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Apr 14, 09 - 04:36 pm Comment from: Mac Daddy

Ballmer thinks the only difference between a Mac and a Dell is the logo... what a blithering idiot.

The board should fire his fat, sweaty, stupid ass and start trying to make their OS good, instead of wasting time trying to buy a has-been search portal like Yahoo.

Apr 14, 09 - 04:38 pm Comment from: Predrag

The point is, vast majority of these Mac users have already seen that free trial of Office. It comes preloaded on their Macs. I'm really curious to find out (from some more reliable outside source) how many unique downloads of that Office trial will they get.

Of all Microsoft people, MacBU is the least Microsoftian. In fact they are even allowed to visibly wear their iPods! However, it is still Microsoft after all.

Apr 14, 09 - 04:40 pm Comment from: Bob

I can proudly say that I have been "MS" free since iWork included Numbers.

I've never looked back!

Apr 14, 09 - 04:41 pm Comment from: Glossy is good

Office carries the micro$oft tax.

Apr 14, 09 - 04:49 pm Comment from: Jay-Z

I can't wait until Snow Leopard comes out and I can get rid of the bloated, buggy, POS that is Entourage. It's absolute dreck, but I'm stuck with it because our company's email is Exchange. No more rebuilding the database for me, thank you very much.

Microsoft Office programs are the only ones that consistently forget which Space they're in, attach palettes to the wrong space, crash, fail to recognize newly activated fonts, blah blah blah. I could continue, but why bother? The only thing Microsoft could make that wouldn't suck would be a vacuum.

Office is such a steaming pile of shit that I wouldn't even download it illegally.

Predrag: Apple has not pre-installed Office for some time. I believe they stopped doing this when Leopard came out. I bought a Mac Pro and a MBA last year and neither had that trialware crap on there.

I, for one, am glad to watch M$' decline. I'm also glad that people realize that they don't have to run buggy, shitty software on their computer. Paying $300 dollars for a full featured OS (VIsta Ultimate) is also a huge crock of shit.

Well I need office because of work... so I use torrents is a nice free shop!!

No money for M$

Apr 14, 09 - 04:52 pm Comment from: Predrag

Michael,

I'm glad to hear that. I got an iMac last year, but I never even looked at what was there; migration assistant just moved everything from my old(er) iMac and it included MS Office. I can't really remember if I had manually deleted the trial folder or if it wasn't even there. So now, it's only iWork trial. Just as well.

Apr 14, 09 - 04:54 pm Comment from: Big Als MBP

Come on people!

Office is the only way to get malware on a Mac for most people.

Don't bother with buying an emulator and XP or Vista. Get MS Office free for 30 days and experience malware on a Mac for yourselves.

It's fun, it's easy and it's free for 30 days!

Apr 14, 09 - 04:56 pm Comment from: zek

Office 2008? Does anyone know of any other companies with such great product naming schemes?

Apr 14, 09 - 04:57 pm Comment from: NCMacMan

I purchased my copy of 2008 Office for $25 through my work's MS discount. That is THE only way I would purchase it.

Apr 14, 09 - 05:11 pm Comment from: Virus Free

Don't support Microsoft.

If you can't afford iWork or it's not working for you, try NeoOffice.

NeoOffice is free, cross platform and quite sufficient for most basic needs also gives one experience using other similar software.

Remember to pay attention to file formats to give yourself the best ability to move or import files between programs.

Apr 14, 09 - 05:16 pm Comment from: ken1w

Microsoft has no cohesive marketing strategy. In fact, it would seem to be intentionally counterproductive.

Apr 14, 09 - 05:18 pm Comment from: Micro Me

I'd get rid of MS Office if I could. Quite simply, I can't. I'm the lone and beleaguered (that word again) Mac user in a PC environment. iWork, Open Office, Neo Office, etc. just won't cut it. MS Office is the only reason my Mac continues to survive in my workplace, albeit hanging by a thread.

Apr 14, 09 - 05:26 pm Comment from: ron

I use 'Bean'. Works just fine, and it's free.

http://www.bean-osx.com/Bean.html

Apr 14, 09 - 05:28 pm Comment from: HMCIV

Microsoft's next marketing innovation: Go from Free Trials to Fee Trials

Customers pay to try the software!!! :-D

I switched from Office to Neo Office and iWork a while ago. The I went one better and every new computer that my company bought in my region (unfortunately they were Windows computers) I insisted that we not spend the money purchasing Office and instead installed Open Office on every machine.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. The Microsoft Tax for office software should be an upcoming Apple commercial.

Apr 14, 09 - 05:41 pm Comment from: scottschor

I like working with Excel, but hate Word. iWorks is a fun alternative and so is OpenOffice.

um...serials can be obtained to turn the "trial" into a full version...fsck em, may as well do it.

MDN Word: death as in "death to the worst software company of the last twenty years"

Apr 14, 09 - 06:07 pm Comment from: Virus Free

I'm the lone and beleaguered (that word again) Mac user in a PC environment. iWork, Open Office, Neo Office, etc. just won't cut it. MS Office is the only reason my Mac continues to survive in my workplace, albeit hanging by a thread.


Oh ballyhoo,

if you can't use OfficeMac anymore then there is always the VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop to run Windows (and Office) in a OS X window. With Fusion one can merge the aspects of OS X and Windows, so one doesn't see much of Windows. Just the taskbar.

Office isn't a processor hog. Vista is though if it's doing something.

I run XP, Vista and Linux at the same time as OS X. Naturally once Vista gets going doing something I have to let the other guest OS's chill. But they are just a "Spaces" mouse click away from full use.

Ubuntu Linux has some neat free games and other software, Windows I spend most of the time running anti-malware and OS X I use to surf and general use.

Now you wouldn't be "beleaguered" if you could run two or three OS's at once.

You have a opportunity to impress, take it.

I'll pass on that offer. The MS tax is way too high!

Although I'm a heavy Excel user, the lack of Visual Basic in the Mac version makes it not an option and the new ribbon interface sucks so why would anyone want to upgrade?

This MDN post is a step in the right direction, but what we need now is a massive campaign to stop Microsoft selling, supporting and developing Office for Mac altogether. That would be a good lesson for Microsoft!

Nice try, Ballmer.

You don't get it, again. The reason there's not much Office on Mac is NOT that people didn't try it (which is the only thing you can achieve with this stunt), it's because it SUCKS. Doesn't matter if it's Win or Mac versions, the only trouble I have exchanging files with my partners is when they use Office! If they're on iWork, or OpenOffice.org/NeoOffice, or some other suite, no trouble at all. It's only on Office we have trouble, thanks to the plethora of version, and your fscking tweaking of file formats that make them ever so slightly different that you cannot fscking work with them.

It's a disgrace that your 'format' became a 'standard' while it's not even close to standardized, but is so ubiquitous that I cannot do my work without it, and can only do it with great frustration.

The situation in our nonlocalized workgroup is so bad that we pretty much switched over to PDF for exchanging, and everyone uses whatever s/he choses. It's not perfect, but it WORKS. Every time.

The only thing you can do to change the situation is by making a fscking good product! I only pay $20 for a volume license from my university, and I consider even this too much for it. In particular Office:Mac 2008, which is, frankly, crap. If you do it, do it right, or don't do it all. If you want to play on the Mac, play by the Mac's rules.

Apr 14, 09 - 06:58 pm Comment from: Swing Geezer

If it weren't for Excel, I wouldn't bother. Sadly, it is the most powerful spreadsheet available.

C'mon Apple!!! Let's get Numbers up to the level of Excel. It doesn't have to go much further.

Apr 14, 09 - 07:01 pm Comment from: Jubei

Nope. Just get NeoOffice.

Apr 14, 09 - 07:22 pm Comment from: Micro Me

@Virus Free. "Now you wouldn't be "beleaguered" if you could run two or three OS's at once."

In fact, I run Windows XP under VMware Fusion on both my home and work Macs.

"You have a opportunity to impress, take it."

A tactical nuclear weapon might impress my IT dept, but your suggested demo wouldn't. They want rid of my Mac, period.

The point of my post was that MS Office, for all its faults, has helped my workplace Mac to hang in there. Previous threads on this topic suggest that many others are in the same position.

And incidentally, I have NeoOffice, Open Office, and iWork on my home iMac.

As for "Oh ballyhoo"......... whatever.

You people are such lemmings. You are an embarrassment to Apple fans everywhere. Basically, you are saying that MS Office is a piece of garbage and anyone is a moron for using it. Tell that to the hundreds of millions of people who swear by it. Tell it to WordPerfect who lost their incredible 90% market share to MS. What was Keynote called before Powerpoint? Powerpoint. There was no Keynote and no viable Apple solution. NeoOffice? The slowest office in the world? Pages is decent, but it's not MS Word, and that means that MS Word is superior to it in terms of features. Saying that "I don't need all those features" should not detract from the quality of the program. So rather than hurl emotion-filled rhetoric and little substance at MS Office, admit that it is a good product, but not necessarily the best product for some people. That way, you keep your objectivity and your ass ears stay firmly tucked under your cap.

Apr 14, 09 - 07:55 pm Comment from: Jubei

@Steve

No its not. When Office for Mac cannot even open a .doc from Office for Windows, then its crap. Its purposely dumb down for Mac users. It's purposely hobbled for Mac users. It's purposely incomplete for Mac users. IT DOES NOT HAVE FEATURE PARITY WITH OFFICE FOR WINDOWS. Thats REALITY.

Apr 14, 09 - 07:57 pm Comment from: LTD*

@ Steve:

We don't need MS garbage on our Macs.

We have our own tools, and users would be smart to choose them and adapt to them.

Ballmer is an a**hole, first class. He doesn't have the brains that God gave an animal cracker. No wonder MS is in such bad condition.

IMHO, this is like apple dissing vista etc, in their ads, then using the ability to run vista as a 'feature' in a bullet point. I write this from an iPhone so no jumping to assumptions! Just bringing a different view

We don't need MS garbage on our Macs.

We have our own tools, and users would be smart to choose them and adapt to them.

Obviously you don't have a job though.

For Christ's sakes grow up. Anyone who states that they can exist in a corporate environment without Office is either a liar or 10 years old...

iWork, ... Open Office... Neo-Office... Get Real!

Office 2008? Does anyone know of any other companies with such great product naming schemes?

Only when the Chevy Nova was marketed to Spanish-speaking people.

Apr 14, 09 - 08:19 pm Comment from: silverhawk

And the Ballmer said "The economy is helpful...." So Ballmer thinks it is okay that our economy stinks because he might be able to sell more windoze licenses. He is absolutely a sick individual.

You didn't mention Clippy....

Apr 14, 09 - 08:41 pm Comment from: Crunch n Munch Cheese Wafflez

Tsk, tsk Micro$oft. Too little, too late.

You don't even need iWork, just use Open Office, Neo Office, or many of the other free, open source office suites.

@Steve: I've existed for years in a corporate, Office-addicted environment, using NeoOffice on my Mac. Haven't yet encountered the .doc or .xls generated in our workplace that I couldn't handle.

So fsck you and the other shills working in Microsoft's web forum trolling department.

Apr 14, 09 - 11:42 pm Comment from: BC Kelly

MDN

Any particular reason you removed my post here ?


BC

I just updated NeoOffice to version 3.0 and the program runs lot faster than the previous one. Very usable and it will open all my excel files created with an older version of office.

We only buy products that are bathed in unicorn tears, right MS? So get that UT production in gear. hahahahaha

Apr 15, 09 - 12:57 am Comment from: twilightmoon

"A tactical nuclear weapon might impress my IT dept, but your suggested demo wouldn't. They want rid of my Mac, period."

Any IT department that thinks that it's more important for them to have an easy job than for you to have the tools that you're comfortable with and productive with are a waste of space, and should be replaced with IT that will do their jobs.

Apr 15, 09 - 02:18 am Comment from: flappo

i got a cheap bundled copy of office in 03 , i haven't updated it since as i use appleworks & filemaker pro for all my real world work

i only keep office for when my accountant and solicitor send me ms word and excel files , then i'm reminded of the sheer over complex horror of ms software

it's a nightmare to use it really is

Hey, Steve.

Know what the "hundreds of millions of people who swear by MS Office" are called?

Lemmings.

Apr 15, 09 - 03:09 am Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Gee, since I'm a Mac user, I'm too cool to use Office. And since all I really care about are aesthetics, I use iWork on my Mac.

Thanks, Microsoft, for setting me straight. Why would I throw away good money on ugly, uncool products from MS? That would completely blow my image.

Why iWork when OpenOffice is free...

Wow... lots of haters here.

Come back when Numbers can do pivot tables and pivot charts.

Buwahaha! Heard this thread on Angry Mac Bastards. I also liked the name MacDailyFlame. It's so totally true and wouldn't have it any other away

"After attempting to belittle Mac users, Microsoft tries to sell them Office 2008 with free trial ..."

It seems to me MDN has a point.

Ballmer, other MS executives - and the MS-friendly media stooges like Paul Thurrott - do seem to find it necessary to insult Mac users.

The GetaMac ads never insulted Windows-users - only Windows computers.

MS wants to watch insulting potential customers.

Apr 15, 09 - 07:03 am Comment from: almux

OpenOffice or NeoOffice on a Mac, no need for M$ Office anyway. OpenOffice works well enough to open any M$ Office stuff and to send any M$ Office compatible stuff to PC users. It is free and gives a kick in M$'s a.. !