MS OFFICE coded in Metrowerks

the cool gut · June 12, 2005 8:47PM

http://news.com.com/Developers+get+t...?tag=nefd.lede

Thought that was kinda funny. Their jaws must've hit the ground when they saw the timeline to convert carbon metrowerks code. Looks like those bastards are going to have to work hard for their upgrade.

Can hardly feel sorry for them, I think they will benefit financially the most, developer wise.

gene clean · June 12, 2005 11:35PM

Maybe they'll delay the upgrade and let users suffer without MS Office. Some people seriously need it. Others, use the alternatives.

So it's not that funny actually.

dfiler · June 13, 2005 7:28AM

Ironically, once were on x86, it's probably easier to write something like virtual PC than MS Office for Mac. Granted, the end product isn't the same. Only... the economics of cross platform development are about to drastically change.

kim kap sol · June 13, 2005 9:56AM

I don't care how difficult Office is to bring to Xcode. MS will either have to do it or ...

They're opening their format up (so I heard...XML). In a year, I'm sure we'll see an update to Pages and Keynote (which are already amazing as 1.0 and 2.0 versions). If these can read the MS XML Office format, then compatibility should be perfect. So why need Word and Powerpoint at all?

The only thing Apple needs to do now is release an Excel equivalent.

aquatic · June 13, 2005 1:04PM

Oh great. What next? Before we know it, Apple will make ALL our software. I don't think this would be good. I'm VERY skeptical of that Roz Ho pledge of MS bringing office to MacTel. I bet they will drop it like a brick. And just say "use Virtual PC." Which would be bad. Killing Office may not kill Macs, but it sure would hurt a lot. If a few companies like MS and Adobe don't make MacTel versions, MacOS X may have to be licensed, or maybe Apple may just cease to make Macs and even MacOS X. That is probably off the deep end, but you can't underestimate Office's importance. When they dropped IE that was huge. Safari doesn't work with some sites. In fact, many sites still require IE. It's a plain fact. And all those open source and Apple office apps have so-so compatability, but will never have 100%, because we're talking Monopolysoft here. This is a high stakes game!

kickaha · June 13, 2005 1:10PM

Well, look at it this way:

MS can:

1) Move to Xcode - troublesome, but they're capable. (This is the MBU we're talking about here - I give them higher props than MS in general.)

2) Ditch a Mac port altogether, and say 'use VPC if you're on a PPC Mac'... pissing off every Mac Office user.

2.1) What to do about Mac/Intel users? Say 'use WINE'? Oh heck no. MS doesn't want to be making migrating from Windows to MacOS X any easier than it will be already.

3) Bundle VPC with Mac Office, make an x86 only binary, letting MacOS X/Intel users have native performance, and PPC users in emulation.

Given that they're using CodeWarrior, I suspect they may go with #3. They already bundle VPC with Mac Office: Pro, so it's not exactly unheard of. They're going to have to drop the price of the Office/VPC bundle all the way down to the Edu pricing though, unless they just want to cede that market to iWork.

#1 is the second option I see, and #2 is a distant unlikelihood.

imergingenious · June 13, 2005 5:27PM

Roz Ho basically said at the keynote that they would go with option 1. Why is everyone speculating on this?

Office 2006 will come out late next year and it will be a universal binary- and include "neat new (worthless)" features and extra exchange compatability. Hopefully more than just e-mail this time? How about public calendars and notes and address book?

buonrotto · June 13, 2005 6:01PM

My understanding, or rather what was strongly implied to me from a certain source, is that MS really wants to move to Cocoa whole hog. No foolin'.

mr. me · June 13, 2005 6:09PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imergingenious

....

Office 2006 will come out late next year and it will be a universal binary- and include "neat new (worthless)" features and extra exchange compatability. Hopefully more than just e-mail this time? How about public calendars and notes and address book?

FWIW, with Office 2004 I have public calendars, personal, and public address book--in a fashion. Enourage 2004 enough of these things to let you know that it can be done. However, there is enough that doesn't work properly to make you scream. Just works is not in the Entourage development team lexicon.

rok · June 13, 2005 7:21PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BuonRotto

My understanding, or rather what was strongly implied to me from a certain source, is that MS really wants to move to Cocoa whole hog. No foolin'.

in a recent issue of macworld (i think), roz ho sent the entire team on a mandatory break to clean out from their heads how they were doign things, and meet back after something like 4 months and see what new they could bring to the drawing table, a new way of looking at office, rather than just tacking on new features. it was pretty refreshing to hear here say that, and maybe something like a total embrace of os x technologies might be the start.

i think we all mistook that iWork was supposed to be an office competitor, and pages was supposed to be a word-killer, when it seems like it's more to fill the gap microsoft doesn't want to fill. that's right, you heard me. there are some markets so small that microsoft doesn't see sufficient return-on-investment to pursue, liek the small personal mac publishing/word processing area. microsoft instead wants the mac users in office environments that have to exchange documents with windows-counterparts all day. microsoft doesn't want to sell a $69 page layout/word processing app. so there is still a market for them with the mac. now whether it's easier for them to update office or just make vpc on par with windows once they're on intel, only microsoft knows which is the most efficient (read as: most profitable) path...

MS OFFICE coded in Metrowerks

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