Microsoft Office may come to iPad before Windows 8

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 98
    Excel was first developed for the Mac. And still is the best software Microsoft has ever written. Ever.
    As much as I prefer Numbers the latest version is so dumbed down I hope apple gets their act together or I'll go back to using excel. Why, o why, can't I decide page breaks and headers or footers content as well as putting a logo in it? Why....
  • Reply 42 of 98
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    Mac Office releases are staggered from Windows Office releases, so not unprecedented. And apps like Microsoft Word were available on Mac before the original Windows versions (DOS doesn't count).

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

    Sure, but they haven’t been staggered with Apple first since… well, the beginning.


     

    In case anyone has doubts, SN & TS are both right. The quotes below are taken from Wikipedia:

     

    "Microsoft released the first version of Excel for the Macintosh on September 30, 1985, and the first Windows version was 2.05 (to synchronize with the Macintosh version 2.2) in November 1987."

     

    "In 1985, Microsoft ported Word to Mac OS…The first version of Word for Windows was released in 1989."

     

    "Microsoft Office for Mac was introduced for Mac OS in 1989, before Office was released for Windows…Microsoft Office for Windows started in October 1990 as a bundle of three applications designed for Microsoft Windows 3.0"

     

    Personally, I have always believed that the "Windows Everywhere!" philosophy would fail and that Microsoft should go back to its roots as a software company serving any OS that provided a market.

  • Reply 43 of 98
    dugbugdugbug Posts: 283member
    Wow, a vague, oblique statement in a rumor-based article on a blog that says "...The purchase structure is also unknown, though Foley has heard it will likely require a subscription through Microsoft Office 365..." is enough for you to conclude that it'll cost "$99 per year."

    Doesn't take much by way of actual data to get you to make categorical statements, does it?

    I agree with him. If they stick tithe rental model it's not worth it
  • Reply 44 of 98
    dsuden wrote: »
    Whether it's Office or iWork, the iPad has never struck me as a very good place to get much real work done.  I can work five times faster on a real laptop with keyboard and decent-sized screen.   As for spreadsheets on a 9" display (or Numbers for that matter), no thanks.  

    Airplay it to you TV and use a BT keyboard?
  • Reply 45 of 98
    dugbug wrote: »
    Wow, a vague, oblique statement in a rumor-based article on a blog that says "...The purchase structure is also unknown, though Foley has heard it will likely require a subscription through Microsoft Office 365..." is enough for you to conclude that it'll cost "$99 per year."

    Doesn't take much by way of actual data to get you to make categorical statements, does it?

    I agree with him. If they stick tithe rental model it's not worth it

    Where did I say I disagree with that? I was simply making the -- I thought, obvious -- point that there is not enough information in the story to come to a categorical conclusion about pricing yet.
  • Reply 46 of 98
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    So can I assume you've never installed any Adobe Suites or programs? No excuses, just saying that MS isn't the only one that gets away with App install murder.

    I did (and I actually checked the Photoshop folder when I wrote my comment). But in my totally unscientific approach it seemed to me that ms did worse.
  • Reply 47 of 98
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    The iPad would be useful for minor input of data on a field trip but serious data manipulation would happen on the home machine. In any case this is welcome for Apple.
  • Reply 48 of 98
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Okay, then what's the advantage?

    Presumably they have a cloud advantage and a brand name. You are on a field trip and you can.

    1) read your complex data for presentations or meetings.
    2) write or input into cells where the data are uploaded to a cloud, downloaded to your desktop, and the macros do their work.
  • Reply 49 of 98
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post



    If true, what does this tell us about the robustness of the Windows Mobile OS and the developer APIs/Tools vis a vis iOS?

    Chrome was released for OS X one and a half years after the Windows release. And it sounds like the Windows build involved significantly more work since the developers had to basically build the whole sandboxing system from the ground up (http://arstechnica.com/apple/2009/06/google-sandboxing-for-chrome-on-mac-os-x-a-piece-of-cake/). What does that tell us about the robustness of Windows and Visual Studio compared to OS X and Xcode? 

  • Reply 50 of 98
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pedromartins View Post

     

    Who cares. It will be slow, huge, difficult to use (same crappy UI especially for mobile?), expensive... It will only deserve as a direct comparison with iWork for iOS, so it will only increase iWork's value.





    Originally Posted by justp1ayin View Post



    I use Excel for work and Numbers at home, and I hate excel honestly. Way too cluttered.... Ill stick with my Numbers, and export to an Excel spreadsheet if need be.




    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post



    Mmm...



    If MS brings Excel to iOS:

    • Wouldn't they need to provide Macro [Programming] capability?

    • Aren't Excel Macros written in VBA (Visual Basic)?

    • Isn't Visual Basic a programming language?

    • Would Apple allow an app that includes a programming language on iOS?


    Good summary of why a native iOS version of Microsoft Office will not work very well on a smaller device with a touch screen. Add the absolute necessity of increasing RAM and Apple would have to produce a larger, fatter iPad Pro just to get this overweight software to run properly. Throw away 90% of the marginally used "features" of Office and it might run and might be enough to actually compete wit iWork, but I doubt Microsoft could do this. As for needing all those macros (still the primary way of spreading viruses on Macs) in Excel, why not just provide the capability people have to program on their own? 

     

    I won't use Office 365 or any other cloud-based productivity software (sorry Apple) because I need to be able to work when I don't have any kind of network connection.

  • Reply 51 of 98
    d4njvrzf wrote: »
    If true, what does this tell us about the robustness of the Windows Mobile OS and the developer APIs/Tools vis a vis iOS?
    Chrome was released for OS X one and a half years after the Windows release. And it sounds like the Windows build involved significantly more work since the developers had to basically build the whole sandboxing system from the ground up (http://arstechnica.com/apple/2009/06/google-sandboxing-for-chrome-on-mac-os-x-a-piece-of-cake/). What does that tell us about the robustness of Windows and Visual Studio compared to OS X and Xcode? 

    I'll spell it out for you...

    It says that it is harder for Microsoft to upgrade a Microsoft app to run on a Microsoft OS/platform -- than it is for Microsoft to port a Microsoft app to an Apple OS/platform!

    It's pretty obvious if you try...
  • Reply 52 of 98
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    d4njvrzf wrote: »
    Chrome was released for OS X one and a half years after the Windows release. And it sounds like the Windows build involved significantly more work since the developers had to basically build the whole sandboxing system from the ground up (http://arstechnica.com/apple/2009/06/google-sandboxing-for-chrome-on-mac-os-x-a-piece-of-cake/). What does that tell us about the robustness of Windows and Visual Studio compared to OS X and Xcode? 

    It tells us that, back then, OS X Xcode and obj c were minority persuits, with fewer expert devs and a smaller installed base. iOS vs Windows mobile is reversed.

    By the way I think most devs would prefer C# and Visual Studio to the Android mess and eclipse. But -the installed base and the previous sunk cost of iOS and Android development works against them. I mean that's why MS are thinking of doing this.
  • Reply 53 of 98
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    And hate on MS all you like they do dev tools well.
  • Reply 54 of 98

    I'll bet that Microsoft had their change of heart right after Apple updated iWork (or whatever the suite is called now) and made it free with all new macs & iOS devices. There are still problems with iWork, but now, with it free across the board, there is a lot less incentive to buy Office Mac, which is a nice little profit center for Microsoft. 

     

    Numbers is the weakest of the three apps (in my opinion). For home use, the suite is pretty much good enough to replace Office, and it syncs with your iPad or iPhone. I think that in a lot of ways, Keynote is better than PowerPoint. Pages is almost as good as Word, for non-professional use. Numbers still has a ways to go, but you can do almost everything that a home user would need. There used to be a lot of problems syncing documents back & forth between the iOS & Mac versions, but since the updates, it has worked flawlessly for me.

     

    I was one of the diehards that said I'll buy Office for iOS the day it comes out, but since the iWork update, I've had zero problems with it and I find that the ability to have my docs on my iPad outweighs the negatives of using Numbers, and I already own Office 2011 Mac, as well as every Office Mac iteration since I got my first Mac in the 90's. Honestly, I don't know that I will upgrade the next time. This new competitor has to worry MS on the home front. Every business is still going to buy Office for as long as it is made, but I don't think it's necessary any longer for home users. I'll bet MS wants to get Office on the iPad before more people figure that out. Honestly, if Office was on the iPad last year, I would have stuck with it & never given iWorks another try, but now that I'm used to the programs & their quirks, I'm fine with them. I'll continue to use Office at my work, but I haven't opened an MS program on my Mac since at leas the beginning of January, and I don't see myself going back. 

  • Reply 55 of 98
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post



    Mmm...



    If MS brings Excel to iOS:

    • Wouldn't they need to provide Macro [Programming] capability?

    • Aren't Excel Macros written in VBA (Visual Basic)?

    • Isn't Visual Basic a programming language?

    • Would Apple allow an app that includes a programming language on iOS?


    The current iOS SDK agreement would not permit VBA. But they don't have to. For a few years, VBA programming wasn't available on Office for Macs.

  • Reply 56 of 98
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post

     

    That said, it'll be nice to have Excel for iPad.


    Don't expect it to be feature parity with the Windows desktop version.


    Of course not.  Microsoft abuses Apple users.  It always has.

  • Reply 57 of 98
    d4njvrzf wrote: »
    If true, what does this tell us about the robustness of the Windows Mobile OS and the developer APIs/Tools vis a vis iOS?
    Chrome was released for OS X one and a half years after the Windows release. And it sounds like the Windows build involved significantly more work since the developers had to basically build the whole sandboxing system from the ground up (http://arstechnica.com/apple/2009/06/google-sandboxing-for-chrome-on-mac-os-x-a-piece-of-cake/). What does that tell us about the robustness of Windows and Visual Studio compared to OS X and Xcode? 

    I'll spell it out for you...

    It says that it is harder for Microsoft to upgrade a Microsoft app to run on a Microsoft OS/platform -- than it is for Microsoft to port a Microsoft app to an Apple OS/platform!

    It's pretty obvious if you try...

    I never used Visual Studio and XCode to a fraction of their potential. Not long ago, I was learning Visual Basic. It's simple and works well.

    What I found is that teachers loved Visual Studio because... They knew Visual Studio. Just like people love excel because they only know excel.

    Then I was using Matlab. The syntax is very similar to Visual Basic, despite different needs. Matlab runs on Unix, there's no need to bootcamp.

    Suites like Eclipse and all have a following, for obvious reasons, but Visual Studio seems just better for everything.

    However, I am trying to learn C++ by myself, and I used XCode as IDE, just because I could.

    This is just to say the following: once people use XCode, once people follow Apple's guidelines and use their APIs without thinking about "let's make it similar to Android or Windows" they really realize how much of a useless piece of sh+t Microsoft is as a company.

    With iOS growing and the Mac better than ever, people are realizing how great the ecosystem is, and Devs are first.

    I do not even think that Android has the necessary APIs to make something like Facebook paper, especially graphic wise.

    If Kitkat brings it, jelly bean surely doesn't, not to mention gingerbread. And this is where the "bring everything to play services" strategy will get shot in the face.

    Google shouldn't be worried about the App Store, just like Microsoft. Both should and are shitting their pants because of XCode.
  • Reply 58 of 98
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pedromartins View Post





    I never used Visual Studio and XCode to a fraction of their potential. Not long ago, I was learning Visual Basic. It's simple and works well.



    What I found is that teachers loved Visual Studio because... They knew Visual Studio. Just like people love excel because they only know excel.

     

    Wrong.

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pedromartins View Post



    Then I was using Matlab. The syntax is very similar to Visual Basic, despite different needs. Matlab runs on Unix, there's no need to bootcamp.

     


    This does not make sense.


     




    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pedromartins View Post



    This is just to say the following: once people use XCode, once people follow Apple's guidelines and use their APIs without thinking about "let's make it similar to Android or Windows" they really realize how much of a useless piece of sh+t Microsoft is as a company.

     


     




    Wrong. And barely makes sense.

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pedromartins View Post



    I do not even think that Android has the necessary APIs to make something like Facebook paper, especially graphic wise.

     


     

    Wrong. And you are clearly not qualified to make such an assessment. You're not a programmer. Don't pretend to be one.

  • Reply 59 of 98
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mkral View Post

     

    I'll bet that Microsoft had their change of heart right after Apple updated iWork (or whatever the suite is called now) and made it free with all new macs & iOS devices. 


    No. This has been in the works since early days of iPad. There have been technical hurdles. And there's the issue of timing. It's complicated when two companies are frenemies.

  • Reply 60 of 98
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    I never used Visual Studio and XCode to a fraction of their potential. Not long ago, I was learning Visual Basic. It's simple and works well.

    What I found is that teachers loved Visual Studio because... They knew Visual Studio. Just like people love excel because they only know excel.

    Then I was using Matlab. The syntax is very similar to Visual Basic, despite different needs. Matlab runs on Unix, there's no need to bootcamp.

    Suites like Eclipse and all have a following, for obvious reasons, but Visual Studio seems just better for everything.

    However, I am trying to learn C++ by myself, and I used XCode as IDE, just because I could.

    This is just to say the following: once people use XCode, once people follow Apple's guidelines and use their APIs without thinking about "let's make it similar to Android or Windows" they really realize how much of a useless piece of sh+t Microsoft is as a company.

    With iOS growing and the Mac better than ever, people are realizing how great the ecosystem is, and Devs are first.

    I do not even think that Android has the necessary APIs to make something like Facebook paper, especially graphic wise.

    If Kitkat brings it, jelly bean surely doesn't, not to mention gingerbread. And this is where the "bring everything to play services" strategy will get shot in the face.

    Google shouldn't be worried about the App Store, just like Microsoft. Both should and are shitting their pants because of XCode.

    Even the most fanatic of iOS devs don't particularly like Xcode.
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