Office in 2007 now...

[poppe]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13619310/

Sorrry running late. Didn't havetime to look if anyone else posted this.

 

[mduser63]

I don't think this necessarily affects the Mac version (hope not anyway). I'm still wondering when Office 12 for Mac will be out. Hopefully it's (later) in 2007, then they can synchronize names between the Mac and Windows versions.

 

[mkrishnan]

Hopefully it's (later) in 2007, then they can synchronize names between the Mac and Windows versions.

This would avoid conversations of the form: "There is no Office 2004. It only goes up to 2003."

 

[7on]

I don't really want to upgrade from Office:mac

 

[wmmk]

I don't really want to upgrade from Office:mac

im confused. there are many versions of office: mac
which one do you mean?

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Is it me. but just how many more "features" do we need in ?

 

[Nermal]

This would avoid conversations of the form: "There is no Office 2004. It only goes up to 2003."

Heh, yeah. While we're on the topic of Office, does anyone know whether it's possible to license 2004 through MSDN?

 

[ipacmm]

im confused. there are many versions of office: mac

I think this is the version they were talking about:

Office 2001

 

[mkrishnan]

I think this is the version they were talking about:

This is the version that preceded Office.X and was the last release for MacOS 9 and below, right?

FWIW, I think the confusion stems because the term Office:Mac text is a constant:

 

[poppe]

On regards to it conercning mac: I think it does, alot of switchers still want there Office...

But I more posted it because I just thought it was relevant to macs becuase now this has been delayed also like vista. Which seems pretty important to me.

 

[mduser63]

On regards to it conercning mac: I think it does, alot of switchers still want there Office...

But I more posted it because I just thought it was relevant to macs becuase now this has been delayed also like vista. Which seems pretty important to me.

I said it doesn't likely affect Office for Mac because Office for Mac is developed by a separate team from Office for Windows. Of course, they do share information, but a delay in Windows Office doesn't necessarily mean there will be a delay in Office for Mac.

 

[jdechko]

I thought that Office 2007 was basically going to be a merger between the two platforms and that both the Mac version and the Windows version were going to be identical.

 

[MisterMe]

I said it doesn't likely affect Office for Mac because Office for Mac is developed by a separate team from Office for Windows. Of course, they do share information, but a delay in Windows Office doesn't necessarily mean there will be a delay in Office for Mac.

Delay or not, we will not see a new version of Office:mac anytime soon. After the release of Office 2007, Microsoft will release free conversion filters which will allow Office 2004 to read and write the new XML-based file formats. With the difficulty that Microsoft is having updating Office:win, I believe that 2008 is the earliest that we will see the next Office:mac. Click the following link to read Microsoft PR representative Tammy Hovey's message to Macintouch.com under Notes and Tips.

 

[QCassidy352]

Is it me. but just how many more "features" do we need in ?

I completely agree. I don't use 1/4 of the features as is. I just wish it were faster and less buggy - word probably crashes more than every other app on my computer combined!

 

[netdog]

Is it me. but just how many more "features" do we need in ?

Bill says you need the ribbon. Don't talk back!

 

[Les Kern]

I completely agree. I don't use 1/4 of the features as is. I just wish it were faster and less buggy - word probably crashes more than every other app on my computer combined!

Office is an abomination of "things not needed that have trouble working anyway".

I always LOVE passing along my discovery to other Office users to speed things up:
After installation, Delete all fonts in the OFFICE>Fonts folder, delete DO FONTS from the Office folder, Delete FONTCACHETOOL from the OFFICE>SUPPORT FILES folder.
Restart Office, quit.
Ready to go. It will no longer check EVERY font in your system for compatability, or worse, PAUSE forever when it sees a font it doesn't like.

 

[w_parietti22]

Microsoft Delays Office '07

link to original

Microsoft delays Office '07
By Benjamin J. Romano
Seattle Times technology reporter
In the most recent delay plaguing its flagship products, Microsoft will deliver Office 2007 later than planned, potentially compounding damage to the company's credibility.

The next version of Office, including popular word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, as well as components of several business tools, will be available for large-volume customers by the end of 2006 rather than in October, Microsoft said through its public-relations agency Thursday.

For consumers and small businesses, the software had been targeted for release in January and is now scheduled for "early 2007."

The Office delay comes three months after Microsoft again pushed back the release of its flagship Windows Vista operating system, now scheduled for broad availability in January, missing the holiday shopping season.

"The bottom line is Microsoft gives guidance, which businesses are trying to make plans around, but consistently is unable to meet the dates in the guidance," said Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research. "At some point, that's got to impact somebody's confidence in Microsoft."

The delay is a result of issues with "product performance" identified in internal testing and by users of a test version of the software released last month, according to the company.

"Feedback on quality and performance will ultimately determine the exact [release] dates," the company said.

Wilcox and other analysts noted that the Office system has grown in complexity with the 2007 release, which could be a reason it's taking longer than the company expected.

"These gigantic releases that take X number of years, they present a lot of strain," said Michael Silver, a research vice president in Gartner's client-computing group.

Office 2007 will have a revamped user interface, new file formats and connections to a host of business applications created by Microsoft and other software vendors such as SAP.

"You can look at Office on its own merits as a desktop-productivity suite, but it's becoming much more important as a family of products for Microsoft," said Dwight Davis, vice president and practice director at Summit Strategies.
He also noted that the Office delay is surprising, given that division's track record.

"To the degree that there have been notable delays in Microsoft product launches, the operating systems have been the main transgressors," Davis said, adding that server products have also been notable offenders. "The Office team has been relatively good in holding to its target schedules."

Sales unlikely to be hurt

The divisions building Vista and Office 2007 accounted for 58 percent of Microsoft's revenue in the 2005 fiscal year. Still, analysts did not expect the Office delay to hurt sales.

"I don't think it's a huge revenue impact ... because so much of the Office product is bought on subscription," said Charles Di Bona, analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, which owns Microsoft stock. "The psychological impact is more substantial."

Microsoft shares gained 31 cents, 1.3 percent, to close at $23.47 Thursday but lost 5 cents in after-market trading.

Laura DiDio, a Yankee Group analyst, said Microsoft's product delays are not significant individually.

"But collectively, they do seem to form a pattern which can be very disturbing, particularly when you see that competitors like Google, Red Hat, etc., are not just nipping at Microsoft's heels, but they're passing them by," DiDio said.

Another Vista delay?

Microsoft's vague language around the timing of the release of Office 2007 added weight to speculation that Vista would be delayed again and the two products would be launched together.

"Microsoft will likely continue to shoot for a joint release of Office and Vista, so we expect to hear that Vista will also be pushed back to late 2006 for volume [customers]" and late in the first quarter or possibly into the second quarter of 2007 for consumers, wrote Brent Thill, director of software research for Citigroup, in a note to investors Thursday. Citigroup owns stock in Microsoft and has done investment banking business with the company.

Michael Burk, a Windows product manager, said there is no news on Vista.

"We continue to maintain the target dates that we have set in the past and nothing has changed," he said, adding that "final and exact delivery dates depend on the quality of the product."

 

[nadyne]

I thought that Office 2007 was basically going to be a merger between the two platforms and that both the Mac version and the Windows version were going to be identical.

The Mac version and Windows version aren't identical, and will not be identical in the next version of both apps. We have Mac-only features in all of the Office:Mac applications, such as the Notebook view in Word and the Project Center in Entourage.

Regards,
Nadyne.

--
Nadyne Mielke | user experience researcher
Microsoft Corporation | Macintosh Business Unit

 

[Eraserhead]

it's likely they want to ship it with Vista, a sensible strategy IMO.

 

[kgarner]

it's likely they want to ship it with Vista, a sensible strategy IMO.

Not a bad strategy except when you are getting hammered by the press for continually delaying your products. It may be that they want to release with Vista, but with all of Vista's delays, this just looks bad.

 

[Bern]

Office 2009 anyone?

Well look it seems obvious MS are way over their heads here, clearly they have ascertained there are better alternatives out there and are trying to encompass what those alternatives have to offer. It's just not as easy as they probably thought considering they are doing exactly what Adobe did with their OS X "compatible" suite. MS have spent all these years building software on top of code rather than scrap the old code and build something new. They have so much redundant code in their software up until now it's not been an issue. Kind of like building a new house on top of old foundation, eventually something has to start to crumble.

 

[Timepass]

will it makes sence to release them at about the same time. But like the artical said most of the delays to Office are related to vistas delays and the office team has stayed on time for the most part. It makes sence because it not to suprising that there was not much they could do until they got some stuff from the Vista team that was well behind.

Minor delays are not unexpected. If vista is truely in the home strech right now. Minor delays to it are not so bad. Major ones like it was getting are another story. Now if everything is minor deleys I ok with it. I would rather has something ahve a minor delay to it so it can be made better than have on that still a beta program. Some times I wish apple would be willing to put minor delays on there products and not rush them to market and not have some of there glaring bugs in it that takes until .1 to fix.

 

[poppe]

I said it doesn't likely affect Office for Mac because Office for Mac is developed by a separate team from Office for Windows. Of course, they do share information, but a delay in Windows Office doesn't necessarily mean there will be a delay in Office for Mac.

Oh you're right, I suppose I more was figuring if they delayed one they might delay all. I didn't take in account that they are two seperate things.

 

[Timepass]

Oh you're right, I suppose I more was figuring if they delayed one they might delay all. I didn't take in account that they are two seperate things.

But office for Macs will not come out before office 07 for windows. At best it will be at the same time.

 

[trainguy77]

This stinks for me as I am getting a new computer in November and I will need office. I don't want to buy 2004 and then have to buy the new version when it comes out. O well Looks like I will have too.