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Microsoft releases Office 2008 update to fix Entourage issue

by Michael Rose Oct 30th 2008 at 1:15PM

How long is two weeks? If you're vacationing someplace warm and sunny, it might seem to pass in a flash; if you're in bed with the flu, it probably seems like a lifetime. For Office 2008 users who got bit by a bug in the recent 12.1.3 update, chances are the latter assessment is more on target. Those who ran the 12.1.3 update and met a particular set of criteria (Entourage users connected to Exchange + a secondary POP or IMAP account for personal email) found themselves unable to send calendar invitations or reply to meeting requests. The most straightforward fix was a rollback to the 12.1.2 version; otherwise, using a webmail client or Outlook was the best way to manage calendars. Not fun.

Two weeks, though, is what it took for the Mac Business Unit to get a tested patch out the door that resolves this problem. Today, Product Manager Andy Ruff announced on the Mactopia support forum that Office 2008 12.1.4 is now available for download (16 MB, requires 12.1.3 installed), billed as follows:

This update fixes a calendar issue in versions of Microsoft Entourage that were updated with the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.3 Update. The issue prevents Exchange accounts in Entourage from sending meeting invitations and responses. This issue can occur when an Entourage identity is configured with more than one mail account. We strongly recommend that all Entourage users who installed Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.3 Update install this update.

While this particular fortnight may have been difficult for Entourage users, I will say that this is definitely the fastest response to an Office bug that I have ever seen from the Mac BU; in terms of the development cycle on a suite as large as Office 2008, it's an eyeblink. Kudos to the MBU for its quick action; now, the next prudent PR step is a little bit of transparency about why this bug -- which should have been fairly obvious to anyone who tested with both Exchange and POP accounts configured in the same identity -- managed to make it through to the release.

Update: Wow, talk about your rapid response... Andy has posted an explanation of the issue and the testing circumstances at the Mac Mojo blog. The missing piece of the puzzle, apparently, was account creation order: if the Exchange account was added to Entourage after the POP or IMAP setup, the problem got triggered -- a condition that never made it onto the testing radar. Points for transparency: awarded.

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How long is two weeks? If you're vacationing someplace warm and sunny, it might seem to pass in a flash; if you're in bed with the flu, it...
 

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SSmith

Does anyone out there know who the CEO of AOL, is? The billing company in Dulles, VA, keeps billing my American Express for a service that I do not have, I sent them an email and asked them to please check and see that I am not using their software which was a free trial CD, but instead the company is trying to increase their revenue, by charging customer's for something not being used. I would like thus company to be put out of business, and I would also like to have the opportunity, to give the name of the CEO, to my attorney, for Emotional Stress law suit. I am also going to send the same email to (Bill Gates), since he once had something to do with AOL, he really needs to know what is going on with the billing at the branch in Dulles, VA

December 30 2008 at 10:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
K. Stevens

Was hoping for some answers to my email sent last evening?

December 26 2008 at 8:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to K. Stevens's comment
Michael Rose

Hey K --

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, you should know that an off-topic comment on a two-month-old blog post is probably not the ideal primary avenue of support for your issues. :-) Posting a comment is not the same as sending an email -- not to mention it's a holiday weekend, and TUAW isn't a switcher support forum. There are scores of solutions for new Mac users documented here (http://macwindows.com/solution.html ) and here (http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/ ). Apple's discussion boards are also a great resource.

All that said, let's see what we can do.

"I very recently got a Mac book pro laptop. Since I have never used Mac products before I am having trouble learning ALL the differences. I am wondering if there is such a thing as "Apple or Mac for dummies?""

Congratulations! Yes, there are several basic guides for Mac users including "Macs for Dummies" books. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them but you can check them out on Amazon or at your local bookstore or library. The best book for new Mac users is probably "Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual" by David Pogue, but it's not necessarily as entry-level as the other books.

"Also I am used to using Outlook & Office at work & home. I have all my addresses, phone numbers, etc. on Outlook as well as my calendar. I won't spend $300 or $400. to upgrade to Office 2008 for Mac. I really only want to use the Outlook/Office features."

I'm a little confused by "only want to use the Outlook/Office features." Do you mean the features of your Windows Office software? You can run Windows Office on the Mac either via virtualization (do a Google search for "VMware Fusion," "Parallels Desktop" or "VirtualBox"), direct application support (Codeweavers' Crossover Mac) or Boot Camp support for Windows directly.

If you want a direct equivalent of Outlook on the Mac, there really isn't one -- Entourage, part of Microsoft Office for Mac, is the closest thing. Most Mac users prefer the bundled iCal calendar, but there are several other calendar and contact programs available.

If you want to migrate your Outlook & PC data to your Mac's built-in iCal calendar and Address Book, Detto's Move2Mac and Mail2Mac tools are your best bet. They're inexpensive and they work well.

Since you don't want to spend the money to buy the Mac version of Office, you might want to check out OpenOffice or iWork as productivity applications. You can also use Web-based office suites like Google Apps and Zoho for many tasks.

Good luck! Check out http://tuaw.com/category/switchers for ongoing coverage of products and tips for newcomers to the Mac platform.

December 26 2008 at 10:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
K. Stevens

I very recently got a Mac book pro laptop. Since I have never used Mac products before I am having trouble learning ALL the differences. I am wondering if there is such a thing as "Apple or Mac for dummies?" Also I am used to using Outlook & Office at work & home. I have all my addresses, phone numbers, etc. on Outlook as well as my calendar. I won't spend $300 or $400. to upgrade to Office 2008 for Mac. I really only want to use the Outlook/Office features. Can anyone advise me on the above two questions?

December 25 2008 at 11:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dude

I'm glad that they did this. Maybe now they can work on getting the analytics packages ported over to the latest Excel so I don't have to run ancient version, VMWare, or SPSS just do do what I used to be able to do.

Its all a bunch of scripts, how bad could it be?

November 07 2008 at 12:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Daniel Saul Zeff

Office 2008 still sucks on the mac. I've moved over to google docs and iwork.

http://blog.evidently.com

November 01 2008 at 7:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Boyo

Hi I'm Mark Wahlberg, Entourage update huh, that's cool you know i produce the HBO show Entourage. Say Hi to your mother for me.

October 31 2008 at 1:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Boyo's comment
Frank

You, sir, made me laugh. :-)

Good one.

October 31 2008 at 7:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joe

I do have 12.1.3 installed already but it will NOT let me install 12.1.4.

October 30 2008 at 7:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Joe's comment
Bob Pankala (pank)

Same here. Ran the microsoft updater and it is saying there are not updates??

October 30 2008 at 7:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nick

Here is the solution, works for the 12.1.4 update.

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20080815074014531

November 13 2008 at 8:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Denton

When is Microsoft going to fix the fact that Office 2008 doesn't work with Spaces? I've switched back to iWork because I'm sick of spending all my time chasing the Formatting Palate around instead of getting work done.

October 30 2008 at 6:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Denton's comment
dance

An MS developer has posted about the issue with Spaces here:
http://www.schwieb.com/blog/2008/10/23/risks-and-rewards/

October 30 2008 at 6:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Trevor

It would be helpful is Microsoft Mac division would release a combined package including

- AutoUpdate updater
- all updates 12.1.0 -> 12.1.4

All in all, really like Office 08. Thanks again for using standard .pkg for installation now, but check out the receipts, it's absurd to have a separate package for each tiny component of the program suite, and it slows down system maintenance checking all those tiny bundles and their bom files.

October 30 2008 at 5:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Yaz

Any update to fix Microsoft issue?

October 30 2008 at 5:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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