Microsoft Office X Future

[Brian Maki]

I read an enlightening, pro-mac article inferring that Microsoft's
discontinuation of IE development is one indication the plug might be
pulled on Office as well. Is there any reassurance out there that this
won't happen?

 

[Mickey Stevens]

This is a quote from Jessica Sommer [MS]:
"We are working diligently on the next version of Office -- these [IE and
Office] are not connected in any way. Office is still intact and going
strong -- there are no plans to stop development on Office for Mac even
after the next version is released."

<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/06/13/explorer/>

 

[Randall Ainsworth]

They're working on the next version as we speak. Cool the paranoia.

 

[Jim Gordon]

I don't get it. Microsoft announced at the very same time that they are
pulling support for IE for Windows, too. Why don't the "enlightened"
Pollyannas conclude Microsoft is withdrawing support for Windows?

Also, why haven't these enlightened ones noticed that Microsoft just
announced a new web browser for the Mac? It's not called "Internet Explorer"
but it is new and is part of the new MSN subscription service for Mac, which
is a whole suite of new software for the Mac from Microsoft. That's hardly
abandoning the platform.

In the past week Microsoft announced a free upgrade for Entourage so that it
supports Microsoft Exchange server. And also in the past week Microsoft
announced an updated version of Virtual PC for the Mac.

And as others have pointed out, Microsoft has committed publicly to a new
version of their flagship product, Office for the Macintosh. How much more
evidence do you need that Microsoft has not bailed on Mac. Seems to me they
are more committed to Mac than they have been in years.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

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[Brian Richardson]

I don't get it. Microsoft announced at the very same time that they are
pulling support for IE for Windows, too. Why don't the "enlightened"
Pollyannas conclude Microsoft is withdrawing support for Windows?

Also, why haven't these enlightened ones noticed that Microsoft just
announced a new web browser for the Mac? It's not called "Internet Explorer"
but it is new and is part of the new MSN subscription service for Mac, which
is a whole suite of new software for the Mac from Microsoft. That's hardly
abandoning the platform.

In the past week Microsoft announced a free upgrade for Entourage so that it
supports Microsoft Exchange server. And also in the past week Microsoft
announced an updated version of Virtual PC for the Mac.

And as others have pointed out, Microsoft has committed publicly to a new
version of their flagship product, Office for the Macintosh. How much more
evidence do you need that Microsoft has not bailed on Mac. Seems to me they
are more committed to Mac than they have been in years.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

While Microsoft is supporting Office on the Mac fairly well, the 'new
browser for the Mac' available only with a new MSN subscription is a
non-starter for those of us who have absolutely no need and no use for
MSN access. In that context, IE for Mac is increasingly irrelevant,
regardless of the label. Additionally, my recent upgrade of VPC 6 to
6.1 seems to be nothing more than a re-branding exercise by Microsoft.
I cannot find one single improvement over what Connectix already
provided.

 

[Jim Gordon]

Hi Brian,

IMHO you're probably right on both counts.

Microsoft is trying to figure out a way to stop losing money on Internet
Explorer, so now they want to be paid. Windows users are in the same boat
but they haven't figure this out yet. They, too, have to pay for an MSN
subscription to get the newest browser. I'm sure that when this finally
dawns on someone who uses windows there will be a ruckus. Right now windows
users are too busy fixing problems with problems due to exploited flaws in
their OS to notice this major change in licensing.

The VPC version change is probably as you described: a change in ownership
rather than a change in the functionality of the software. I can see that it
is a significant event in the software's life, which probably justifies a .1
version increase, just not for the usual reasons.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

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----------

 

[Jeff Grossman]

While Microsoft is supporting Office on the Mac fairly well, the 'new
browser for the Mac' available only with a new MSN subscription is a
non-starter for those of us who have absolutely no need and no use for
MSN access. In that context, IE for Mac is increasingly irrelevant,
regardless of the label. Additionally, my recent upgrade of VPC 6 to
6.1 seems to be nothing more than a re-branding exercise by Microsoft.
I cannot find one single improvement over what Connectix already
provided.

I guess you did not read the release notes before you downloaded VPC 6.1?
It clearly stated that this update was strictly a re-branding with a
couple of small fixes that you probably would not notice.

Jeff

 

[Jim Gordon]

There's a "What's new in Virtual PC" page now. There are 3 things at the
bottom of this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/virtualpc.aspx?pid=whatsnew

Overall, the big difference is who owns and supports the product.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

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----------

 

[Brian Richardson]

I guess you did not read the release notes before you downloaded VPC 6.1?
It clearly stated that this update was strictly a re-branding with a
couple of small fixes that you probably would not notice.

Jeff

I 'guess' I did read the release notes prior to downloading VPC 6.1.
Although 6.1 works just as well as 6.0 on my system, I think
rebranding exercises are more credible when they actually offer users
improvements beyond marketing hype and the need to re-enter the VPC
code to run already purchased software.

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

Microsoft is trying to figure out a way to stop losing money on Internet
Explorer, so now they want to be paid. Windows users are in the same boat
but they haven't figure this out yet. They, too, have to pay for an MSN
subscription to get the newest browser. I'm sure that when this finally
dawns on someone who uses windows there will be a ruckus. Right now windows
users are too busy fixing problems with problems due to exploited flaws in
their OS to notice this major change in licensing.

That's probably a little extreme, Jim, or maybe it's coming through a little
differently than you meant. IE on Windows will continue to be part of the
Windows OS, just not available separately. (This also helps to bolster MS's
recent courtroom contention that a browser is part of an operating system -
which it needn't be, of course - as does their approval of Safari and
dropping of further development of IE Mac.)

On Windows, users will continue to get minor IE and OE updates as part of
their Windows Updates (like our "Software Update" on the Mac). And they will
get major upgrades to IE in their OS upgrades - so when Longhorn (the next
Windows OS upgrade) is released I'm sure they can expect an IE 7 and OE 7
with big changes. Of course, they will have to pay for that OS, so you're
perfectly right in that regard. But people may have taken you to mean that
they would have to get (pay for) MSN to see browser upgrades and that's not
so. It's even possible that MS might include a significant update to IE/OE
Windows in a Service Release or Service Pack for the current Windows XP OS.
And certainly in paid OS upgrades.

In the meantime, we will be getting lots of significant improvements in
Apple's Safari, long before Windows get improvements in their IE. Mostly
these will be paid too - since they will usually come in new paid OS
upgrades such as Panther from now on, with bug fix updates between times. It
does look like OS X is getting a lot more frequent significant upgrades than
Windows - where Longhorn isn't expected until 2005-6. By then we'll be up to
OS 10.5 or 10.6 (or 11?), with Safari advancing apace.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP Entourage
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[Jeff Grossman]

I 'guess' I did read the release notes prior to downloading VPC 6.1.
Although 6.1 works just as well as 6.0 on my system, I think
rebranding exercises are more credible when they actually offer users
improvements beyond marketing hype and the need to re-enter the VPC
code to run already purchased software.

But, it clearly stated that the update was just a re-branding. If you
wanted new features, wait until they release an update with new features.
To install an updated version which states it is just a re-branding and
then complain because there are no new features is just wrong. I believe
since Microsoft owns the software now, they can decide what gets put in
each release, not you.

Jeff

 

[Brian Richardson]

But, it clearly stated that the update was just a re-branding. If you
wanted new features, wait until they release an update with new features.
To install an updated version which states it is just a re-branding and
then complain because there are no new features is just wrong. I believe
since Microsoft owns the software now, they can decide what gets put in
each release, not you.

Jeff

In my opinion, Microsoft had no credible reason to release an upgrade
just for re-branding purposes. It makes them look silly. Had they
instead waited to offer a point update, including tangible
improvements to VPC, they would earn praise instead of skepticism. The
fact that Microsoft owns the software now may or may not be a
positive....the jury is still out on that. And, of course, Microsoft
has nothing to say about what software remains on my computer.

 

[Jim Gordon]

----------
Lots of snip...

But people may have taken you to mean that
they would have to get (pay for) MSN to see browser upgrades and that's not
so.

But that's exactly what I meant to say. The new MSN browsers for Mac and
Windows are not free.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

 

[Jeff Grossman]

In my opinion, Microsoft had no credible reason to release an upgrade
just for re-branding purposes. It makes them look silly. Had they
instead waited to offer a point update, including tangible
improvements to VPC, they would earn praise instead of skepticism. The
fact that Microsoft owns the software now may or may not be a
positive....the jury is still out on that. And, of course, Microsoft
has nothing to say about what software remains on my computer.

That is very true. But, you appear to be the only one who thinks that
Microsoft looks silly for releasing this re-branding version. I am sure
other companies would want to get their name on a product they just
purchased. I don't think we will see anymore 6.x versions. From what it
looks like, Microsoft is working on a new version because the current one
will not run on the G5. I am sure that new version will include new
features.

Jeff

 

[Brian Richardson]

That is very true. But, you appear to be the only one who thinks that
Microsoft looks silly for releasing this re-branding version. I am sure
other companies would want to get their name on a product they just
purchased. I don't think we will see anymore 6.x versions. From what it
looks like, Microsoft is working on a new version because the current one
will not run on the G5. I am sure that new version will include new
features.

Jeff

A slick VPC version on the G5 would be a real positive step for
Microsoft on the Mac platform....

 

[Keith Esau]

A slick VPC version on the G5 would be a real positive step for
Microsoft on the Mac platform....

I would like to see a way to encapsulate a PC application so it looks like
other Mac applications, and shares the clipboard, etc.--much the way that
Classic does in the Mac OS X environment. (Especially Microsoft Access,
which SHOULD be part of Office X.)

Keith Esau
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Hilton Lipschitz]

Heya Jim

I'd pass. NT did run on the powerPC with all the same bugs and issues
asociated with it. It also makes no sense to run windows on a more costly
PPC platform when there are cheap intels available.

The .Net managed environment does, however, offer some potential if
Microsoft takes advantage of it. The CLR (runtime environment) is simple,
ecma standard and is mostly ported to OS X already (mono project). If MS
released the .Net libraries and runtime on OS X and migrated to managed code
for apps (something I hope they are doing in Office), then the same version
of office.net will run on both platforms. Ok, so I may be dreaming....

Hilton

 

[Keith Esau]

I am curious as to what you folks would think of a version of Windows that
runs natively on the new G5 PowerPC? The way Windows is constructed it
would be possible to do such a thing (the first version of Windows NT ran
natively on PowerPC).

Would you buy such a product? Would you still by the Mac version of Office
or would you buy the Windows version?

Very unlikely, though I _would_ buy a Mac OS that ran on a PC.

The problem is the applications. They would also have to be recompiled to
run in the Mac environment and few would do it. But my main reason to use
Virtual PC is so I can cut and paste between PC and Mac Applications, and
run the 1 or two PC applications that are not available on the Mac (Access
in particular). Still, I only run VPC once in a blue moon.

Keith Esau
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Gene van Troyer]

In my opinion, Microsoft had no credible reason to release an upgrade
just for re-branding purposes. It makes them look silly. Had they
instead waited to offer a point update, including tangible
improvements to VPC, they would earn praise instead of skepticism. The
fact that Microsoft owns the software now may or may not be a
positive....the jury is still out on that. And, of course, Microsoft
has nothing to say about what software remains on my computer.

Apple rebranded ClarisWorks 5 to AppleWorks 5, and released a "maintenance"
update that did next to nothing other than change the icons and splash
screen. Of course, you didn't have reenter the software key (not that it was
relevant).

There were some minor tweaks to VPC 6.1 and I noticed that it was running a
little faster on my Mac.

Gene

 

[Gene van Troyer]

I am curious as to what you folks would think of a version of Windows that
runs natively on the new G5 PowerPC? The way Windows is constructed it
would be possible to do such a thing (the first version of Windows NT ran
natively on PowerPC).

Would you buy such a product? Would you still by the Mac version of Office
or would you buy the Windows version?

I wouldn't touch it. I have VPC only because I sometimes need to access
stuff on the web that doesn't work with the Mac, of run software that
doesn't exist for the Mac. Otherwise, I don't trust Windows as either a safe
or very stable OS. That's not prejudice, it's practical hands on experience
with windows, that's talking.

Gene