MS Office 11.2.3, Messenger 5.1 updates

Microsoft today released Office 2004 v11.2.3 and Messenger 5.1. As announced at Macworld Expo in January, the Office 2004 for Mac 11.2.3 Update brings Sync Services integration, Spotlight support and enhanced Smart Card technology. New support for Sync Services enables customers to sync calendar events, contacts and tasks with handheld devices and other applications that support Sync Services, including Apple's own Address Book. Spotlight support allows users to search Entourage 2004 emails and information, while the enhanced Smart Card technology leverages Apple’s Keychain to allow users to digitally sign and encrypt mail.

Microsoft's Messenger for Mac 5.1 offers new features for customers using Live Communications Server and now encrypts file transfers sent to external contacts. Using Messenger 5.1, users signed into Live Communications Server on more than one machine will not now receive their messages at the appropriate location. In addition, for IT administrators, the update will provide more control over saving chats at an organizational level.

Words of caution

Microsoft notes that Smart cards on Intel-based Macs will show up in the Keychain, but they will not be available to Entourage. "This is a smart card issue that affects Intel-based Macs only. Microsoft is working with Apple to address the issue in an upcoming Mac OS X 10.4 update." The company also posted a warning about possible data loss during Exchange mailbox synchronization:

"If you notice that your mailbox contains duplicate folders or is missing messages, events, or contacts, your mailbox might be affected by a synchronization issue in versions of Microsoft Entourage that were updated with Office 2004 SP2 (11.2.0). The issue might cause data loss when Entourage attempts to synchronize with an Exchange mailbox that was moved to a different Exchange server. Quit Entourage immediately and do not install this update or open Entourage again until after you read Knowledge Base (KB) article KB 909574, which contains specific instructions for this situation. In addition, contact your system administrator for assistance. If you do not have these issues in your Exchange mailbox, you can install the update now."

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