MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Jun 24, 08 - 11:31 am Comment from: Jubei

I don't trust them. They'll hire a Mac expert, then they will insert a nanobot inside his head to steal all the great creative ideas that only Mac users have. Then MS will copy and call it their own.

Jun 24, 08 - 11:33 am Comment from: Tommy Boy

So does this mean that they're gonna finally port Outlook, Access, Visio, Publisher, etc. to the Mac? Or that they'll just keep adding bloat to Word, Excel, Power Point, and Entourage (while breaking simple things like search in the latter)?

Jun 24, 08 - 11:35 am Comment from: Tommy Boy

Speaking of Microsoft: 8 Years of Wrongness the most hilarious take on Monkey Boy I've ever read.

I've met a couple of the MacBU people and they really are the best thing about Microsoft. They have a huge bank of Apple computers to test their software on. According to legend, they even made some amazing stuff for Word, but were told by Bill himself to knock it off. Any new features were going to come out for Windows first, not the Mac.

Jun 24, 08 - 11:38 am Comment from: Ampar

It's a top priority because Messenger for Mac 8 needs to be even shinier.


"insert a nanobot inside his head"
They're called ballmerbots. They're designed to sweat the ideas out of you.
Patent pending.

"I don't trust them." - Jubei

Hi hi hi... and you'd rather trust Steve Jobs who screwed up is good friend Wozniak.

Jun 24, 08 - 11:40 am Comment from: Ampar

"Obviously, Microsoft can read the market share trend charts, too."


I thought that said, "market trend chairs, too."

... Redmond can't get people that want to develop for the Mac OS to work for them. They:

A. Go to work for a 3rd party Apple developer
B. Work for Apple
C. Start their own company and build SW for the Mac (Pixelmator anyone?)

@ GRM

That's really funny. When MS actually does innovate, their told to knock it off. Classic! I think that states the whole MS culture right there.

Jun 24, 08 - 11:43 am Comment from: HMCIV

When Bill Gates's away, the Macs will play.

Unless... OMG it's a trap!

Jun 24, 08 - 11:45 am Comment from: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

"So, if you can't get a job at Apple, Microsoft's MacBU is hiring for multiple roles ... "

Yeh-heh-heh-hehessssssss . . . so in other words, if you can't get a position working for de best, then why not come over here and apply for a job with de Federal government. You know, 'cause we're actually trained TO SUCK! ! !

Microsoft kind of reminds me of Leno: No matter how many times he says he's leaving, he just hangs around a little longer and tries to stick it to Conan. Bloated, graying, insulting, derogatory . . . and those are just his jokes!

And now Fallon's taking over Late Night.

I weep for de children . . .

All programmers are already going for the iPhone SDK.

By the way.... NOOOO, it is not true that all developers of the Hacked iPhone are going for the Symbian-Nokia or android SDK. They are just going to put they apps on the APP store and presto!. Well, not all the apps will be approve by apple, but at least 90% of them are (I am saying that because I saw that notice in ENGADGET).

Jun 24, 08 - 11:55 am Comment from: MacBill

F*CK MICROSOFT. They've had YEARS to make Entourage as good as Outlook, and they NEVER have. Entourage PALES in comparison to Outlook. They have NEVER fixed major bugs in Word & Entourage that have been around since Word 98 and Entourage 2001! They have KILLED OFF every single Mac product outside of the Office suite. They do NOT care about their customers. GO TO HELL, MICROSOFT!

Jun 24, 08 - 11:55 am Comment from: MCCFR

Seems a stupid move by Microsoft if you ask me.

I follow the advice of Afib (aka Ha, Ha and Ho, Ho [the last one being reference to his mother or something]) who - on the basis of some sort of insider knowledge - says that Mac sales are tanking and that Apple are fraudulently bilking their shareholders.

Poor Steve Ballmer, once again made to look foolish by the evil, convicted pescatarian, Steven P. Jobs. If only he had Afib by his side to help him through life's rocky and dangerous waters.

So, if you can't get a job at Apple,

-I think that phrase alone sums it all up

Mac+,

Woz refused to bow down and worship His Great Hucksterness (aka The Pompous Promoter aka The Mouth Without Measure aka The Hipster Hypester aka Lord Steve Jobs) and was excommunicated from the Fundamentalist Temple of Apple Drones, Fanbois, and Other Lap Dogs (aka Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA). According to Official Temple Rules, Policies, and Fiats, excommunication is "permanent" and "irrevocable".

Yeah, MS makes a lot of $$$ selling MS software to Mac users which is interesting irony as the 2 companies compete but whatever.

I still think it's good news as it's a commitment by MS to continue to bring 'office standard' software to Macs and the business community will like that and see Macs as relevant enterprise-wise which is a good thing to me. Lots of people use stuff at work and then buy it for home. I did with an HP all-in-one printer.

Jun 24, 08 - 12:16 pm Comment from: Mr. Peabody

Don't buy MS products - (I think it's still a free enough country that I can say that, right?).

On the other hand - cool (that MS makes Mac stuff). Even though I'm never going to buy anything MS every again.

Now if only I could get to that same point with Adobe - I'd be in Nirvana!

Jun 24, 08 - 12:17 pm Comment from: Jimbo von Winskinheimer

I think that Woz still is employed by Apple in some capacity isn't he? He gets free stuff and a salary for doing virtually nothing these days, although he was obviously very important in founding AAPL. Salary and free gear for doing nothing - I wish Steve J. would do that to ME!

Jun 24, 08 - 12:26 pm Comment from: shen

hi ho! how is the underside of the bridge?

"I've met a couple of the MacBU people and they really are the best thing about Microsoft."

setting the bar pretty low there aren't you GRM?

Jun 24, 08 - 12:27 pm Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Does this mean that Microsoft will start writing Mac applications someone might actually WANT to use, instead of being FORCED to use?

Triumph writes, "Microsoft kind of reminds me of Leno: No matter how many times he says he's leaving, he just hangs around a little longer and tries to stick it to Conan. Bloated, graying, insulting, derogatory . . . and those are just his jokes!"

Oh, please... Leno has more natural comic talent in his chin than Conan has in his whole body. He was able to carry his show even during the writers strike (and his writers are very good). Jon Stewart would have been a better replacement. Watching Conan's body preening and dumb schtick is not my idea of humor.

Jun 24, 08 - 12:30 pm Comment from: MCCFR

Ho, Ho says "blah, blah, blah, Steve Jobs, blah,"

I say Apple is now worth $154.86 billion making it the third most valuable player in the computing industry after Microsoft and IBM.

Jun 24, 08 - 12:32 pm Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Oh yeah, Microsoft acquired iView Media Pro, renamed it Microsoft Expression Media and made ZERO changes apart from a yucky icon and horrible splash screen and named it version 1.9.

Now MS has released a version 2.0 "upgrade" to Expression Media. Yes, for $199 or a $99 upgrade fee, you get… drumroll…

A(nother) NEW and IMPROVED icon (still not 512 x 512 Leopard compliant) AND a(nother) new splash screen. Otherwise there is NOTHING different… menus, tools, NOTHING.

What kind of fools does MS think people… oops caught myself… of course MS survives with tactics like this. It's 2.0, it MUST be better!

These days, there's something creepy and weird about Microsoft having anything to do with the Mac.

They may be nice guys in the Mac BU, but until they get some balls and tell the management to stick Windows' priority on features where the sun doesn't shine, they won't get my respect.

Jun 24, 08 - 12:36 pm Comment from: drz

I'm still betting on a release of iWork for all common platforms–Windows, Linux, etc. to truly compete with MS Office.

Jun 24, 08 - 12:42 pm Comment from: Buster

...if you can't get a job at Apple...

In other words, At Microsoft, we are second best and we are proud of being number 2 (read what you want into that last phrase).

Jokes aside, I worry about this from the perspective that if indeed MS did develop innovative software for Apple and then of course port it to the PC, they could, when Mac users are dependent on it, make it not work as well as the PC version.

As the knights said in Monty Python's Search for the holy grail...Run away, run away....

Jun 24, 08 - 12:53 pm Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Buster…

I think the entire Office Suite (not Access or SorePoint) was originally developed for the Mac.

That's right, Microsoft is hiring more folk to put an even shinier sheen on their turd.

But wait, Apple offers smoke and mirrors, too. Sno' Leopard, it's more secure, Apple says. Sno' Leopard, it's more stable, Apple says. After polishing the turd called Tiger, Apple renames its own shinier version of polished poop Leopard, then claims Sno' Leopard is the real McCoy, the finest feces you really need, to be flushed to an Apple store near you... in the indefinite future.

You gotta wonder what the hell is happening in Cupertino when security and stability are afterthoughts in software design. Actually, it take no imagination to see that the Great Huckster's primary mission has been an OS that "looks so delicious (you) want to lick it" even if it gives you gastritis. Leopard, Apple's version of the salmonella tomato sandwich.

It looks like Ho Ho is crapping out of his mouth again.

Jun 24, 08 - 01:16 pm Comment from: Ampar

Someone should stop pulling his string. Or feeding him sugar.

Jun 24, 08 - 01:16 pm Comment from: Cubert

"Eisler offers up some reasons to join MacBU, including:

• We are the brightest, coolest, and most interesting business unit at Microsoft – if we do say so ourselves
• One of the largest dedicated Mac software development organizations outside of Apple
• We work for Microsoft and we are proud of it! "

Ehhhh, 2 out of 3 isn't too bad.

Jun 24, 08 - 01:19 pm Comment from: Buster

@Mr. Reeee

I know that office was originally developed for the Mac. It is with that in mind, and all the uncertainly about MS dropping if from the Mac before Jobs got a commitment of 5 years from them that I say....I do not trust them.

@2/3rd Santa (Ho Ho). May the smooth muscle surrounding your colon have greater than usual contraction capabilities in order to match your verbal diarrhea

Too many freewares are starting to overmatch the M$ suite of products...

Jun 24, 08 - 01:22 pm Comment from: Micro Me

Ho, ho, go outside. The graphics are awesome.

Whoever the new 'hirees' are at the MBU, I hope they're immediately assigned to reducing startup times for Office 2008 components to less than seven years <sarcasm>. And when they've cracked that, maybe they could have a lash at making said components run faster than in Office 2004 under Rosetta.

Jun 24, 08 - 01:25 pm Comment from: lurker

IMHO, there are a couple of existing, non-Office related titles MS could publish for the Mac that would have no competition.

One is Streets and Trips. I've used several of the Windows-based trip planning packages and I find MS S&T;the most flexible and intuitive. There is no Mac equivalent. The Mac offerings are either hard to use, overpriced or both. (forget Google maps and the Cloud. I can't always connect to the internet when I need to plan a route. Having tried Google maps for route planning once, I'll never waste my time again. It's driving directions came up somewhere between "Preposterous" and "Just Plain Wrong".

The other is Flight Simulator. There is no equivalent Mac product on the market. With just a little nudge toward the serious flight training side, while keeping the WWII fighter shootemups going, I think they'd reach a meaningful market.

Just my opinion.

10.5, we finally got it right!

Jun 24, 08 - 01:43 pm Comment from: KingMel

Interesting thoughts, lurker. I'm not a M$ fan, but I also realize that not everything produced by M$ is trash. I'd like Flight Sim on the Mac.

Can I get some of what you're smoking?

Jun 24, 08 - 02:48 pm Comment from: NCIceman

Could it be Embrace instead of Exterminate coming out of Redmond???

Jun 24, 08 - 02:55 pm Comment from: Metryq

"we develop exclusively for Macs"

Infecting Macs with MS proprietary formats. No thanks.

Jun 24, 08 - 03:11 pm Comment from: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

Yeh-heh-hehessss Raymond, you Lenonite, you clearly embrace de bland among us. Stealing skits, insulting guests, not paying staff, cheap bonuses . . . hey, waitaminute -- that sounds like ME!

No seriously, what's de definition of a Jay Leno?

A person who has a large chin, annoying voice, bad humor, and who's gotten something he doesn't deserve. And a thief.

Jay Leno; verb; transitive. To steal; to "appropriate" from another; to not be original in any quantum reality. From the Latin, jadis crapinus: To suck with large chin.

Use it in a sentence:

"Billy overheard the premise for my Science Fair project and he totally Jay Leno-ed me."

Hey, I keed. I keed de no-talent hacks.

Jun 24, 08 - 03:17 pm Comment from: Buster

Triumph...may you live forever!!!

Jun 24, 08 - 03:19 pm Comment from: El Guapo

@Tommy Boy
So does this mean that they're gonna finally ... Publisher?

They can keep Publisher. They've earned it.

Jun 24, 08 - 03:20 pm Comment from: El Guapo

@Tommy Boy
So does this mean that they're gonna finally port ... Publisher?

Oops!

Jun 24, 08 - 03:41 pm Comment from: MCCFR

It looks like Ho Ho is crapping out of his mouth again.

At least that stops it leaking out of his ears!

Jun 24, 08 - 03:46 pm Comment from: Andy

Well, pretty soon the MacBU will be the only thing keeping MS afloat (even that's a stretch...), as Windows is finally being bled out of the marketplace by consumers who've seen the greener grass on the OS X side.

MS will likely never recover from the Vista debacle. It's like the ultimate self-inflicted wound, or perhaps willful self-flagellation?

If MS had any sense, it would abandon Windows and become a Mac software business (as it was in the beginning).

How else is MSFT going to dig into the guts of Snow Leopard and copy what they can to build their next OS (Vista II, any months now...)? Duh.

"We are ... one of the largest dedicated Mac software development organizations outside of Apple."

I can remember a time when MacBU touted that it was *the* largest Mac software developer outside of Apple. The MacBU was, for a time, an oasis of relative creativity in Redmond. I liked Office 2001, Office X and Office 2004.

With 2008, Mac BU was assimilated, and started looking, sounding and coding like The Borg.

If this means that the MacBU is set to regain a measure of its autonomy within MS, mark me in the category of seeing this as a good thing. It is more evidence that any tech company that ignores the Mac is costing itself money.

Jun 24, 08 - 04:58 pm Comment from: Andy

@freebeer

You ought to see Windows 7. The taskbar is now (gasp) a dock! They've actually gone and done it... Plus, they've managed to restore the Fischer-Price kindergarten feel of early XP.

MS hasn't a hope in hell of being taken seriously ever again. The days of flooding the market in mediocre 'good enough' junk are fast coming to an end.

However, it will remain in the corporate world, as there is no viable alternative (hurry up Apple!).