Office 08 is Coming – Should You Really care?

I am no (longer a) Microsoft basher. Sure, there was a time when I was very anti-Microsoft. This was mostly during the very dark days of Apple and the Macintosh, from around 1996 – 2000. I saw some of the business practices that Microsoft was using to stifle competition, both legally and otherwise. I was also in the forefront of decrying their computer operating system in favor of the more easy-to-use Macintosh… but no longer.

First, I think the computing population is well aware of what Microsoft does, both good and bad. Besides which, I’ve actually come to use a few Microsoft applications and hardware over the years, and business practices aside, some of their offerings are first-class products. (Office 2004, XBOX 360, and XBOX Live Marketplace)

Microsoft is set to release the latest version of Office for the Mac this year. This is the first major upgrade to the popular office suite in three years, and is on the radar of a lot of Macintosh users. Should it be?

Back in MyMac Podcast 119, David Cohen talked in depth about the differences between the Windows version of Office 07 and the upcoming Macintosh 08 version. Sad to say, much of what he described makes it sound as if the Macintosh platform is getting the short end of the stick this time around. While the Windows version sports the different, some say superior, Ribbon interface, the Mac version does not. David even goes so far as to name possible reasons for the scaled down Macintosh version, the most compelling being that the Mac Business Unit (Mac BU) inside Microsoft is simply understaffed or under-funded.

I don’t work at Microsoft, so I can’t talk about any truth to that speculation. But there does seem to be some logic behind that argument. Here’s another: For the past seven years or so, it seemed that Microsoft and Apple were all chummy with each other. Microsoft was even on stage during a few Macworld Expo keynotes, talking up their latest Macintosh offerings. All seemed well in the lands of Redmond and Cupertino. But were they?

Last year Apple came out with the new “Buy a Mac” ads. They were, and still are, all over the television exhorting the virtues of buying a Mac over a PC. While I don’t know if the ads are really helping Apple convert PC users over to Macintosh buyers, I do know that even the subject of said ads seem to cause Bill Gates to blow a gasket in interviews.

Steve Jobs himself has been much more anti-Microsoft in public the last few years. Remember those “Redmond, start your photocopiers” banners at WWDC in 2004?

So Apple and Microsoft really don’t seem to like each other. Big revelation. But is this dislike of each other one reason the Macintosh version of Office is starting to look like a watered down version of the better PC program by the same name?

One question every Macintosh user has to ask themselves is “Should I upgrade?” We ask ourselves this about any new application, especially one that will cost as much as Office 08 will. If history is a lesson, it will probably fetch upwards of $399 at retail.

While not supporting the ribbon interface, the Mac version of Office will have some Mac-only features, according to a ZDNet story from January. The list of new features, quite frankly, doesn’t make me any more excited to rush out and buy the software any time soon.

Speed is the one big factor those already using an Intel Macintosh will crave. While the PowerPC version is by no means slow on an Intel Mac, a Universal Binary version would run much more quickly. But for most work, will that really be a big reason to upgrade? Is anyone really complaining about the speed of Word, Excel, and Entourage now? I use Word (Office 2004) almost every day, and it runs super smooth on my Intel machine. It does take longer to launch than the copy on my G5 does, but those three extra dock icon bounces are not worth an extra $399 to me.

Compatibility with Office for Windows will be the biggest reason to upgrade. Microsoft introduced a new file format for Office, and Mac users need to be able to open and save in this format to be able to share documents with PC users. While this may not affect you, I can guarantee this is a major issue for many Mac users who have to share Office documents with the outside world. This alone will be reason enough for many people to upgrade.

Still, as a whole, should Macintosh users be eager for Office 08? Are there enough compelling reasons for a Macintosh user to switch? A Microsoft-imposed file format change may sound unfair to some users, but many other software makers do that same thing in the name of progress. (Especially Apple).

Are you looking forward to the upgrade, or do you plan on sticking with Office 04?