“Office for Mac 2011 will feature a ribbon similar to what Microsoft debuted with Office 2007 for Windows, and will continue to use in Office 2010, also on Windows,” Keizer reports.
“The ribbon will appear below the standard Mac menu bar and above the content display area in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and is to be the ‘core of our next-generation Office for Mac user experience,’ Microsoft said in a statement last week when it showed off the suite at Macworld Conference and Expo,” Keizer reports. “Familiar interface features, including the classic Mac menu and the standard toolbar, will remain, and the ribbon and toolbar will be collapsible to save screen space, said Microsoft.”
Keizer reports, “Microsoft has not set a ship date for Office 2011 for Mac, saying only that it will release the suite in time for this year’s holiday sales season. Other than the ribbon interface, other prominent changes will include the return of Outlook as the suite’s e-mail client, and the restoration of VBA-based macros, which were dropped for the 2008 edition.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Anyone who gives Microsoft money for Office after such prolonged mistreatment, not to mention public ridicule from Microsoft’s CEO (please see: After attempting to belittle Mac users, Microsoft tries to sell them Office 2008 with free trial), is either a masochist, a fool, or stuck trying to get some work done with junk provided by the aforementioned IT doofuses. Our condolences. We’ll stick with what we’ll be using on our iPads: Apple’s iWork.
Many people believe they need Office, but, in reality, most don’t. Do you need Microsoft Office or do you just think you do? Give Apple’s free 30-day iWork ’09 trial a try and find out.
Related articles:
Office 2011 promises end Microsoft’s war on Macintosh – February 12, 2010
Apple’s iPad, especially iWork for iPad, reveals the future of personal computing – February 02, 2010
iWork for iPad: Apple brings Multi-Touch™ to word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation apps – January 27, 2010
RUMOR: Apple tablet to cost $700-$1000, feature new touch gestures, Multi-Touch™ version of iWork – January 09, 2010
NPD: Sales of Apple’s iWork ‘09 beat iWork ‘08 by 50 percent – December 30, 2009
Apple looking to expand iWork’s online ‘cloud’ experience? – December 28, 2009
Microsoft’s latest Office suite a clunky combination of bad UI decisions and sluggish performance – November 17, 2009
Apple update sweetens iWork.com – September 30, 2009
PC World’s Coursey: Is Office 2010 really the best Microsoft can do? – July 13, 2009
TrustedReviews: Apple iWork ‘09 a capable, less expensive alternative to Microsoft Office – February 19, 2009
Apple’s iWork sports impressive features, gives Microsoft Office a run for its money – February 17, 2009
PC Magazine: You’ll find a lot to like in Apple’s iWork ‘09 – February 07, 2009
T3 reviews Apple iWork ‘09: New features well worth the price – February 03, 2009
CNET reviews Apple iWork ‘09: An emerging powerhouse; worthy replacement for Microsoft Office – January 30, 2009
Sydney Morning Herald reviews Apple iWork ‘09: 4 out of 5 stars – January 26, 2009
PC Advisor reviews Apple’s iWork.com: Handy and convenient tool – January 13, 2009
PC Magazine hands-on with Apple iWork ‘09: ‘Innovative suite certainly looks impressive’ – January 08, 2009
How Apple’s iWork.com works – January 07, 2009
Apple unveils iWork ‘09; Introduces iWork.com public beta for online document sharing – January 06, 2009
I have to use Word due to exchanging documents with others that have advanced formatting and the need to have track changes remain consistent from user to user. While I love Pages, it simply doesn’t properly translate everything in Word files. That is unacceptable when working on large contracts and other documents where every little change, including formatting, is scrutinized.
I stopped using PowerPoint a couple of years ago, and I use Numbers whenever possible instead of Excel. Pages kills Word for layout and design, but it can’t replace it yet. Pages also has no ability to do document assembly past mail merge for letters, so I can’t use it for the forms and contracts I create.
It looks to me like Microsoft is laying the foundation for a touchscreen interface. Not that it makes the interface any more appealing…
Can we have it also with microsoft Bob, and Clippy the paper clip? Man, these guys are aesthetic geniuses. Why have one menu when you can have three or four?
iWork. NeoOffice. OpenOffice Org. Give it a shot.
I agree with Bizlaw – there are many issues with using non word programs if you need to share and edit docs.
M$ need to:
1. Make the mac version identical in feature set to the windows version.
2. Release both mac and win versions at the same time.
To get true interoperability there should be a defined standard that all programs should adhere to. The doc format should be able to be edited across programs and platforms.
The monopoly organizations need to get their act together and enforce this. We all suffer for the lack of competition in the market place for Office apps. M$ have taken advantage of the situation to create a monopoly for themselves. It will take decades to eliminate this problem and all the time M$ are raking in the cash.
@ Macduff
I drag and drop M$ Word documents over my Pages icon in my dock and it opens them just fine. Have you tried that?
That ribbon bar is horrible in office 2007.
That said, did anybody get a sudden upgrade to office 2007 in the final days before M$ had to stop selling word?
I use Office 2008 and iWorks.
I will not upgrade to the new Office and instead will upgrade to iWorks 2010 or whatever Apple will call the next iWorks.
I too hope that Apple elevates iWorks to a “Pro” level application.
@iLuvMyMacs
I/we love you too.
Unfortunately, most of us work at companies that are standardized around MS Office and need to collaborate with coworkers on various Office documents.
While I like iWork, quite honestly its advantages do not outweigh the headaches involved in learning a new application interface nor the aggravation of converting documents back and forth between file formats, with all the ensuing problems.
Get real.
If you need 100% compatibility with Office files… you need MS’s version. I’ve tried iWorks, OpenOffice, and Google Apps. They’re actually good apps but you get annoyed the first time (and every time) formatting gets messed up or you can’t use a formula. And similar but messed up isn’t good enough for business. So, sadly many people are stuck needing Office on the Mac, and believe me, the Office apps (especially since 2007) suck.
Actually, we should celebrate Office on the Mac because it makes the platform *much* more appealing to many potential users.
A final thought, if you’re company has an “enterprise license” for Office, they probably have access to the Mac version that you’d be permitted to use for company business purposes. That’s how ours works… can use either version, though, most have PC’s.
Garbage. its all garbage. I no longer have a single Microsoft product. I used open office for a while, and I still have it on my machine for when I need to open a .doc file sent to be by some fool… but LaTeX is the only way to go. Sure it takes a few hours to learn, but once you get it down documents look several times more professional and are much simpler to write.
iWork Pro for mac and windows.
I was a beta tester for Office 2007. When I saw the ribbon, and that there was no recourse to the menus, I filed a bug report that they had orphaned all expert users, and that I would not test it, buy it, or use it. I have kept my promise.
If they want to despoil Office for Mac with ribbons, it had better be totally optional. Ribbons are an abomination.
As mentioned “most” do not need MS Office. I am one of the few that does. iWork and NeoOffice do not do extensive mail merge. I use it a lot and have to get support from other software titles and it is NOT happening. Mail merge is only minimally useful on iWork. I am an avid mac user trying to break free from MS but until Mac programs get up to serious office work speed, MS Office will have to be the choice!
We’ve been here often, the last time, just a few days ago.
Essentially, MDN is saying that “many” Mac users are wise enough to know they don’t need Windoze, but not wise enough to know they don’t need MS Office. Well, thanks MDN.
I own iWork and MS Office, and also have copies of Bean, AbiWord, NeoOffice, and Open Office.
If I didn’t need MS Office, I wouldn’t pay for it. I’ll be buying Office 2011, because, amongst other changes, it restores lost functionality to Excel. It has nothing to do with what I like, or whether I think MIcrosoft has treated me fairly. It has to do with earning a living in Windoze-centric world, and a Windoze-only workplace (except for my my thorn-in-IT’s-side Mac).
I’ve used Windows Office with the ribbon at work & the latest Office for Mac at home. After a period of adjustment, I actually PREFER the ribbon & some of the other interface changes. Some things are easier + faster with the ribbon for my workflow. Things can definitely be improved & MS has had a few years with Windows Office with the ribbon. Maybe those suggestions will make it into the Mac version.
bluuuahhh hugghhaaaatfff uhhhhh huhhggghhh twhuuuuhh hhuhhhh achhhuchh huhhh cough cough urp
I feel better now.
<div style=”font-size:10px”>
@macduff
NeoOffice (as already pointed out before) is an ideal replacement for MS Office for emergency situations.
It sports extreme compatibility with the latest MS file formats and quirks, something you don’t typically get with the version of MS Office (you would have to upgrade frequently and buy each major new version as it comes out).
In contrast, the latest update of NeoOffice is only a download away and it is FREE.
BTW. Recently, NeoOffice is tracking OpenOffice development pretty closely. In fact NeoOffice outclasses OpenOffice in more aspects, as time progresses.</div>
The best part of iWork is Keynote. Pages and Numbers are not that impressive.
” Our condolences. We’ll stick with what we’ll be using on our iPads: Apple’s iWork.”
I’ve been a Mac user (exclusively since 1987) and I’d like to do without Office, but if you do serious spreadsheet work iWork is a joke.
I love getting MS Word docs from asshole primadonnas. I don’t touch the formatting. I translate them into Klingon, then send them back.
When they complain that it’s in a ‘foreign’ language, I accuse them of being racist.
who cares – I work with PC folks and have no problem keeping office on my mac. must be a slow news day.
i prefer appleworks to iwork and office
i have all 3 on my mac’s and it blows the others away with it’s amazing integration
@cashxx “Some people/companies/schools need to use Office to keep things standard and easy to transfer documents between platforms. You can scream open office and iWork all you want but Office on the Mac is needed and is welcomed! Office has its issues like being slow, etc. But its needed!! Sorry you can deny it all you want but it is.”
I volunteer for a few non-profit orgs and I have to tell you, using Office does NOT “keep things standard”. All the Windows users (a variety of PCs with varying versions of MS software) have more trouble opening their docs between themselves than you would believe. They hand it to me and I can open ANY Office doc in iWork. I clean it up, make sense of it for them and give it back. I do deny you need Office.
And anything that goes out the door for printing or public use, forget about it if you are using Office — I have to take the publications from them; hand them to my wife (who is a housewife), or to my 11-year old daughter; and they will spend a few minutes in Pages to give them something “professional” to use. MS can’t even handle transparency and drop-shadows for crying out loud, and typography doesn’t exist. Apart from MS backward software (where do I set margins and document formatting, again — I swear I spend 15 minutes looking for the settings everytime I have to look at Word which is not often thankfully and is never on my Mac), Jobs is right: MS have no taste.
Too bad they can’t even create a PDF on their systems, that would be something. To read a PDF they have to mess with Adobe Acrobat and MS has them believing that they are fooling around in the dark side of arcane proprietary formats; when MS itself monkeys with their own formats every version and only iWork and Open software are robust enough to deal with the differences and make some kind of sense out of the documents.
BTW, have you seen the load of formatting crap MS adds to documents? Try copying text from Office and pasting into the text field of an article on an Open CMS for a website sometime: it’s a nightmare. You get all kinds of junk tags that need cleaning out.
Office can die tomorrow and the world would be better off immediately, because they could open all their docs in any one of half a dozen cheaper apps and be much more productive with better results.