office and Messenger for the Mac for at least 5 more years. That doesn't mean they'll stop in 5 years, just that they're committed for at least 5 years.<,

For me that is great news. I use Entourage about 80% of the time during the day. With Excel probably another 15%. At times, I wonder why I don't just go back to XP. I boot up my old Dell sitting in the next room and within 5 minutes I know why<g>. Although I must say I do enjoy the Office 2007 Beta. I love having my RSS feeds right there in front of me.

Frank