Well, it seems that the carreer of this product manager at Microsoft will not perform very well (at least as long as Monkey Boy is here) , because I heard that Microsoft finally denied this.....
I would like to add that, when I moved from PC to Mac for my personal usage, the existence of the OpenOffice was a key decision factor. I indeed wanted to reuse the various personal applications I had developed in Excel, and also be able to process files created in my professional PC environment.
At that time, just as a matter of principle, I did not want to pay the extravagant price Microsoft was asking for the Office suite on Mac.
Initially, with OpenOffice, I had to accept not being able to use my VBA code, but this is no longer the case with LibreOffice.
I think my case is not isolated, and that many people start from the same requirements when choosing their Office Suite on Mac.
of course, I have also bought Pages & Numbers, but I only use Pages to edit my iBook on the iBook store (Pages is able to create ePub files).
Microsoft on Wednesday disavowed comments made by its Czech subsidiary that the company will roll out iOS and Android apps of its Office suite early next year.
“The information shared by our Czech subsidiary is not accurate. We do not have anything further to share at this time,” a company spokesman said in an email Wednesday.
Microsoft was backing away from a report on the Czech website IHNED that said a local Microsoft official had confirmed that native iOS and Android apps for Office would debut in the first quarter of 2013.
Rumors of Microsoft pulling the trigger on Office for iOS, largely fueled by the success of the iPad, have surfaced repeatedly. Each time Microsoft has quashed the talk, at times with vague denials that leave room for interpretation.
Again on Twitter, Shaw later responded to a reporter’s comment with the line, “Gee, I thought it was pretty blanket,” referring to his previous statement that the information distributed by Microsoft’s Czech arm was “inaccurate.”
That leaves little room for interpretation.
But Wes Miller of Directions on Microsoft, and that research firm’s in-house lead analyst on Office, was not so sure. In fact, Miller said there were compelling arguments for either issuing native iOS Office apps, or keeping the money-making suite tightly—if not exclusively—tied to Windows.
Office on a Windows tablet
It’s conceivable, said Miller, that Microsoft would link iOS Office apps to its upcoming Office 365 subscription plans, which in the case of the deal for consumers, lets customers install Office on as many as five devices, including desktop and notebook PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
In that arrangement—and Apple’s iOS App Store policies seem to allow this—Microsoft would offer Office apps free-of-charge, then tie them to an Office 365 subscription. Only users with a current subscription would be able to actually run such apps.
Other software-as-a-service companies use that model for their iPhone and iPad apps, which access customers’ accounts: Salesforce is one example.
“But I don’t think that would be a great idea,” said Miller. “It would pigeon-hole Office [on iOS] if it was only available to Office 365 subscribers.”
Miller said there were reasons why Microsoft would, in fact, release Office for iOS, and not tie it to Office 365.
“I have to wonder if the toxicity of the ‘Apple tax’ would really prevent them [from doing Office for iOS],” Miller said, referring to the 30% cut that Apple takes of all app revenue.
“But I really think they have to do something on iOS,” said Miller. “Look at the App Store. Many of the most popular productivity apps are Office emulators. So Microsoft is leaving money on the table that could be theirs.”
On the other hand, keeping Office connected to Windows also has benefits, in that Windows is, like Office, a major cash cow for the Redmond, Wash. company. “It’s six of one, half-dozen of another,” Miller said of the way the decision could go.
In any case, like other analysts, Miller was certain that any move—or non-move—would be decided at the highest level of Microsoft, and not left up to the fiefdoms of the Office or Windows groups.
“This would be a Steve [Ballmer] decision, Steve and Kurt DelBene [president of the Office division] and the board sitting down,” Miller said. “It would be a chess move.”
I know all about Microsoft. I've been dealing with them back in the late 1970‘s. I even knew these guys back in the mid 1970's. You're being a bit paranoid here. These are computer programs. They have no armies. They aren't taking the world over.
No, I'm not paranoid in the least, just informed.
Microsoft's modus operandi is to dominate and destroy. Heard of Netscape ? Heard of Apple maybe ?
The list is loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggggg.
They were fined $1B in Europe, and will be fined again as they still have not fixed up their Browser issue.
They ship Windows with 63,000 known bugs and laugh it off.
These are just a few examples.
How in the world can you support this type of activity ? You seem to give them lots of latitude, and you are certainly wrong with your quote thats its only computer programs. Its just like saying this Drone that just fired its missiles and killed people is just a program.
Fact: Powerpoint is garbage, I have used it and Keynotes and its a non-contest.
Opinion: Word is a bloated pig, where the vast majority of people use a subset of its features. Pages does the job for word processing and kills it for Page Layouts
Opinion: Numbers serves me well, I don't need fancy Macros or embedded VB snippets.
How much will they sell Office Apps for iOS devices ? $10 or $20 per pop ? This will simply hasten the end of Microsoft, long term they are in trouble with slipping PC sales, Windows & Office sales are flat. When more and more people get onto Tablet devices, their cash cow will disappear.
I feel Microsoft are in really big trouble, and no PR spinning will help them out this time, the writing is on the wall.
But businesses buy Office in a very high volume. A lot of those uses require some features that Apple either hasn't bothered to implement, or hasn't implemented in a compatible fashion. Apple hasn't seen fit to give a real upgrade to iWork components for some time. Why? They own the business tablet market right now, and could make the grip a lot tighter if they came out with a suite that was more robust. I don't know their thinking here, but they really should get cracking on this.
It's possible that the business unit of Microsoft has looked at Office for the iPad for some time. There's really no way to know. But politics in Microsoft is stronger than their good sense, oftentimes.
OK, Here's the deal as I see it:
Microsoft doesn't stand a chance of implementing a usableTouch Tablet version of Office by November 2012, March 2013... or anytime in the near future. It would require a complete rethink, redesign and rewrite.
With the ARM Windows RT -- at best, Word and Excel will be barely-usable reader apps.
The x86 Windows 8 Surface is not really a tablet and anyone who wants to use Word or Excel will not use the Touch Interface -- rather they will use the keyboard, mouse/trackpad interface.
So, what has MS accomplished with all this Windows 8 RT/Surface brouhaha? They've muddied the waters and bought a little time... But that time is running out and MS has no Office offering for tablets -- the fastest growing segment of the computer market.
If MS were smart, they would have taken a different approach! Instead of trying to port Office to the tablet, MS could have implemented real tablet apps that:
are simple to use and provide a pleasant user experience
exploit the advantages of the tablet paradigm
provide the basic Office features and functions
are compatible with existing Full Office apps running on Windows and OS X pcs
They would have written apps to compete with (or one-up) the iWork apps on the iPad.
But, that seems like a big undertaking. On closer inspection, MS already has a suite of basic Office-like apps that are compatible with Full Office (at least as recently as the Full Office running on Windows Vista).
That suite of basic Office apps is Microsoft Works:
Had they done that a year ago, they would now have useable Office-compatible apps running on the iPad -- participating in, and making money from, the post-pc era.
Edit: I do believe that Apple has been negligent updating the iWork suite for both OS X and iOS. IMO, the conditions and timing are right for Apple to update iWork (both OS X and iOS) and make them as compatible with Full Office as possible -- to support the basic features used by most users. They could even offer Windows versions of iWork.
Fact: Powerpoint is garbage, I have used it and Keynotes and its a non-contest.
Opinion: Word is a bloated pig, where the vast majority of people use a subset of its features. Pages does the job for word processing and kills it for Page Layouts
Opinion: Numbers serves me well, I don't need fancy Macros or embedded VB snippets.
How much will they sell Office Apps for iOS devices ? $10 or $20 per pop ? This will simply hasten the end of Microsoft, long term they are in trouble with slipping PC sales, Windows & Office sales are flat. When more and more people get onto Tablet devices, their cash cow will disappear.
I feel Microsoft are in really big trouble, and no PR spinning will help them out this time, the writing is on the wall.
While, what you state, above, may be true... for you... It does not mean that it is true for the millions of Office users without a Mac or an iPad and access to iWork.
I do not believe that MS can deliver a usable Office suite for the iPad in a meaningful timeframe (before 2014) -- and even if they could, it does't mean they would!
No, I'm not paranoid in the least, just informed.
Microsoft's modus operandi is to dominate and destroy. Heard of Netscape ? Heard of Apple maybe ?
The list is loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggggg.
They were fined $1B in Europe, and will be fined again as they still have not fixed up their Browser issue.
They ship Windows with 63,000 known bugs and laugh it off.
These are just a few examples.
How in the world can you support this type of activity ? You seem to give them lots of latitude, and you are certainly wrong with your quote thats its only computer programs. Its just like saying this Drone that just fired its missiles and killed people is just a program.
I fail to see your logic.
Wow! Such hate! Calm down a bit. Worry more about Google these days. Apple and Microsoft have come to an understanding.
Comments
Well, it seems that the carreer of this product manager at Microsoft will not perform very well (at least as long as Monkey Boy is here) , because I heard that Microsoft finally denied this.....
I would like to add that, when I moved from PC to Mac for my personal usage, the existence of the OpenOffice was a key decision factor. I indeed wanted to reuse the various personal applications I had developed in Excel, and also be able to process files created in my professional PC environment.
At that time, just as a matter of principle, I did not want to pay the extravagant price Microsoft was asking for the Office suite on Mac.
Initially, with OpenOffice, I had to accept not being able to use my VBA code, but this is no longer the case with LibreOffice.
I think my case is not isolated, and that many people start from the same requirements when choosing their Office Suite on Mac.
of course, I have also bought Pages & Numbers, but I only use Pages to edit my iBook on the iBook store (Pages is able to create ePub files).
Microsoft terms talk of Office on iPad 'inaccurate'
By Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Oct 10, 2012 2:58 PM
print
Microsoft on Wednesday disavowed comments made by its Czech subsidiary that the company will roll out iOS and Android apps of its Office suite early next year.
“The information shared by our Czech subsidiary is not accurate. We do not have anything further to share at this time,” a company spokesman said in an email Wednesday.
Earlier, Frank Shaw, the head of Microsoft’s corporate communications, tweeted a nearly-identical denial.
Microsoft was backing away from a report on the Czech website IHNED that said a local Microsoft official had confirmed that native iOS and Android apps for Office would debut in the first quarter of 2013.
Rumors of Microsoft pulling the trigger on Office for iOS, largely fueled by the success of the iPad, have surfaced repeatedly. Each time Microsoft has quashed the talk, at times with vague denials that leave room for interpretation.
Again on Twitter, Shaw later responded to a reporter’s comment with the line, “Gee, I thought it was pretty blanket,” referring to his previous statement that the information distributed by Microsoft’s Czech arm was “inaccurate.”
That leaves little room for interpretation.
But Wes Miller of Directions on Microsoft, and that research firm’s in-house lead analyst on Office, was not so sure. In fact, Miller said there were compelling arguments for either issuing native iOS Office apps, or keeping the money-making suite tightly—if not exclusively—tied to Windows.
It’s conceivable, said Miller, that Microsoft would link iOS Office apps to its upcoming Office 365 subscription plans, which in the case of the deal for consumers, lets customers install Office on as many as five devices, including desktop and notebook PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
In that arrangement—and Apple’s iOS App Store policies seem to allow this—Microsoft would offer Office apps free-of-charge, then tie them to an Office 365 subscription. Only users with a current subscription would be able to actually run such apps.
Other software-as-a-service companies use that model for their iPhone and iPad apps, which access customers’ accounts: Salesforce is one example.
“But I don’t think that would be a great idea,” said Miller. “It would pigeon-hole Office [on iOS] if it was only available to Office 365 subscribers.”
Miller said there were reasons why Microsoft would, in fact, release Office for iOS, and not tie it to Office 365.
“I have to wonder if the toxicity of the ‘Apple tax’ would really prevent them [from doing Office for iOS],” Miller said, referring to the 30% cut that Apple takes of all app revenue.
“But I really think they have to do something on iOS,” said Miller. “Look at the App Store. Many of the most popular productivity apps are Office emulators. So Microsoft is leaving money on the table that could be theirs.”
On the other hand, keeping Office connected to Windows also has benefits, in that Windows is, like Office, a major cash cow for the Redmond, Wash. company. “It’s six of one, half-dozen of another,” Miller said of the way the decision could go.
In any case, like other analysts, Miller was certain that any move—or non-move—would be decided at the highest level of Microsoft, and not left up to the fiefdoms of the Office or Windows groups.
“This would be a Steve [Ballmer] decision, Steve and Kurt DelBene [president of the Office division] and the board sitting down,” Miller said. “It would be a chess move.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by melgross
I know all about Microsoft. I've been dealing with them back in the late 1970‘s. I even knew these guys back in the mid 1970's. You're being a bit paranoid here. These are computer programs. They have no armies. They aren't taking the world over.
No, I'm not paranoid in the least, just informed.
Microsoft's modus operandi is to dominate and destroy. Heard of Netscape ? Heard of Apple maybe ?
The list is loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggggg.
They were fined $1B in Europe, and will be fined again as they still have not fixed up their Browser issue.
They ship Windows with 63,000 known bugs and laugh it off.
These are just a few examples.
How in the world can you support this type of activity ? You seem to give them lots of latitude, and you are certainly wrong with your quote thats its only computer programs. Its just like saying this Drone that just fired its missiles and killed people is just a program.
I fail to see your logic.
Apple iWorks versus MS Office.
Keynotes versus Powerpoint - 1 to Apple
Pages versus Word - Even
Numbers versus Excel - 1 to MS
Fact: Powerpoint is garbage, I have used it and Keynotes and its a non-contest.
Opinion: Word is a bloated pig, where the vast majority of people use a subset of its features. Pages does the job for word processing and kills it for Page Layouts
Opinion: Numbers serves me well, I don't need fancy Macros or embedded VB snippets.
How much will they sell Office Apps for iOS devices ? $10 or $20 per pop ? This will simply hasten the end of Microsoft, long term they are in trouble with slipping PC sales, Windows & Office sales are flat. When more and more people get onto Tablet devices, their cash cow will disappear.
I feel Microsoft are in really big trouble, and no PR spinning will help them out this time, the writing is on the wall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by melgross
...
But businesses buy Office in a very high volume. A lot of those uses require some features that Apple either hasn't bothered to implement, or hasn't implemented in a compatible fashion. Apple hasn't seen fit to give a real upgrade to iWork components for some time. Why? They own the business tablet market right now, and could make the grip a lot tighter if they came out with a suite that was more robust. I don't know their thinking here, but they really should get cracking on this.
It's possible that the business unit of Microsoft has looked at Office for the iPad for some time. There's really no way to know. But politics in Microsoft is stronger than their good sense, oftentimes.
OK, Here's the deal as I see it:
Microsoft doesn't stand a chance of implementing a usable Touch Tablet version of Office by November 2012, March 2013... or anytime in the near future. It would require a complete rethink, redesign and rewrite.
With the ARM Windows RT -- at best, Word and Excel will be barely-usable reader apps.
The x86 Windows 8 Surface is not really a tablet and anyone who wants to use Word or Excel will not use the Touch Interface -- rather they will use the keyboard, mouse/trackpad interface.
So, what has MS accomplished with all this Windows 8 RT/Surface brouhaha? They've muddied the waters and bought a little time... But that time is running out and MS has no Office offering for tablets -- the fastest growing segment of the computer market.
If MS were smart, they would have taken a different approach! Instead of trying to port Office to the tablet, MS could have implemented real tablet apps that:
are simple to use and provide a pleasant user experience
exploit the advantages of the tablet paradigm
provide the basic Office features and functions
are compatible with existing Full Office apps running on Windows and OS X pcs
They would have written apps to compete with (or one-up) the iWork apps on the iPad.
But, that seems like a big undertaking. On closer inspection, MS already has a suite of basic Office-like apps that are compatible with Full Office (at least as recently as the Full Office running on Windows Vista).
That suite of basic Office apps is Microsoft Works:
Microsoft Works is an integrated package software that was produced by Microsoft. Works is smaller, less expensive, and has fewer features than Microsoft Office or other major office suites. Its core functionality includes a word processor, a spreadsheet and a database management system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Works
Had they done that a year ago, they would now have useable Office-compatible apps running on the iPad -- participating in, and making money from, the post-pc era.
Edit: I do believe that Apple has been negligent updating the iWork suite for both OS X and iOS. IMO, the conditions and timing are right for Apple to update iWork (both OS X and iOS) and make them as compatible with Full Office as possible -- to support the basic features used by most users. They could even offer Windows versions of iWork.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hfts
Apple iWorks versus MS Office.
Keynotes versus Powerpoint - 1 to Apple
Pages versus Word - Even
Numbers versus Excel - 1 to MS
Fact: Powerpoint is garbage, I have used it and Keynotes and its a non-contest.
Opinion: Word is a bloated pig, where the vast majority of people use a subset of its features. Pages does the job for word processing and kills it for Page Layouts
Opinion: Numbers serves me well, I don't need fancy Macros or embedded VB snippets.
How much will they sell Office Apps for iOS devices ? $10 or $20 per pop ? This will simply hasten the end of Microsoft, long term they are in trouble with slipping PC sales, Windows & Office sales are flat. When more and more people get onto Tablet devices, their cash cow will disappear.
I feel Microsoft are in really big trouble, and no PR spinning will help them out this time, the writing is on the wall.
While, what you state, above, may be true... for you... It does not mean that it is true for the millions of Office users without a Mac or an iPad and access to iWork.
I do not believe that MS can deliver a usable Office suite for the iPad in a meaningful timeframe (before 2014) -- and even if they could, it does't mean they would!
Wow! Such hate! Calm down a bit. Worry more about Google these days. Apple and Microsoft have come to an understanding.
Quote:
Originally Posted by melgross
Wow! Such hate! Calm down a bit. Worry more about Google these days. Apple and Microsoft have come to an understanding.
Not to mention that netscape destroyed itself.