Getting Office 2008 loaded and running on one Mac is easy enough if you put your mind to it. Getting it loaded and running on hundreds of Macs, with Entourage data to upgrade and users tearing their hair out over macros that no longer work? Bit more of a challenge, to put it mildly. In the interest of supporting the IT pros who are deploying the latest and greatest from the Mac BU in large educational and corporate enviroments, Microsoft is sending key managers and developers out to face their customers (no!) in half-day intensive Q&A sessions.
In addition to the usual draws for techies (free lunch, nice swag) the road show offers a rare opportunity to get feedback to the people behind Office 2008 face-to-face. The upcoming schedule (NYC and Toronto sessions have already taken place) is as follows:
You may rememberSteve Ballmer (CEO of some other company) criticizing the iPod and iPhone on several occasions. Something that he definitely cannot criticize is the Mac, mostly because he was seen using one for with one at the podium while he gave a presentation. MacLife pointed us to this Flickr picture showing what really powers the other Steve's presentation. What's there? You guessed it, a MacBook Pro. We imagine that it is running Windows via BootCamp, proving once again that the best Windows machine money can buy is a Mac.
I guess Microsoft is staring to "Think Different," eh?
Update: As noted by several Flickr commenters, Ballmer didn't actually use the Mac to present; all that was displayed was his title slide, most likely driven by backstage gear, and presumably the MacBook Pro was left at the podium by the conference organizers or a previous presenter. Still a pleasant thought to imagine him slaving away over his PowerPoint (or Keynote!) presentation on the MBP, but it doesn't look like that's how it went.
The kind folks at the Mac BU dropped me a note announcing Messenger for Mac 7's availability. The big ticket item is full Audio/Visual conferencing support between Messenger on the Mac and on the PC. Sadly, this is only available for corporate accounts, so if you have a personal account you'll need to wait a little longer for that feature. Personal users, though, aren't entirely left out in the cold. You can now assign nicknames to contacts, search your contacts, and chat with people on your Bonjour network.
I use Messenger for corporate IM everyday, so I was excited to get by hands on this new version. Sadly, I can't seem to be able to log into my account using Messenger for Mac 7, so I'll have to take Microsoft's word on the new features.
Update: Oops, Messenger 7 does work for my corporate account because it requires Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 (my workplace is still running 2005). Ah well, the neato new features will be mine soon enough.
Apple's headed straight to the top with a bullet -- they went from 159 to 121 in last year's Fortune 500 ranking, and this year, they've pushed their way up to 103. On the list of the "20 most profitable tech companies," they are solidly at number eight -- Fortune says that the introduction of the iPhone and "record sales of Mac computers" have Apple on a rocket trajectory.
Of course, Google's sitting upstairs at number 7, and you-know-who (not the Harry Potter villain, but close) is up at number one.
But yes, there's no question that Apple has really been hitting it out of the park lately, and considering the future (the fruits of the SDK, another possible iPhone iteration, and whatever else they're brewing up in Cupertino), the trends will continue.
Remember a few days ago we reported that the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client beta had expired, making users deal with an annoying, 'Why don't you download the new version' screen when no new version was available? Yeah, that was no fun. Luckily, the Mac BU has recently releasedRemote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2 Beta 3. The biggest improvement in this new beta is that it doesn't expire, so users who need to connect to Windows boxes from OS X won't be left in the cold as the actual ship date slips later and later.
Also new in the Beta 3 are full help files (which are localized in a few languages) as well as support for non-English keyboards. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
For Mac-centric sysadmins in a Windows-flavored world, there are a few essential tools: patience, humility, and RDC. Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection client is the easiest way for anyone on OS X to manage Windows servers near and far, and the truth is it works pretty well -- not perfectly, but capably. You can trade clipboard contents, print to your Mac-connected printers, and even share your Mac's local hard drives back to the Windows host for speedy file transfers. The last full release of RDC, however, was 1.0.3 back in 2004 -- sans Universal Binary, doesn't play well with Vista, and generally lacks pizazz.
A shiny new version 2 of RDC, rewritten from the ground up as an Intel-native app, has been in beta for months now, and it shows great promise; it's got full compatibility with the latest rev of the RD protocol, and it's downright snappy. One problem though: the beta officially expired today (March 31), and on each launch users are being prompted with the download dialog above (good luck downloading the "Lastest Version"). There isn't a new build yet, according to the Mac BU, and it's safe to keep using this beta; the nagging is annoying but not functionally problematic, and the team is working to quickly deliver a final edition.
Meanwhile, if you're being driven batty by the repeated and futile update dialogs, check out my favorite RDC stand-in: CoRD, the Mac OS X version of the open-source rdp tool. It may not have all the bells and whistles of the official tool (no clipboard sharingclipboard sharing, print/disk forwarding just released in the 0.5 beta), but for managing a handful of simultaneous sessions to a bunch of servers, it's fast and fabulous. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Over at Fortune, Jon Fortt reports on a conversation with Tom Gibbons (right), the VP in charge of Microsoft's Specialized Devices & Applications group. SD&A is the MS umbrella that contains the Mac BU, along with projects such as Surface, Windows Embedded and Sync. Yes, Mac folk, we've been saying for years that we're special, and Microsoft agrees -- at least that we're "specialized," which is almost as good. Anyway, Gibbons had some interesting comments about MS plans for the platform of the future.
Gibbons says that for the past week a team of Microsoft engineers has been deep-diving into the SDK with an eye to "understand[ing] what we can bring to the iPhone." In addition to the ActiveSync functionality that's part of the forthcoming 2.0 update to the platform, it seems that MS may have some application-side ambitions for the iPhone as well. Considering that the Mac BU is a tidy and profitable division for Microsoft (Fortt guesstimates Mac app revenues for Microsoft at $350 million with $200M in annual profits, which strikes me as high-side but certainly not out of the realm of possibility), the opportunity to extend desktop productivity dominance to more corners of the mobile space (beyond the existing Windows Mobile installed base) must be quite appealing.
Still, there's another quote from Gibbons that underlines Microsoft's perceptions of the iPhone's impact (emphasis mine): "To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in [the iPhone] environment, we're... trying to understand that now." Possibly an honest estimation, maybe a deliberate shading, but anyone who looks at the iPhone market and thinks that Mac users = iPhone owners is operating in a slightly different reality than most of us. Memo to Tom G: Your Windows Office customers are going to want iPhone integration too, and you can take that to the bank.
Sure, we've had a lot to say about Apple's iPhone announcements yesterday but what does Steve Ballmer think? Ballmer is the CEO of Microsoft (a small software company based in Washington state), and during Mix '08 he was asked about the iPhone SDK, ActiveSync, and if Silverlight (Microsoft's Flash-like web technology) will make an appearance on the iPhone.
Ballmer said that Silverlight on the iPhone is interesting, but hasn't been discussed much with Apple. He, of course, welcomed Apple's use of ActiveSync (hey, Microsoft likes money), and he hinted that the 30% cut that Apple is taking in the App Store might be a little high.
Exchange support in the iPhone has been rumored almost as long as the iPhone itself was rumored to exist. Much as the iPhone turned out to be real, so has ActiveSync on the iPhone. Microsoft released an interview with Terry Myerson, corporate vice president for Exchange, which includes a very interesting tidbit. Mr. Myserson says that Apple and Microsoft were in talks about licensing ActiveSync before the iPhone was announced. Furthermore, he was in daily contact with Apple VP Phil Schiller (when Schiller wasn't making up Apple rumors, of course) for two weeks while they set the details of the agreement between the two tech giants.
This isn't a revelation, since it stands to reason that a company in the business of selling a smart phone and another company in the business of selling technology for smart phones would work together but it is interesting nonetheless.
Let's all point and laugh: the folks at Microsoft use Macs! Because, you know, they make Windows, and Macs aren't Windows, and Microsoft and Apple are competitors, and isn't it funny and aren't cats and dogs different?
Actually, let's not do this. Let's realize that Microsoft is a company and Apple is a company, and while yes, in some fields they are competitors, let's just put the whole Apple vs. PC idea to bed. Guess what: a Mac actually is a PC. It's a very, very well-made PC (in fact, the best made, in this blog's humble opinion). And why wouldn't the folks at Microsoft want to use the best PC out there to develop and run their programs?
The battle between Mac and PC was cute back during the PowerPC age, when there were major differences between the two platforms. But things have changed: Macs run Windows, dogs and cats are lol-ing together, and the war's just not worth fighting any more. Of course Microsoft employees use Macs -- who wouldn't?
Microsoft releases patches for most of their products on a monthly schedule, on the second Tuesday of the month specifically. I'm telling you this because today is the second Tuesday of February and Microsoft has a gift for all you Office 2004 for the Mac users: a patch for a critical vulnerability (insert obligatory Microsoft joke here). Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.4.0 Update addresses, 'a vulnerability that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code.' Nobody wants malicious code on their computer, so if you're running Office 2004 for Mac on your Mac, apply this update as soon as possible. Office 2008 for Mac does not have this vulnerability.
If you do any work in Office you've probably been waiting for the latest update for a couple of years now. Especially if you're on an Intel machine or have struggled with Entourage's funky interface (or is that just me?). Last week Microsoft released Office 2008 for the Mac, and it's a doozy of an update. Being a universal binary is really the least of the changes. This is a complete overhaul, with a ton of UI changes and workflow improvements. Amanda Lefebvre takes us on a whirlwind tour of some new features, and explains the difference between the three different editions of Office.
A TUAW reader from a company with an Enterprise license from Microsoft wrote in to ask if we had any solid information on when Office for Mac 2008 was being released to licensees. Well, our man on the floor managed to get a comment from a Microsoft rep to the effect that the English, Spanish, and French localizations will be released on February 1, with more languages coming on March 1.
Interestingly, the campus computer folks at my university report the same February 1st date for the universities, but that is apparently for IT deployment on university computers. My campus bookstore is saying that the student and faculty site licensed version will not be available until April. However, I suspect your mileage may vary at other universities.
Many of you have already gotten the email inviting you to dig deep into your pockets, so let me relay the news to them that hasn't: you can now pre-order Microsoft Office 2008 from Apple and Amazon, with delivery scheduled on January 15th.
If you were hoping to install Office 2008 in the first few moments after its official release... well, my suggestion is to wait a few days for the issues to shake out. Otherwise, better have a second machine around to get work done.
Newsflash: Microsoft messed up. Yes, I know, that doesn't come as news to most of you (that's why you're here), but Joe Wilcox over at eWeek was surprised by the fact that while Apple's Leopard Family Pack pricing lead to some nice sales numbers, Microsoft instead decided to discontinue their family pack prices. Basically, you could buy OS X 10.5 as a single copy for $129, or a "family pack" (installations for 5 Macs) for $199. And a whopping 33% of Leopard sales were of the family pack version, even though OS X doesn't require any validation at all-- users could just have bought the $129 version and installed it five times.
What's the difference? Wilcox says that Apple trusts their customers, and as a result, users who feel the family pack is worth it are willing to pay. Microsoft, on the other hand, demands validation from their users. Wilcox also quotes an analyst (which in this case is Latin for "he who states the obvious") saying that Leopard had a blowout launch, much better than Vista. But that's a big duh, so I won't even bother comparing OS X to Vista-- I'll leave that to the Mac commercials.
What else do you need to know? Clearly, Microsoft is just plain doing it wrong.
Getting Office 2008 loaded and running on one Mac is easy enough if you put your mind to it. Getting it loaded and running on hundreds of Macs, with Entourage data to upgrade and users tearing their hair out over macros that no longer work? Bit more of a challenge, to put it mildly. In the interest of supporting the IT pros who are deploying the latest and greatest from the Mac BU in large educational and corporate enviroments, Microsoft is sending key managers and developers out to face their customers (no!) in half-day intensive Q&A sessions.
You may 
The kind folks at the Mac BU dropped me a note announcing 
Apple's headed straight to the top with a bullet -- they went 
Over at Fortune, Jon Fortt 
Sure, we've had a lot to say about Apple's 
Exchange support in the iPhone has been rumored almost as long as the iPhone itself was rumored to exist. Much as the iPhone turned out to be real, so has 
Microsoft releases patches for most of their products on a monthly schedule, on the second Tuesday of the month specifically. I'm telling you this because today is the second Tuesday of February and Microsoft has a gift for all you Office 2004 for the Mac users: a patch for a critical vulnerability (insert obligatory Microsoft joke here).
A TUAW reader from a company with an Enterprise license from Microsoft wrote in to ask if we had any solid information on when Office for Mac 2008 was being released to licensees. Well, our 
Many of you have already gotten the email inviting you to dig deep into your pockets, so let me relay the news to them that hasn't: you can now pre-order Microsoft Office 2008 from 
Newsflash: Microsoft messed up. Yes, I know, that doesn't come as news to most of you (that's why you're here), but 
