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Office for Mac 2008 released to manufacturing

by Mat Lu Dec 13th 2007 at 9:00AM

The official word from Microsoft is that Office for Mac 2008 has been released to manufacturing. This means that the code is final and has been sent out to the factories for duplication and packaging ahead of its formal release at Macworld San Francisco on January 15, 2008. If you want a full preview, the Mac Office 2008 website is fully up and running.

After so many delays (and two full years since the first Intel Mac), it's good to know that the MacBU has finally met their goal of a Universal Binary, modernized version of Office -- equally importantly, a version compatible with the new Office 2007 file formats. Personally, I've been able to move almost all of my own stuff to iWork '08, even my professional academic writing. Nonetheless, I'm sure I'll end up picking up Office just for compatibility's sake. How many of you will be purchasing in January (and which one)?

If you're looking for the best deal on upgrades to Office 2008, reader Ty sent a reminder last night that you can buy Office 2004 now ($130 for the Student/Teacher edition is the lowest-cost tier) and then upgrade for the cost of S&H, $7. Not bad.

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The official word from Microsoft is that Office for Mac 2008 has been released to manufacturing. This means that the code is final and has...
 

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BEC


Did they ever update the equation editor?

The only clue I've been able to find is here:
http://vondiggity.wordpress.com/2007/10/20/office-2008-macintosh-beta/

December 13 2007 at 9:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ty

Glad to see you got my tip!

December 13 2007 at 8:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike H

So as someone who is satisfied enough with Google Docs, and bought Office 2004 simply because of the BFD sale, should I upgrade to the Academic edition rather than the Special Media edition? It sounds like I might not have much extra use for the Special Media edition? The only reason I might get it is because I'm using it for a home-based business. But I am a part-time student too.

December 13 2007 at 5:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob Mc

January 15: Released to sell
January 16: Released to steal

December 13 2007 at 3:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeem

Dude, did you really just write "equally importantly"? Blech! I think it's really importantly [sic] that you improve your English. Know what "[sic]" means? I use it a lot when I quote people who use "importantly".

December 13 2007 at 11:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jeem's comment
Simon Arch

From Apple's built-in dictionary:

importantly |imˈpôrtnt-lē| adverb
1 [ sentence adverb ] used to emphasize a significant point or matter : a nondrinking, nonsmoking, and, importantly, nonpolitical sportsman.

2 in a manner designed to draw attention to one's importance : Kruger strutted forward importantly.

December 13 2007 at 12:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
link.dupont

Looking for the ability to book contacts in your GAL as resources? Well then *don't* go rushing out to by Entourage 2008. It's not been on the feature list, and it's not even on the horizon. But your calendar looks more bubbly! And you get that stupid at-a-glance application! (Bitter? Naw me?!)

Dare I say it? DO NOT WANT!!1

December 13 2007 at 11:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Geoff

I love iWork '08 ... and NeoOffice has been awfully useful, especially since gaining Office XML 2007 import capabilities ...

But there's no way around it: I MUST have Office at work. I exchange too many documents that must retain their formatting precisely. I'm a live media worker, so there are lots of PowerPoints and Word docs (scripts, etc.) flying around here and I can't afford to lose anything.

Keynote '08 destroys some of the PPTs that are using Masters, as does NeoOffice, and heavily-formatted Word docs (which I despise) are often less than accurate in both Pages and NeoOffice.

So yes, I will have Office 2008. I picked it up during the day-after-Thanksgiving BFD promo, meaning a net cost of about $27 after my Amazon order of the Student & Teacher Edition.

December 13 2007 at 10:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Thataboy

Honestly, I do not see a compelling reason for almost any Mac user to get the Special Media Edition -- it simply includes a rebranded version of iView Media from what I understand... plus it is only ONE license! I guess iView must have had some fans, but I don't think most people have any use for it.

The relatively cheapo Home edition is what I think 95% of Mac users would want and need. The 5% that needs Exchange support can get Standard. OK I made the #s up, but still! The Special Media edition price seems like it should have the entire Expressions suite at LEAST, and not just Media. Not a good deal.

December 13 2007 at 10:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
caleb

For someone who is already running Fusion or Parallels, what would be the advantages of using Office 2008 over Office 2007. I use Office 2007 at work and really like the ribbon interface (very much contrary to how I thought I would feel about it before having used it). I ask this as someone who has not used Fusion or Parallels, so I'm not familiar with the limitations inherent to their use. I'm still running on an iBook, but am planning on a new Mac after the holidays. Thanks!

December 13 2007 at 10:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to caleb's comment
Dextro

If you absolutely have to use MS Office, and don't mind starting up Fusion or Parallels every time (or keep em running), i'd definitively go for the Office 2007 option on virtualized Windows. Office 2007 on Windows is a genuinely good suite.
UNLESS the golden master is seriously faster than the beta, but i really don't see how that would happen.

December 13 2007 at 10:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Simon Arch

@Caleb: there is no advantage to Office 2K8 if you're already using 2K7 and don't mind having to use Windows to do so. And I agree - the ribbon interface is quite nice.

@Dextro: no kidding about the speed there. I tried it (1.83ghz Core Duo, 2gb RAM) and was reminded instantly of Word 6.0 and its half hour launch time. One hopes that the final product will have been properly optimised, but I'm not holding my breath.

December 13 2007 at 1:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
peeweejd

does this version of office have that horrid "ribbon" interface like the 2007 PC version?

December 13 2007 at 10:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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