I'm a Mac and Office for Mac 2011 was my idea
by Stevie Smith - Feb 12 2010, 17:40
It's love, but not as we know it. Image: Microsoft.
As Valentine’s Day looms, who said Microsoft doesn’t have love in its heart for Apple? Moreover, while it may not equate to moonlight and roses, the American software giant has this week unveiled its upcoming Office for Mac 2011 productivity suite.
Thrust into the spotlight provided by the annual Macworld conference, Microsoft described its latest Mac offering as “the quintessential teammate” that has been crafted from amassed feedback and comments from the Mac community.
“Together with your team – officemates, family or classmates – you are part of the community that helps shape each version of Office for Mac,” trumpeted Eric Wilfrid, general manager of the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit (MacBu) in an official release.
“You’ve told us that working together across platforms is a priority to you and that’s why we are making Office for Mac 2011 the best, most compatible productivity suite on the Mac,” he continued.
Some of the contributing aspects in the software package include:
New co-authoring tools that enable users to work on a file from Word, PowerPoint or Excel from different locations, brainstorm ideas, and stay on the same page regardless of time, geography or platform.
A connection to Microsoft Office Web Apps (currently in beta) offers a simple way to access and share Office documents from any machine with an Internet connection, while also providing users with the ability to get their work done from virtually any location.
There’s also a new user interface ribbon that’s based on the foundations laid by Office 2008 Elements Gallery and utilises the classic Mac menu and Standard Toolbar in order to provide a modern and fluid experience that’s the best of both worlds. According to Microsoft, users can even collapse the ribbon and Toolbar for the sake of attaining more screen space.
Initially announced in August of 2009, Outlook for Mac will also arrive in Office for Mac 2011 as a direct replacement for Entourage. In so doing, Outlook leverages the Exchange Web Services protocol and has been built using Cocoa to provide improved integration with Mac OS.
“Today we are also announcing that Outlook for Mac will import .PST files from Outlook for Windows – a top customer request,” outlined the Redmond-based software giant. “In addition, as announced last year, Outlook for Mac features a reliable, high-speed, file-based database with Spotlight search and back-up support from Time Machine.”
Although Microsoft has not yet officially rubberstamped Office for Mac 2011, the suite is expected to receive its launch towards the latter part of 2010.
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