Next Microsoft Office Coming Soon?

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Does anyone know when the New Microsoft Office will be coming out for the Macintosh? I know I'll catch grief for asking but right now it's the best package out there for the Mac. Thanks all.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Office:mac is usually released the year after the PC release, so expect it sometime next year. For some reason I'm thinking a fall release?
  • Reply 2 of 31
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    is it just me, or are the recent ms office commercials (the whole team celebration theme) on t.v. annoying anyone else?



    p.s. bartonab, wherever you work, are they hiring? (i gotta ask)
  • Reply 3 of 31
    gabidgabid Posts: 477member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rok

    is it just me, or are the recent ms office commercials (the whole team celebration theme) on t.v. annoying anyone else?





    It's not just you. I keep seeing these ads can't quite see the point. Are they so witty that they'll make a CFO go "gee, I really want to dole out some cash for this upgrade"? Mind you, they are annoying enough that I remember them... Don't get me started about the new Dell drill sergeant ad I just saw today!



    As for a new Office, i too am curious as to when it might show up. In spite of its quirks, it is the only software I use day in and day out. Perhaps it will include my dream additions to PowerPoint like programable object animation or drag-and-drop animation ordering.
  • Reply 4 of 31
    I could have sworn there have been TWO Office for Windows releases since Office v.X came out. Office XP and Office 2003.
  • Reply 5 of 31
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    yeah, but office XP was just a warmed over office 2000.



    we can skip that one, IMO.



    so is the big thing with the new office that it can open up files simultaniously between users? that's worth $150 per person? man, i just don't get it. i really wouldn't have bothered to upgrade since office 97' or 2000. there has been zero worthwhile improvement since then, IMO.
  • Reply 6 of 31
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Office for X needs few or no new bells and whistles. It does, however, need to be improved. That MacWorld comparison of its speed, on a G5!!!!, was eye-opening. There is something that was done not quite right when it was moved to OSX.
  • Reply 7 of 31
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Yeah, the UI, the find engine, the fonts engine, the spell checker, the print engine... should I go on?



    Excel was the only app that even pretended to take advantage of MacOS X technologies, and that was just transparency in the charting. Whoop de doo.



    I wasn't impressed with it the first time I loaded it on, and I was sufficiently still not impressed that I haven't even loaded it onto my new machine with 10.3. The random .doc files I get are handled well enough by TextEdit for me to extract the necessary content. Luckily I have almost no need to send .doc files.
  • Reply 8 of 31
    Perhaps, but Entourage is much better than that Mail crap...ooops, I mean app that Apple tries to push. I have no great love for Microsoft, but I hope and pray there's a new Entourage on the way.



    Which brings up a question....what other decent mail apps are there for OS X besides Entourage, Mail, and Eudora. I would be interested in testing them out.
  • Reply 9 of 31
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Mulberry has a loyal following, it's a nice simple IMAP mailer with a good UI, I hear.



    (BTW, Mail in 10.3 is vastly improved in my experience. )
  • Reply 10 of 31
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    Yeah, the UI, the find engine, the fonts engine, the spell checker, the print engine... should I go on?



    Excel was the only app that even pretended to take advantage of MacOS X technologies, and that was just transparency in the charting. Whoop de doo.



    I wasn't impressed with it the first time I loaded it on, and I was sufficiently still not impressed that I haven't even loaded it onto my new machine with 10.3. The random .doc files I get are handled well enough by TextEdit for me to extract the necessary content. Luckily I have almost no need to send .doc files.




    Unfortunately, I am one of those who has a big need to send .doc (and in .ppt), so I don't have a lot of choice. I don't want to gripe too much (there have been lots of threads about that...in which I have even been pushed into defending, to some extent, OSX Office), but I really hope that any update addresses basic performance issues, and does not just add new gimmicks. If MS does not do this, I think that I may just be pushed off the edge and say that Bill is a nasty nasty wascal...or worse.
  • Reply 11 of 31
    I remember my PB 160, running Word 5.1 ... the best version of Word, IMHO. I wish Word X run half as well.
  • Reply 12 of 31
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    The current Office Mac works well for me and there aren't any serious issues. I doubt I will upgrade even if a new version is out.
  • Reply 13 of 31
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    How about a Word that can save a file with more than 32 letters. Office is decent and easier to use then the PC version but it needs to be more OS X like with internal cleaning and optimization. Plus a few new things that have been added to PC Office would be nice but I don't have a use for them. That racing game easter egg built in to Excel 2000 that I saw on The Screen Savers for example.
  • Reply 14 of 31
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    Face it: the next version is long overdue, regardless of what's gone on with the Windows side. I think MS has figured out somehow that Apple intends to break into this market. I'm not sure if this makes me happy or not. I wonder if MS kills Office for Mac, if they'll also then make it difficult for Apple to create good file compatibility, etc.



    I frankly wouldn't mind seeing Office X.1 -- just a nice big update that combines all the previous ones and adds in more stability, a nicer GUI, and better performance in all the areas already mentioned.
  • Reply 15 of 31
    bartobarto Posts: 2,246member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    I frankly wouldn't mind seeing Office X.1 -- just a nice big update that combines all the previous ones and adds in more stability, a nicer GUI, and better performance in all the areas already mentioned.



    Except Microsoft would rather charge you several hundred dollars for all that.



    Barto
  • Reply 16 of 31
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    You know, I'm not a GUI nazi (though I am glad they exist) and therefore really like OpenOffice 1.1. I have both, but when you are talking about free software being this good there really is no reason to pay for Office anymore. The fact is that OpenOffice does everything it needs to do and does it at a very acceptable level. I only use the word processor and they are all basically the same to me so long as it gives me back what I put in. I'm actually really surprised at how great this newest OpenOffice is since all of my gripes in previous versions have been addressed.



    Of course, the big concern comes in with DRM on the pc side that could leave us out on a limb.
  • Reply 17 of 31
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Exactly. I don't care how good Open Office is, it will never have 100% compatibility. This is intentional; this is how evil monopoly companies work and are able to charge obscene prices for their software. is it illegal? Yes. Did MS buy the DoJ? Yes. Will they buy the EU? Remains to be seen. Sad. Besides doesn't Open Office need X11? Panther adds that in and it's nice but still, not as good as native. Why don't they just make it native? otherwise it will always feel second rate.
  • Reply 18 of 31
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    Exactly. I don't care how good Open Office is, it will never have 100% compatibility. This is intentional; this is how evil monopoly companies work and are able to charge obscene prices for their software. is it illegal? Yes. Did MS buy the DoJ? Yes. Will they buy the EU? Remains to be seen. Sad. Besides doesn't Open Office need X11? Panther adds that in and it's nice but still, not as good as native. Why don't they just make it native? otherwise it will always feel second rate.



    Maybe I didn't make it clear what I was getting at. My limited understanding (on the OS level) is that with the big pushes towards DRM in windows in general and word in particular, Mac users overall could start getting shut out of resources. Whether it's apple's own suite or open office, it seems like it's going to be a problem. Please correct me if I am wrong. I want to be.



    But in today's world, I don't understand these compatibility discussions. You know, I take classes for shits and giggles (work at a university) and I had this guy express his concern today about me emailing him a mac word doc. Crazy, right?



    As far as openoffice, I save it as a word doc and it opens in word just fine. Maybe there are some uses where the formatting is totally out of whack, and when I run into those I'll let you know. So far, it's perfect for 99% of what you and I want word to do.



    The Java version is easy to set up. Why don't they just make it native? Because no one has done it yet. I'm sure they would appreciate the help. Really, the only thing I like in word is the dictionary, but that's fluff unless you are offline for a second. I really don't care much about native when we are talking about a savings of $200. If it was something like a non-native version of final cut, then that would be a problem for me. But it's a word processor, and from what I can tell, it does everything that I've needed word to do, even automatic lists and such.
  • Reply 19 of 31
    Giant, only Microsoft Office Professional Edition for Windows can create DRM-laden files. This is found only in corporations, and occasionally in Academic environments. Plus, for extensive use of DRM, you need to have a Windows Server 2003 as the backbone of your network.



    DRM-laden files will be few and far between until Palladium/Longhorn, at the very, very earliest.



    And yes, Office is overdue for an update... because the last version, v.X, was a year early. Office 2001 was released in 2000. That made 2001 a "Windows" year for Office, since historically the two platforms have alternated each year in terms of Office upgrades (with the exception of 1996). Office XP came out in June 2001, but then, because of OS X, the next Office for the Mac was pushed out way early, in October of 2001. So now it's been two years, and by the old schedule we should see Office 11 for Mac out any day, but we're still about a year away, because Microsoft is now returning to their old schedule, which means next year is the Mac Office year.



    I wish they'd be like Adobe and just release the Mac product as part of a general Office line, contemporaneously with the equivalent Windows version. But that'll never happen.
  • Reply 20 of 31
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kirkland

    Giant, only Microsoft Office Professional Edition for Windows can create DRM-laden files. This is found only in corporations, and occasionally in Academic environments. Plus, for extensive use of DRM, you need to have a Windows Server 2003 as the backbone of your network.



    DRM-laden files will be few and far between until Palladium/Longhorn, at the very, very earliest.









    You know, recently we had a situation at work where the restrictions on license agreements on electronic documents began to have a noticeable impact on workflow in a department and everyone acted like it was a surprise. I don't understand this kind of thinking. When we are in a time with such a massive push for DRM, I find it amazing that the implications for other platforms is not widely discussed. It is very, very likely that you will see controls on electronic journal subscriptions at a university library that only allow access with a windows computer (and this is just one example of many). It is also very likely that Office documents will start floating around that can only be opened on certain versions of Office.



    Of course, this whole strategy of 'just ignore it' is going to put all of us in the same situation that libraries are starting to see themselves in with the shift to electronic subscriptions with restrictive license agreements. Waiting to think of a solution until after the fact is a good way to get screwed. But people overall are dumb enough that everyone will just wait until they start having real problems before they pay any real attention, and by then the restrictions will be in place.



    As such, I'm really curious how OpenOffice or the mythical apple office suite (or apple in general) would fit into the coming world of DRMed everything.
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