Microsoft updates Mac Office '08 |
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Microsoft updates Mac Office '08
Microsoft is refreshing Office 2008 for Mac today, promising not only increased stability and performance but also new capabilities for PowerPoint presentations and document collaboration. The company says Service Pack 2 for Mac Office 2008 is unusual in that it goes beyond basic fixes and updates to add new features. It will be available as a free download starting later today.
The additions include a new tool called "Document Connection for Mac" that will let Mac Office users share documents using Microsoft's Sharepoint and Office Live Workspace collaboration tools. Those capabilities were introduced in preliminary form earlier this year.
Microsoft is also updating PowerPoint for Mac with the ability to create custom motion-path animations inside presentations. Until now, Mac Office users have been able to view animations created by Windows PowerPoint users, but they weren't able to create them. The update also will let Mac PowerPoint users set a custom default theme in cases where a common background is used for many presentations inside a company, for example.
In addition, Microsoft says the update improves launch and scroll times in Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac, and boosts calculation performance inside Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac.
The separate Microsoft team that makes Office software for Windows plans to offer Web-based alternatives of those programs, letting people create and edit documents inside a browser. Mike Tedesco, senior product manager for Microsoft's Mac Business Unit, noted that Mac users will have access to those Office Web Applications through the Safari and Firefox browers. But he declined to say whether the Mac Office team has any plans to bring its own Mac-style Office Web applications to market.
Microsoft released Mac Office 2008 in January 2008. It hasn't yet announced a release date for the next version. The company tries to stick to a two- to three-year release cycle for the program, and it's currently on target for that, Tedesco said.
The Mac software business hasn't been immune to the effects of the economy. Microsoft said sales of its Mac software declined 63 percent in the March quarter, "reflecting the launch of Mac Office 2008 in the prior year as well as a decline in sales of Apple computers."
Service Pack 2 for Mac Office 2008 will be available for download starting at 10 a.m. Pacific time today, and through the Microsoft AutoUpdate feature.
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