“Microsoft Corp. said it will release three versions of its Office 2008 for Mac suite in January, with the most expensive of the bunch aimed at creative professionals overwhelmed by the task of organizing their digital media files,” The Associated Press reports.
“Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition, which includes three licenses for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, an e-mail/calendar/contacts program, will cost $150,” AP reports.
“A $400 version aimed at professionals who use Apple Inc. computers, simply called Office 2008 for Mac, includes the same programs as Home and Student, plus the ability to connect to a Windows Exchange server,” AP reports.
“A third version, the $500 Special Media Edition, adds features to the $400 configuration, including Expression Media, a program that helps computer users organize and manipulate digital photos, video and other files,” AP reports.
Full article here.
Ina Fried reports for CNET, “The new version is also the first to natively support Intel-based Macs, though it will also run on older PowerPC-based machines.”
“Microsoft is also launching a tech guarantee program under which people who buy Office 2004 between now and March 15 will be able to upgrade to the comparable version of Office 2008 for only the cost of shipping and handling, around $10,” Fried reports.
“The software maker does not plan to offer the public a chance to test out the code before the release,” Fried reports. “‘We’ve decided against that,’ Microsoft marketing manager Amanda Lefebvre said, adding that the company is doing testing internally and with a select group of external testers. ‘There will not be a wide public beta.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Adam W.” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Just say no.
Craptacular!
With the advent of iWorks it just isn’t worth the expense and trouble anymore…
And statements like this is M$$$ worst fear!
Face it M$$$ has at long last out lived it’s usefulness…
Thank God!
Well, now we know why the MacBU people have been unwilling to speak about full Exchange Server support for Entourage 2008 on the MacMojo blog. They want to charge their customers another $250 for that privilege.
yeah why bother its not gonna look as good as pages or numbers and it will be much harder to figure out at a higher cost. ill opt out ty;)
LOL MW: later as in: Later M$
This so called guarantee program…
“Microsoft is also launching a tech guarantee program under which people who buy Office 2004 between now and March 15 will be able to upgrade to the comparable version of Office 2008 for only the cost of shipping and handling, around $10,” Fried reports”
Sound more like FEAR itself at work!
M$$$ sounds more and more like it’s on it’s last leg!
And that’s a very good thing,,,
Why do they bother???
I’ve moved on from Microsoft Office, haven’t you?
iWork is superb, saying no thanks is easy to do.
And as for Halo 3, it’s just plain sad. It’s the 1990’s all over again.
Three versions? I suppose that’s better than the 15,000 different versions of Vista, but still–really, Microsoft? This proves that you just don’t get it. GTFO my Mac.
“A third version, the $500 Special Media Edition, adds features to the $400 configuration, including Expression Media, a program that helps computer users organize and manipulate digital photos, video and other files,” AP reports.
Yeah, for $100 you can do what Apple will do for you for free (or $79 per upgrade) for iLife.
Snooze.
Why would I want to pay another $300 to connect to a Windows Exchange server?
30 employees on Macs–why would we add another $100 to that price for M$’s Expression Media, a lame ass package of media software that will suck compared to anything I can get using iLife from Apple, which is free with new towers or dirt cheap and 10x better.
Just quote a package price for M$Word, Excel, and PowerPoint because we’re stuck creating projects for the PC heads who need something outside our office. They can keep the rest of the crap.
In house we use Keynote and Numbers.
As enthusiastic as I am whenever MS makes a misstep, I wouldn’t yet call them dead. It looks like most of us who read these sites won’t be paying $150 (not to mention $400) for the new Office. You must keep in mind, though, that today’s Mac market share growth is coming from the Windows camp. The primary lure for them was:
1. Ability to run Windows (if necessary);
2. Availability of Office for Mac.
As much as we all hate this, MS Office is the most necessary evil in the world of Mac. Without it, realistically, there would NOT be Mac. When Jobs made that historic deal with Bill Gates ($200m investment – 5% stake of Apple, and a commitment to develop Office for the next five years), he knew that it was the deal that would save Macintosh.
Today, even though the existence of the Mac (or Apple) is no longer doubted, MS Office is still one of the powerful instruments in bringing folks over from the Dark Side.
Therefore, let’s allow it to exist in the Mac ecosystem; it does have its purpose and we should accept that.
Of course, iWork has been doing Office’s job for me for quite some time now.
I am forever finished with MS Office. Never again. iWorks and iLife does way enough for me.
I have removed all MS shit from my computer forever.
i’ll take iWork for $100, Bill!
MW: “hell,” as in, “i’m getting out of this M$ HELL”
And the Mac community yawns.
Get iWork. Or, save a buck and get OpenOffice.
Microsoft is a dinosaur. While they are one of the most recognized software developers they are past their prime. Let’s put this miserable animal out to pasture.
mmmmmm M i c r o s o f t . . . . Office was the only software on my my that would hang the machine in about 50% of starts. Like we really need microsoft video and media management……. hahahahhahahaha, what crap!
I saw the headline and was sure that I would be reading about a significant price cut so that M$ could win back some iWork users.
I almost laughed out loud when I read the prices plus the “upgraded” versions!
What a joke.
I am very happy with using iWork. Still trying to help my wife make the transition as she is so used to the old version of Word.
With iWork at $79 for Pages and Keynote and free apps like Mail, iPhoto, etc.
Why do we need Micro$oft at all now?
Well, I guess it’s not bad to have someone for Apple to compare against! Makes them look better.
(MDN Magic Word: “picture” as in- M$ just doesn’t get the big picture”
OMG!
There are plenty of word processing choices out there that make having to use Word completey uneccessary – and just about every word processor that’s out there now – no – every word processor that’s out there now is compatible with the MS .doc format [excluding the “new” doc format that MS injected into our lives, but everybody will catchup sooner than later], (everybody has to be compatible with .doc because we keep buying it).
Plenty of email options are also available making Outlook/Entorauge obsolete, and some really nice personal information managers make anything that MS can do pale by comparison.
About the only thing the Mac mght be a little weak on is spread sheets, but even in that arena life can go on just fine without Excel.
For that matter the same goes for the Windows world, there’s a plethora of word processing, email, and spreadsheet options already out there, and many of them already come ready to be Exchange compliant – just where MS wants the rest of the world – compliant with all that is MS.
Does anyone get it yet? Ween yourself of MS while there’s still a tiny chance. I know we visit this site to reinforce each other and the Mac platform, and that’s as it should be, but the truth is that in the real world MS still absolutely dominates, everywhere and with rare exception. I’ve been going through my seasonal job search and I see that even in creative fields like video editingl, graphics, publishing, etc., the vast majority of employers are either still on Windows, or switched to Windows back in the late ’90s and are now permanently stuck with it.
There’s only one real remedy for this and that’s to stop using MS products – period, and that goes for non-Mac users and Mac users. Stop talking about not buying it and stop buying it.
While iWork has come a long way it is still not quite ready for prime time. It’s close but is still missing some key features. After the 30 day trial I went back to Office. I will probably still get iWork in the near future but I will keep Office.
Office is a good product even if you hate Microsoft. Price wise Office at $50 per license is a better deal then iwork at $79 per license. I have 3 computers so it works out just right.
Predrag is correct. The availability of Office for the Mac made it “safe” for me to consider (and eventually purchase) my first Mac in late 2004. In talking with others about considering a Mac, people do seem “relieved” that Office is available for the Mac. Even though I mention other alternatives exist to Office, people almost always discount that option. General acceptance of the alternatives will take some time.
Peace.
Apple’s iWork ’08 Family Pack Software License Agreement allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that same household (a person or persons sharing the same housing unit such as a home, apartment, mobile home or condominium).
Yes MDN just say no unless you’re teacher or the like and Apple’s offering doesn’t cut the mustard. In which case you’re comment is not merely superfluous but irrelevant. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing when you have nothing much to say.
Oh and for the record I’ve tried out every mac software package Apple and shareware, freeware and open source and in the end it was Microsoft. I’m not happy but at least it does the trick.
I’ll have no problem getting approved for this new version. Real exchange connectivity is a big deal and has been holding back the mac in the enterprise.
I need access to Exchange. I’ll be buying. It’s just the way it is.
ROFL $400!!
Blow that!
Im sticking to iWork08!
No sale here you greedy bastards!
@Greg M
You can get a FIVE license iWork for 99 dollars. Enough said.
The only thing holding us to Exchange is people bowing to it – And that’s just the way that is. You’re just screwing yourself – and that’s your choice, but you’re also screwing the rest of us because the debate becomes over simplified – that is, the only reason to use it is because everybody else is using it, quality, cost of operation, choice – all be damned. Just doing it ’cause everybody else is doing it is a philosophy many of us have worked very hard at getting our kids NOT to adopt. Sounds to me like some adults need a new reality check.
I think MDN’s take is very appropriate – Please, just say NO.
MW=”moment” It’s a moment in time and it can never be undone.
Exchange is MS’s last hand, they’ve got their game face on, and we’re playing right into it.
So Windows-using college students get the “Ultimate” version for $70 and Mac-using college students get the crappified low-end “Student” version for $150? Yeah, that seems fair.
i know i’m about to say something wildly unpopular here, but i have office 2004 for mac and it’s a pretty good program. seeing as i already own it and it suits my needs, i’m not going to upgrade to iwork or office 08. i wonder why so many people get caught in this whole “need to upgrade” cycle when what they currently have suits them just fine?
to be honest, for the kind of things i need office for, i could probably get away with using clarisworks on system 7. that’d be cute in a retro sort of way. =)
to MS’s credit, their mac products are better than their windows products. and i do like the xbox 360 now they’ve got the production bugs mostly under control.
some people just need to realize that brand allegiance can only take them so far… if a company makes a good product, who cares if that company is microsoft or apple? some might argue that the xbox 360 is crap – you’d be wrong. you can say you don’t LIKE the 360, but that doesn’t mean it’s crap – your judgment isn’t absolute. i’m absolutely a mac guy and i think windows is pretty much garbage, but i won’t turn a blind eye to MS’s good products – office (for mac), xbox 360, MS mice… gah. that’s about it, isn’t it? =)
just say keygen
PreDrag is right on, I switched July 06, and it was the security of office that helped me, I have now switched to numbers and pages.
The biggest surprise for me, is I now do my own web sites for my home based buisness
@Peabody
Plenty of email options are also available making Outlook/Entorauge obsolete
Could you please enlighten me, maybe send me a link to some tutorials?
I really want to ditch Entourage, but have not been able to figure out an alternative, I posted my email
If iWorks or OpenOffice or whatever work for you, then great. But for some, regardless of whether the product is from Microsoft or not, need Office. I work on large Word documents that iWorks simply does not handle well. I also use Exchange at work and look forward to accessing it. Is it much more expensive than alternatives? Yep. But it also does more. It gives me the tools I need to work with. This isn’t bowing to anybody or focing choices on our children, it’s the simple reality that Exchange is widely deployed in business and isn’t going away. I look forward to it. If my needs didn’t call for it, I’d look at iWorks (heck, I already bought it and rarely use it).
$150 is not bad, but $400 just to get the ability to connect to Exchange? That’s a ripoff.
The Only reason I’m going to buy office is because Numbers has no Support for macros that I use everyday. Is there anyway I can use automator to reformat sheets in numbers? If there is information on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Just what does “without Exchange Server support” mean for the “Home and Student” version mean?
I do use Entourage (which simply enrages me every time I try to search for anything) at work because I am forced to use it for e-mail. I use Excel at work to fill in my expense reports and to view lists (most of those really should be in some database rather than a frickin spreadsheet), and I mostly ignore Word. As for PowerPoint, if someone else made the preso, I convert it to Keynote and dress it up before using it.
At home, I would never be an MS Office user… and from what I have seen from the Mac Office 2008 web site, I really can’t understand how anyone could willingly use such cluttered and insanely complicated software.
will word support macros? I read somewhere that support for visual basic was being dropped. can anyone verify this for me? The only reason I use word is for the macros…
Hey, I’m no MS fan, but really people, Office isn’t that bad. And if Office weren’t available for the Mac, there is no way I could have shifted my work computers to the Mac–no way. Frankly, while I like iWork, it doesn’t cut it when collaborating with others, most of whom use Windows and Office, especially when dealing with specifically set templates and the like. iWork can convert to .doc, but it doesn’t maintain all the various aspects of templates (like page numbering, which really matters if you’ve a big document). So, in the end, $149 for the basic suite (I don’t happen to need Exchange server support), is actually not bad at all. The MDN take is lame, and seems to not take into account that many of us Mac users are using our computer in work environments where Office is basically a MUST (otherwise, we’d be forced to use Dells again).
iWork ’08 is just fine by me!
I’d like to see Halos 2&3;for the Mac by the way.
By Christmas!
I managed to separate my wife from her Dell and now she loves her MacBook. How do I do the same with Office, she won’t use anything else.
I wonder if Excel in Office 2008 for Mac also have a multiplication bug (confirmed) that exists in Excel 2007.
850*77.1 = 100,000, indeed!
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iWork is Apple’s answer to Microsoft Works. In other words, it is a simple office suite for home use – and very nice at that. However, it is light years away from providing the feature set required in anything other than a small business environment. Horses for courses folks. Well done to the Microsoft Mac BU for continuing to support the Mac with this product – one of the few serious corporate orientated products for MacOS.
Predrag: ($200m investment – 5% stake of Apple, and a commitment to develop Office for the next five years)
Microsoft does not have a 5% stake in Apple.
M$ is attempting to skew the cost of ownership results that have pointed in favor of Macs for years — an additional $250 per head for the dubious benefit of being able to connect to MS Exchange servers.
I connect to Exchange right now at work using Entourage in Office for Mac 2004. So you can’t tell me that this isn’t a blatant preemptive strike at Apple in an attempt to stall Mac growth in the enterprise market. Office is one of the last big sticks in M$’s arsenal, and they apparently intend to play the card.
Numbers and Pages work fine for me when working with Word and Excel files, so thanks but no thanks M$. I’ll be letting the MSOffice trial software on my new iMac expire.
For those that are curious about email alternatives, and for whatever reason find OS X’s mail appl. inadequate (all things considered Apple’s mail appl. works very well for me compared to Entourage), I bumped into a nice blog featuring a guy complaining about his real-world issues with Apple’s mail application, and in the process names just about every mail app. available for OS X. I found the reader responses very helpful as well, and don’t forget that the mail app. in Leopard features quite a few useful and significant updates, including HTML authoring support, which I’m very happy about.
Here’s the link: Mail Alternatives
@KingMel
Thank you, finally someone who speaks my language. Stick me in a corner and beat me with sticks and I’ll admit that some – some good people really are forced to be well connected with Exchange and are literally forced by their IT depts. to use Office. But personal experience supporting long-time Mac users as well as recent switchers, compels me to note that Office is in fact not required nearly as often as people think. I’ve noted that when given a choice users often default to Office products simply because that are not aware that there is anything else – And then there’s the false fear that they won’t be compatible – that’s really it. All I’m saying is, if you have a choice, then do your homework and don’t just knee jerk back into Office, it’s simply not necessary.
Apple and the open-source people are chipping away at Microsloth, bit by bit. One by one, the excuses are being demolished. It can’t read DOC format! Now it can. It can’t track changes! Now it can. The only holdouts are Exchange junkies, macro peddlers, template pimps, and whatever other fetishists are dependent on “stupid Office tricks”.
Seems that M$ is taking advantage of the business or specialty users that might need features like exchange.
iWork is great. If it’s not what you need, there seem to be alternatives.
Wow, $250 Exchange connectivity. Someone is feeling pretty secure in the groupware server market…
Eh, I know I’m a little late to the comment board but oh well. I have iWork 08 on my MBP, but also Office 2004. This isn’t meant to be a review of either product, but just my personal experience and what my needs are for daily computing. I can personally attest to rather wanting to use Pages over Word, and Numbers over Excel. The iWork package is pretty and nice, neat and pleasant. However, Numbers is a lightweight spreadsheet program that lacks key essential elements of Excel such as goal seek, a robust data analysis package, macros, and the availability of third party add-ons. Numbers works, but I cannot truly call it an Excel replacement for that reason. For my projects, I need something beefier. If there was an iWork ’08 Pro out there, I’ll be first in line to pick it up.
Sorry MDN, but I can’t “just say no”. I need Office in my workplace.
But I don’t follow one issue (ploy?). I already use Entourage to attach to an Exchange server, and this is offered in the “Home and Student Edition” (how Microsoft). What will an extra US$250 give me that Entourage doesn’t?
Expression Media, until recently known as iView Media Pro, is an excellent application. Feature-wise, iPhoto pales by comparison. It was a black day for we iView users when Microsoft acquired it.
So far, the only changes they’ve made were to change the icon, add an ugly-ass splash screen and give the interface’s icons a nasty and less-readable monochromatic greyish cast.
With iWork and apps like NeoOffice, who actually NEEDS to use Office? I pity the fools who are forced to use it so as to appear to be more “businesslike”. HAH! Not me.
“The software maker does not plan to offer the public a chance to test out the code before the release,” Fried reports. “‘We’ve decided against that,’ Microsoft marketing manager Amanda Lefebvre said…. ‘There will not be a wide public beta.'”
O…M…G…
So, anyone who buys this will be the beta testers. Thanks, MS.
This reminds me of the old story about a city transit system, whose buses couldn’t stop to pick up riders because it’d throw them off schedule. Is post-Vista MS that scared of delays?
It’d love to see another maker of ANYTHING dare to ship their flagship product (and sole cash cow) without street-proving it first.
So if MS is going to charge that much for exchange server connectivity (yes I use it on my MAC) then is Apple finally going to get off its friggin but and offer real Exchange Server support in Mail when Leopard launches. Thats the real question Apple are you gonna do something for users.
I agree Michael. Apple needs to step way up with their Mail program. It is not robust enough for business users. Apple needs to take their Mail software to a much higher level. Make it the email software to be envied. Sorry, but Mail is just weak. It needs to combine Notes, and Address book in one app.
And to all the MS bashers(which included MDN), who has the largest dedicated Mac unit outside of Apple? MS. So shut up you ingrates. If Apple makes a better email and office programs, people wont buy MS. But they will until Apple finally does. So far, they have not — not even close.
I broadly agree with both the above posters. Those of us who are forced to work on PC networks would welcome better Exchange support from Mail.
I’ve written in defense of of MS Office on this site many times, and in support of the MS Mac Business unit. But, to those from the MBU who follow this site – US$250 to attach to an Exchange server is utterly ridiculous. I may have eventually no choice in the matter, but that price will turn me into a resentful MS Office user.
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Anyone unfortunate enough to have a Mac as their primary computer would be crazy not to buy this, it is definitely the most sophisticated and beautiful software ever to come out of Microsoft for any platform! I was impressed! This thing looks twice as good as the Vista version and can do even more!
Too Bad!
You see we only develop Mac Office for one reason; to use as a weapon against Apple!
Lately they have been misbehaving: releasing iPhones, new iPods, iWork, new iMacs, getting all of the good press, stock has tripled, … etc
Why in the world should we release something like this when they have been embarrassing us and our other products? NO WAY HOSEA!
MacBU, prepare for another “quality assurance” delay to the Feburary release date. lol …
it’s good to be CEO!
$250 for Exchange? Wow.
(Note to all dependent on exchange: tell your IT guys to enable IMAP on your Exchange account).
Multiple versions? I’m suprised there isn’t a Mac Office 2008 Premium Gold Super for $1000.
Now that I’ve spent some time using Pages, it is way better than Word. Excel is a necessary evil for the corporate world, but it Excel for Windows can’t multiply correctly, then I suppose we should bag it too.
I might have to pick up the Home/Student edition, because I’ve been having trouble saving Pages documents in .doc format (which I need for class).
But that “Expressions Media” sounds an awful lot like a souped up iPhoto — or even Adobe Bridge (free when you buy Photoshop). Can’t see much call for that…
It is known that cash makes people autonomous. But how to act if someone doesn’t have money? The one way only is to try to get the loan or just auto loan.