Very cool! Keep up the good work on Office for Mac. It's a great product!!

I second those comments asking for more Microsoft products compatible with OSX. I miss Streets and Trips as well as Publisher and MS Money. Also, WHEN IS OFFICE GOING TO BE A FULL-BLOWN COCOA APP RATHER THAN A HALF-BAKED CARBONIZED APP?
Thank you.
Rick Fernandez
Portland, OR

Please please please make Visio for Mac. With that, I'd not ask for anything more of Microsoft!

Thank you MacBU! You guys rock! I'm a die hard Mac user, and I must say... you guys do great things with the Microsoft product. Again... thank you for your hard work.
Cheers!

So glad to see this covered - good job - I wish a little more of "Mac's at MS" history had been mentioned including that MS made more $ per Mac sold than per PC thru the '80's - until they killed WordPerfect and Lotus 123 (thanks to their evolved Mac Office products porting to PC )...
Also, besides saying they aren't going to make a higher version of Internet Explorer for Mac, it is understood that they won't make higher versions of IE for Windows (they are going to integrate it totally into their OS )

I'd love to read more about the automated testing environment and how one creates such a beast for GUI's.

Todd;

I really love this article and your Blog follow-up. Marvelous!

Now if Microsoft also would include "Projects for Macintosh", full "Access" and yes, even "Visio", they'd "be there".

Can you get a shot of Bill Gates' Mac?

(And I appreciate how you avoided the temptation to notice that MacBU is headed by a "Ho" and other subtle humoresque punny Microsoftiness.)

I agree that I would really love to see Access and Visio for OS X, as I use those quite frequently. If nothing else, just a way to view all types of office files would be nice. Virtual PC is nice but not very friendly. Access is such a common app I can't believe we don't have a mac version yet, I use it as much as word, excel, and powerpoint. Just my thoughts.

Hi all,

Really interesting article, thanks for the insight into the Mac BU.

For those looking for a Visio replacement, I'd very strongly recommend grabbing a copy of OmniGraffle Pro at http://www.omnigroup.com/ - The latest version is able to import the XML-based file format that Visio can save to (it's not the default save format, but it's there).

Project would be a great addition, I haven't really seen anything similar for the Mac. There are a number of low-end shareware programs out there that do a few of the functions in Project, but nothing that really compares.

As for Access, well, I'm too much of a DB-head to want to use that (I have PostgreSQL on my OS X machine, and am very happy with it).

Nice stories! I found news about Office 2004 the most significant point in the recent keynote and during a mac meetup, many people agreed! The MBU folk should know a lot of mac users use Office and can't wait to see what's next.

But I will confess tto lovin's Office 98 above Offfice v.X Word has been blinkin' and Excel has been slow. But still, Office has been indispensible, and Entourage has been as great as OE.

Office 2004 will certainly be welcome!

I think that Omnigroup's Omnigraffle does a good job with Visio XML files. Now if more people would upgrade to current versions of Visio that produce XML files...

I'd like to see MS Project on the Mac. I'd like to see the full capabilities with ties into Project Server.

I'd like to see the Sharepoint client side code (power up layer on top of WebDav) available for Mac.

With the drop of support for IE, I'd like to see an arrangement to get NTLM support into Safari.

IE 5 on the Mac seemed to already be divergent from IE 5 on Windows. It seemed as if deep, client VBScript and XML dataset stuff was not supported. Enterprise apps developed in the VB environment and run under IIS did not work.

Porting VB to the Mac would be nice.

Building more of the Enterprise server web applications on standards, to be compatible with Safari would be nice to have.

Still better Exchange integration from Entourage would be nice. Actually, something I'd love to see would be to move to an Exchange services client side proxy that could use Apple's Address Book, iCal and Mail.app with better, automatic syncronization would be nice. I like the Entourage application, and the 2004 additions look great, but so far it not a great Exchange client and it does not share data well with the native tools.

Note to Rick Fernandez:
There is nothing inherently "half-baked" about Carbon apps. Carbon is a full-fledged Mac OS X API that is not going away, and, in fact, continues to evolve alongside Cocoa.

Erin, give Omnigraffle Pro ( http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/pro/ ) a try. For my needs, it blows Visio out of the water.

Jake wrote (among other things) "Porting VB to the Mac would be nice."

Jake (and others with similar wants/needs) perhaps should take a look at Real Basic (http://www.realbasic.com). I haven't used it in a couple years, but I ported a VB app to the Mac with it a few years ago with ease -- and that was when RB was at 1.0. Check it out!

--gdw

Unfortunately, according to Matthew Cooney's "MS Office XML lags on Mac", Office 2004 for the Mac apparently doesn't support WordML :( - see
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=7734

I feel MS Project is the most needed application to port to OSX. I have many colleagues who do not consider the Mac platform simply because MS Project will not run natively on it. It does not do to well in Virtual PC, either. While Visio can be viably replaced by OmniGraffle (though I am not sure about compatibility), there is no project management application for Mac that can replace MS Project. Unlike Publisher and Money, Project is a true business application (not home office or personal finance), and Project does not have a competitive equal in market share or function. Of course, I am a project manger. I wonder how the Mac BU manages their projects - do they use MS Project on PCs??

Re: Cabon/Cocoa -- the biggest need is for Office to be Unicode-compliant. I don't think that is going to happen until it goes Cocoa.

Sorry for chiming in late, but Fast Track Schedule 8 has some pretty good functionality for a Mac app.

See http://www.aecsoft.com/

HTH,
D

Unlike most people who are excited about the new 2004 release of MS Office, I have issues with Microsoft's inability to keep up with current technology trends. So far, they have not included any type of support for unicode fonts (at least their website says so, and I can't get them to work). They have not kept up with actual writing features (for both the academic and other worlds). As an academic writer, I use Open Office in Darwin (xFree86) because of one feature never (just watch that is a prediction!) to be found in Word: a bibilographic database. Sun had the correct idea when they added that to their Star Office program, because if you are an academic writer, or any type of writer who needs access to biblographic databases without wanting to spend money for say EndNote, then Open Office is the perfect solution. Amazing that an open source app can do what a multi-billion dollar company can't. . . . . . . .

A vote for MS Money, MS Access and change the name of Entourage to Outlook.

I sell Mac's for a living. Actually I sell a lot of Mac's for a Living and the two biggest request for MS software for the Mac that I get are:

Access and MS Project

I used to be a project manager in IT and project was a must have for compatibility.

Fast Track Scheduler version 8 has the ability to exchange data with MS Project. http://www.aecsoft.com

As far as Access is concerned File Maker Pro is a much better database than Access but that still doesn't do Mac users any good on many corporate or enterprise level business uses. Most companies just blindly follow the Microsoft mantra chanting "If it comes from Microsoft it must be better."

In order for Apple to gain larger market share in the enterprise and corporate environments then Access needs to be ported to the Macintosh. The main reason that many users buy Virtual PC is to use Access.

Microsoft does not create software for the Apple OS just because it seems like nice thing to do. It does it for products that can turn a profit.

That means it needs to balance the cost of developing the product (writing code, marketing and finding a pricepoint among the competition) and revenue it can earn through sales.

As long as the market for Macs stays small, the prospects for profits on a bunch of new products is pretty limited. New Mac versions of Project, FrontPage, Streets & Trips, Money and Access will start appearing when Microsoft sees an opportunity to earn profits on them.

Porting code from one platform to another is not an easy thing to do. They tried this with Word 6 with near disasterous results. The two OSes just handle things differently. It is actually pretty amazing that they can do as well with cross platform compatibility in their apps as they do.

So just remember the next time you "borrow" a friend's copy of Office for Mac to install on your computer, you just drove a nail into the coffin for Apple. And you didn't hurt Microsoft much at all.

There is a petition to port MSN Messenger 6 to Mac os x with all features Windows version has

http://www.petitiononline.com/msn64mac/petition.html

There is a petition to port MSN Messenger 6 to Mac os x with all features Windows version has

http://www.petitiononline.com/msn64mac/petition.html

In the medium term, the Longhorn environment and CLR will play a big part in the evolution of MS apps under Windows. If MS makes a decent CLR available for the Mac (there is already an academic version) then it might represent the best opportunity yet for apps to appear on both platforms.

Interesting article. The thing that gets to me about MS for Mac apps is how infrequently they are upgraded, and how long after announcing them they actually arrive. There are still serious bugs in Word (text isn't redrawn on screen after edits), even after 2 years...
But I have to say that Word, Excel and Entourage are my daily tools (not Powerpoint--Keynote is much better). I think the Project Center is going to be a killer addition--it's exactly what I need. Let's see, first half of the year, so look for it in June?

ANY idea when a new version of MSN Messenger is gonna be available??????????
I've already written to Microsoft but they just won't say anything.... aaaaaaargh!!!!!!

What to say, what to say. I read a similar article in the French SVM Mac magazine not to long ago, and commend the MS MAC BU for getting its image out to the public. I still think Steve jobs made the best resumé of the situation though, when he displayed the first Macintosh manual at the San Francisco Keynote address this year. Near pages describing details of just how we cut and paste along with other simple things that everyone knows how to do now with their mouse (first available on the Macintosh), he turned a page to show just "a few of our developpers" : including a young Bill Gates. I always tend to laugh when I hear about this or that Windows version "adapted" to Macintosh because I know that most MS programs originated within those early agreements with Apple. So the prodigal developper grew up and succeeding in bringing his learnings to a larger crowd - I still say it's hat's off to Macintosh (if you get my drift). Any slowness or nearsightness on MS's part for their Mac BU tends to remind me of the insolent child getting mad at a parent or sibling and then taking just a little bit longer to clean his/her room, finish their homework, etc. It's hard to be patient with Microsoft, but they've had good teachers(and instructively combative colleagues), they'll do what's right eventually - not to be pretencious - only with our help and guidence! Paying for MS products for Mac is a first step, but letting your voice be heard in petitions and forums is vital input to keep the doors open between these sometimes envious but still complementary platforms. During the more difficult years - us multi-platform users went literally batty dealing with MS inconsistencies! Some people say to love just one format blindly is not unlike a young child loves his/her parents. To continue to support such a relationship through adolescence demands a much more mature relationship with communication and responsabilty on both sides. Lets hope the "young adults" that these two formats have become (after over 20 years as energetic siblings...) can take into account the needs and requests of their ever-growing base of diverse followers. Now, if only we could figure out what is going on with SCO...

The one feature my 300+ Macintosh users SORELY need is true native Exchange server support in Entourage. The makeshift solution we have now just doesn't cut it.

All I really want to see is some half-decent OpenType support in Word. Or at least font handling on par with the Font Panel.

As someone else pointed out... the key for Microsoft and the Mac BU is to get a solid .NET Framework (CLR) ported to OSX that leverages the UI. I see all Microsoft products over the next decade moving to CLR-based code; from a financial standpoint, this is the best move that I can see. It would allow Microsoft to combine efforts on many of it's products, completely combining the developers of Office into a single team. There may be people who are dedicated to the project management for the various platforms and, of course, those testing the products. But by being able to combine the developers and focus on a single codebase, both worlds can benefit and there wouldn't be any issues of consistency. I think Office will drive this deployment model and all other Microsoft applications will benifit as a result. Once products like Project, Money, Visio, etc. move to .NET; not only will those applications be on both platforms (without having multiple development teams), but *ALL* applications being developed for .NET... including said request of getting Visual Basic to the Mac and all the code that can be developed from there.

The only think I see that is stopping this effort is the apparent lack of interest from Apple in either developing or pushing for the development of the .NET platform on the Mac. I think there's a level of superiority in the Apple camp that is not wanting the .NET platform to invade it's closed, locked-in space. Hopefully, this will change.

MS Project for the Mac did exist. I have version 4.0. It was purchased back in '98.

The Mac BU Team certainly deserves many kudos for its committment and excellent work. Wohoooo!!!!

I am a new Mac user with the newest G4 MDD and Mac software. What really puts me around the bend is my inability to open a Windows generated PDF file! The file name truncates on my Mac and all I get out of the deal is a bunch of useless computer code.

Devotion aside, I don't care who you are or what type of operating system you use. It is difficult to defend a "name brand" with any amount of enthusiasm when the high-priced product doesn't work and you can't share files across platforms because of it.

I use MS Project 4.0 for Macintosh everyday. Works fine under Classic and is a whole lot faster than MS Project for Windows via VPC. Maybe it hasn't got all the bells and whitles as the lastest Windows version, but it's good enough for me.

What I miss, besides MS Project, is Visio. Omigraffle is good, but unless you have the latest version of Viso on the Windows side available (2003 I believe) then tranlastion is not easily achieved, unless I am missing something. :)

I'm surprised that no one else has commented on a big reason for Microsoft's support of Mac: the need to not look like a monopoly!

Regardless of Apple's miniscule market share, it's in Microsoft's best legal interests to have a healthy and competitive Apple around to show that there is, indeed, competition.

If, for whatever unfathomable reason, Apple's share of the OS market ever exceeded, say, 30%, I suspect we'd see a much less benevolent side of Microsoft regarding continued business relationships. Perhaps I'm just cynical. At the same time, I don't really care what the reason is, as long as MS keeps shipping software!

Microsoft Works is great on the PC-from 1986-1994, there was a Mac version. With Applr not semmingly planning a major overhaul to their 'works' software, it'd be ripe for Microsoft MacBu to market a Mac Microsoft Works based on cut-down Word,excel, entourage.

Just received Microsoft Office 2004 (Mac) and installed it. The Project Manager is very good, and there are other good (but not revolutionary) updates to other components (Word's Note view is way cool).

However, has anyone else noticed how SLOW Entourage is? It crawls along.

null

I think that its time for Microsoft to include Access for the mac platform as this will truly bridge the gap between office for windows and the mac version.
This is a vital software tool for the business world. I have a dedicated PC at the office for the sole purpose of using Access, and I am waiting and waiting for the day when I can kiss it goodbye along with all the crashes that go with using windows. I hope Microsoft include this application in the next version of Mac office (2005?). That would give many companies and business people good reson to go out and upgrade without argument.

If you are looking for visio on Mac, try ConceptDraw V (www.conceptdraw.com). I've been looking for this replacement for a long time, tried omnigraffle but decided for ConceptDraw in the end. It's convenient, easy in use, supports XML for visio (that was a relief for me).
And by the way, there is a discount for those who are going from visio or other products to ConceptDraw.

I must admit to being more impressed for it. I've even recommended it to all my friends.

There is also a good MS Project replacement for Mac - LeadingProject (www.leadingproject.com). It is rich-featured and supports import and export to/from MS Project's XML format.

An update to Microsoft Project for Mac is insanely overdue. Having waiting so many years to come out with it, however, Microsoft has not done itself any favors. Platform independent options are now abundant and elegant rivals.