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We’ve already heard about Vista and Internet Explorer 7 staying on their current schedule and being nearly ready for release. Now comes word that Office 2007 is just about there too:
Microsoft will close down beta testing of Office 2007 in two weeks and send the code to manufacturing by the end of October.
On Oct. 25, Microsoft will close the Office Preview Web site and remove the beta from its download servers. The Office 2007 beta has been available to public testers since May.
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With no additional builds planned, Microsoft said it would release the suite to manufacturing — what the Redmond, Wash. developer dubs “RTM” — “in a few weeks” according to e-mail sent to testers. On Tuesday, a company spokesperson declined to specify the exact date, saying only that “we are on track to have Office in the hands of business customers by the end of this calendar year.”
Microsoft Office for the Mac always lags the Windows version, but there were rumors this week that there would be additional delay for Office 2007. The rumor is refuted at Microsoft’s Office for Mac Team Blog:
Over the last few days, some Mac sites have been reporting that the Universal Binary version of Office for Mac (officially unnamed, but currently code-named Office 12) has been delayed, but there is no delay or deviation from our development schedule. We’re hitting our milestones, checking in our features, and making the move to Intel as planned. We’ve totally moved from Code Warrior to Xcode, so we’ve crested that hill. We usually ship 6 – 8 months after the availability of Office for Windows so we can do compatibility testing. This has been our shipping cycle for ages, and we’re right on track.
Last week’s Apple WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC) was light on news pertaining to Microsoft aside from the usual Apple snarking about Vista. There’s nothing more likely than that to excite geeky passions and while it’s not out of place at an event dedicated to rallying the developer troops, perhaps more relevant were the following:
Apple has completed the transition to Intel hardware with new Mac Pro desktop systems and new quad core Xeon Xserve servers. More important, they “are offered at price points well below the PowerPC-based systems they replace. ” Apple also cut prices on their Cinema displays. They’re still a flea bite on the Wintel market, but they’re trying.
Of course, the shipping hardware may have changed, but Apple still has the baggage of existing users on the old Power PC Macs and existing Power PC software as well. In that regard, Microsoft had a mix of news for Apple users. First, Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit reported progress on converting their Power PC software to Universal binaries that will run on both hardware architectures:
“Tens of millions of lines of code have been 100 percent transitioned to Xcode on the road to a Universal version of Office for Mac. The Mac BU also will provide free, downloadable converters to allow users of current versions of Office for Mac to read the new Microsoft Office Open XML formats following the availability of Office for Windows,” wrote a Microsoft spokesperson.
Microsoft Messenger for Mac 6.0, a new version of Microsoft’s instant messaging application, is coming “later this year,” according to the company. It will include features such as federation with Yahoo! Messenger, customized emoticons and spell check. Users will also be able to display personal messages or what song’s playing in iTunes.
Microsoft is also developing a new version of its Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client software, which enables Mac users to access Windows PCs on their network. “The next version of RDC will be released as a fully supported free product and details on this release will be shared closer to launch,” stated Microsoft.
There’s still no timeframe for release of the new Office for Mac. Microsoft also completed the assessment they had promised in January and decided not to provide an Intel version of Virtual PC for the Mac:
What has been a foregone conclusion for many Mac users has finally been confirmed: Microsoft’s Virtual PC is dead. In a statement provided to BetaNews Monday, the company said its Macintosh Business Unit has decided not to go forward with a version of the software native to the Intel platform.
“Developing a high-quality virtualization solution, such as Virtual PC, for the Intel-based Mac is similar to creating a version 1.0 release due to how closely the product integrates with Mac hardware,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
She added that the need for virtualization should be satisfied through alternatives provided by Apple and others.
That’s certainly true enough. In addition to Apple’s Boot Camp dual booting support, VMware announced they were bringing their virtualization technology to Mac OS X, as previously had startup Parallels. Another startup named TransGaming has developed a “portability engine” for Windows games called Cider that is claimed to have been adopted by a number of top tier games publishers to provide Mac compatibility.
Lately it’s been a mix of good news and bad news from Microsoft for Mac users. While they finally pulled the plug on the decrepit Internet Explorer for Macintosh, they just committed to new versions of Office for Mac. Now Ed Oswald at BetaNews reports that Microsoft Quietly Ditches WMP for Mac:
Despite pledging its support for Apple’s platform, Microsoft has backed out of future releases of Windows Media Player for Mac, and the company’s Web site now directs visitors to download a third-party application from developer Flip4Mac.
Flip4Mac develops Windows Media Components for QuickTime, an add-in for Apple’s multimedia player. According to press release on its Web site, it appears as if the Windows Media division at Microsoft has given the company its full blessing to become the standard-bearer for Mac-based Windows Media playback.
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Sources tell BetaNews that Microsoft has taken a different approach toward dealing with the Mac platform in recent months. Key developers in the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft have been reassigned elsewhere, such as the MSN unit, and the company has plans to slowly exit the consumer side of the business.
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“If there is a MacBU scaleback, it adds new perspective to yesterday’s Microsoft Mac commitment. Soon, Office and Messenger may be the only Mac products offered by Microsoft, because of their appeal to bigger businesses,” commented Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox.
There’s more by following the link including some lagging version support problems for Flip4Mac, but apparently it’s an improvement over the Windows Media Player for Mac which had a less than sterling reputation. Privately held Telestream is the owner of the Flip4Mac brand. Their press release is here. No financial terms were disclosed.
Update 01/12: Further details at CNET.
Paul Thurrott does a concise job of listing the Apple press releases and rating the items discussed in Steve Job’s keynote yesterday at Macworld. From a Microsoft news perspective, the highlights were:
Microsoft Commits to New Versions of Office for Mac:
Microsoft Corp.’s Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) today announced at Macworld Conference & Expo 2006 a formal five-year agreement that reinforces Microsoft’s plans to develop Microsoft® Office for Mac software for both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs. The Mac BU outlined several upcoming improvements to Entourage® 2004 for Mac and said it plans to build converters to read the new Microsoft Office Open XML Formats. The commitment agreement and product announcements emphasize the cooperation between the two companies and serve as significant indicators of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the Mac platform.
Not really a surprise, but nice to know for Apple users. Office for Mac is undoubtedly profitable, but really a sideline for Microsoft except in the sense that it demonstrates that Windows does not absolutely control the desktop. There were no dates, but more details in a Q&A with Roz Ho, Microsoft’s General Manager of the Macintosh Business Unit.
Apple introduces Intel based iMac and MacBook systems: Changing the CPU in a Mac is mostly irrelevant to Microsoft other than making the Office for Mac team do some extra work. And for complete irrelevance, there’s been a good deal of press buzz about an Apple executive’s interview statement that they wouldn’t prevent users from loading Windows on the systems. If he’d mentioned Linux too, it would have been a press jackpot.
iPod: An FM tuner for the iPod was finally announced as well more content for iTunes. Also announced over the over the weekend was optional iPod integration on Chrysler vehicles:
The Chrysler Group today announced that it will be the first American automaker to provide full iPod integration as an option in most of its 2006 models, with over three million 2006 Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge models offering seamless iPod® integration beginning this spring. Drivers will be able to listen to their iPod through the car’s audio system, select their music by artist, album or playlist with radio or steering wheel controls and view selections on the radio’s display.
The effects of these items on Microsoft are indirect in that they merely make the barrier higher for catching the iPod with Microsoft’s own online media, portable media, and automotive offerings.
