05/08, 12:21pm
Switch to subscription-based software suites could take ten years
Microsoft has laid out the various changes the company will make to Office Web Apps in the future, with a focus on social features, partly confirming a previously leak. It has also revealed that, unlike Adobe's recent announcement of switching focus to providing subscription-based products, Microsoft will continue to release packaged versions of Office for the next few years.
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04/25, 3:27pm
Sandboxes files to prevent malware
Google has released a beta Office Viewer extension for the Mac and Windows editions of Chrome. The add-on requires either the Chrome 27 beta or the latest Canary release, but enables viewing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files within Chrome instead of separately. To protect against trojan attacks the extension is sandboxed, limiting the reach of any malicious code hackers might insert into a document.
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04/10, 3:44pm
Also lays out timetable for Mac, Windows, Windows RT Office releases
Promised iOS and Android versions of Office won't launch until the fall of 2014, according to a leaked roadmap obtained by CNet. The document describes a project called "Gemini," said to be Microsoft's plan to incorporate the Metro user interface into Office. The first "wave" in Gemini is expected to be an October 2013 update of the core apps -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote -- that will run on mobile versions of Windows 8 and Windows RT. The software will allegedly supplement the desktop Windows suite, instead of replacing it.
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04/04, 4:57pm
Update downloads to remain live until 19th
Microsoft will end support for Office 2008 for Mac on April 9, according to an official blog post. After that deadline, the company will no longer release any new updates for the software. People will, however, be able to download existing updates until April 19. It's unknown if Microsoft will post one final patch before the 9th.
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03/12, 8:00pm
Security issues, bugs addressed in latest update
Microsoft has updated its flagship Mac product, Microsoft Office for Mac in both the 2011 and 2008 editions, along with a separate update for Entourage Web Services for Office 2008. The updates fix critical security issues and also help improve overall security, including "fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code," according to the release notes. In addition, the 2011 Office update delivers several bug fixes, and the Entourage update now syncs information with Exchange Server.
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03/11, 2:50pm
Free 3-month offer extendable by Facebook sharing
Microsoft is offering students in US colleges access to the educational version of Office 365 at no charge. The free three months of access Office 365 University, doubled to six months after sharing the offer on Facebook, also includes an extra 20GB allocation of SkyDrive cloud-based storage and 60 minutes of Skype calls each month.
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02/18, 5:25pm
Mac editions match cost of Office 2013 for Windows
Microsoft has quietly increased the prices on Office for Mac 2011, putting them on par with Office 2013 for Windows, reports note. The change appears to have taken place in late January or early February, but went unannounced by Microsoft. At the same time, multi-license bundles have been dropped, which previously allowed people to buy several copies of Office at a discounted rate.
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02/14, 11:44am
Assumes $60 pricetag
Microsoft could generate as much as $2.5 billion in 2014 if it were to put out a fully-functional version of Office for the iPad, claims Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Holt. The estimate is based on an Office attach rate of 30 to 40 percent for Mac owners, versus 10 to 15 percent for Windows, although the latter may not include the stripped-down versions of Office that ship with many PCs. If 200 million iPads are sold by 2014, a 30 percent attach rate with a $60 pricetag would give Microsoft the $2.5 billion figure, even after Apple's 30 percent revenue cut.
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02/11, 7:30pm
Minor update solves issue with false licensing alert
Microsoft on Monday released a further update specifically for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 that resolves a false licensing alarm bug. Specifically, Office 2011 applications would report a problem with licensing even though the applications would continue to run unaffected by the warning. The new problem was apparently introduced in the previous fix, which also addressed various bugs with Exchange calendar servers, hyperlinks with hastags and other issues.
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02/01, 5:37am
Bing apps for Office 2013 extend functionality through the web
Microsoft has launched five Bing apps for the just-released Office 2013. Each of the new apps integrates tightly with Office in order to add a range of useful functions to each of Microsoft’s core Office apps. The new Bing apps for Office includes Image Search, Finance, Maps, Dictionary, and News with each leveraging Bing’s search capabilities.
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01/29, 2:48pm
Office for Mac 14.3 available as standalone or as subscription
Following the release of Office 2013 earlier today, Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. In addition to resolving several outstanding bugs in the application, Office for Mac 2011 is now also available on a subscription basis in Microsoft's Office 365 offering. While Office for Mac 2011 still works with 10.5.8 or later, Office 365 Home Premium now requires OS X 10.6 or greater. The hard-drive based Office copy must be upgraded to 14.2.3 before application of the 14.3 patch.
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01/29, 6:42am
Microsoft Office 2013 available in native install or in the cloud
Microsoft Office 2013 is now available for purchase. As with previous versions, there are three major editions along with the ability for customers to purchase individual applications. A cloud-based subscription version of Office 365 is also now on sale, with the Home Premium version priced at either $100 for 12 months or $10 per month.
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01/18, 1:18pm
Construction to start late 2013, finishing in 2016
Google will be building a new UK headquarters in Kings Cross which could eventually cost £1 billion ($1.6 billion) when completed. A 2.4-acre plot of land in one of London's largest redevelopment plans will play host to the construction of a one million square foot office for the search company, said to be completed some time in 2016.
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12/11, 5:54pm
Microsoft said to want discount on Office 365 subscriptions
Even as Microsoft and Apple spar over Microsoft's SkyDrive iOS app, the two companies are also at loggerheads over the future of the forthcoming iOS version of Microsoft's popular Office productivity suite. Reports have it that the two companies disagree over whether Apple should charge its standard 30 percent commission on Office 365 subscriptions that would be sold through Microsoft Office for iOS. Apple is said to be unwilling to negotiate a more lenient split for Microsoft, while the details of Microsoft's position remain unknown.
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12/10, 3:43pm
Apps expected early next year
References to iOS Office apps are appearing on Microsoft's support website, reports say. The French version of the site mentions an "Excel for iPad;" in another translation, references to that app are joined by ones for "PowerPoint for iPad" and "Office Mobile for iPhone." English-language documents are missing any reference to Office for iOS.
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11/28, 5:27am
MS makes good on promise to deliver Office 2013 RT free of charge
Microsoft has issued a 348MB update for its Surface with Windows RT. The update (KB2748583) takes Office for Home and Student 2013 RT Preview to the final release version. One of the key advantages of the Surface RT is that it ships with a version of Office preloaded on the device; the new update makes good on Microsoft’s promise to take users to the final release version at no cost.
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11/07, 10:32am
Editing could require Office 365 subscription
Microsoft will launch Office for the iPad, iPhone, and Android in early 2013, sources for The Verge claim. Dubbed Office Mobile, the software is expected to take the form of free apps that, on a basic level, will let people view Office documents. Users will allegedly require an account with Microsoft, like the current OneNote and SkyDrive apps.
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10/19, 12:47pm
Renewable four-year package to cost $80
Microsoft has announced a new Office package aimed at students. Office 365 University, set to be released in the first quarter of 2013, will offer a slightly altered version of the Office 365 suite. It will be priced low enough to appease most of those spending, and possibly borrowing, considerable sums to go into higher education, and could cut piracy of the Microsoft productivity tool.
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10/10, 9:03pm
Microsoft Czech Republic affiliate releases info, immediately refuted
Following the remarks from a Czech Microsoft executive claiming imminent availability of Microsoft Office for iOS and Android in March 2013, Microsoft representatives in the US are denying the revealed release dates. Microsoft spokesman Frank X. Shaw publicly disowned the report, saying in a tweet that "the information shared by our Czech Republic subsidiary is not accurate. We have nothing further to share."
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10/10, 11:19am
Mobile suite may be s
iOS and Android versions of Office 2013 should be released in March, according to a Microsoft product manager. Petr Bobek made the comment at a press event in the Czech Republic earlier today. The Verge, meanwhile, says it has seen a press release from Microsoft's Czech team that confirms plans for "Windows Phone, Windows RT, Mac OS, Android, iOS and Symbian," on top of the flagship Windows edition. There should also be an Office Web Apps update.
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09/19, 3:40pm
Version 14.2.4 should push out through AutoUpdate
The most recent update for Office for Mac 2011 brings the software into full compatibility with the Retina display featured on some of Apple's newer notebooks. The update was announced today in a post on the Office for Mac blog. If users have enabled Microsoft AutoUpdate, the update to version 14.2.4 should trigger automatically.
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08/22, 12:06pm
Augments new interface, makes targets larger for fingers
In a post on its team blog, Microsoft's Office Web Apps Program Manager Renu Devi announced that its preview version of Office Web Apps and Office 365 -- online versions of Microsoft's popular office programs -- has added touch support on the iOS version of Safari and Windows 8 in order to make the programs easier to use on tablet devices. The improvement is on top of a major interface redesign rolled out last week.
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08/15, 1:05pm
Outlook only Office app currently using Retina graphics
Microsoft currently has no plans to update the entire Office 2011 for Mac suite to support Retina graphics, according to an official comment on the company's Office for Mac blog. While the software does support OS X Mountain Lion, and functions on Retina MacBook Pros, only Outlook currently has Retina-resolution graphics. Users have complained that Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can look "blurry" or "very fuzzy" on Retina systems.
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08/07, 2:05pm
Office 2013 shipping as Preview, short on some features
Customers buying ARM-powered Windows 8 tablets will find that their devices come not with the full version of Office 2013, but with a Preview version that will be missing some features. Office 2013 for Windows RT will get an update some time after launch to a final copy with more features, but the initial version will be missing functions such as macros, third-party add-ins, and VBA support. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the fuller version of Office will be available in early 2013.
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07/26, 1:21pm
Update ensures compatibility with new Mac OS
In a post on the Office for Mac blog, Microsoft's Mac Office team announced that the 2011 version of their software now sports full compatibility with the latest version of Apple's operating system, OS X Mountain Lion. The post walks users through the update process necessary to ensure full compatibility between Office and the new OS. Microsoft's team also pointed out that Mountain Lion also supports Office for Mac 2008.
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07/11, 1:51am
Update also includes fixes and improvements
As part of a larger release of bug and security fixes for Windows issued on Tuesday, Microsoft also updated its flagship Mac product, Microsoft Office 2011. A security vulnerability that stems from the way that folder permissions are set "in certain Microsoft Office for Mac 14.2 installations" that could allow attackers privileged access has been resolved. Users are advised to update to version 14.2.3, which also features some general enhancements.
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07/06, 10:00pm
Vulnerabilities affect Windows, IE9
In a posting on Security TechCenter, Microsoft today gave advance notification of security bulletins to be released on July 10, 2012. The vulnerabilities to be addressed affect Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer 9, Office, Server Software, and Microsoft Developer Tools. Six of the patches are listed as "Important," while the remaining three are listed as "Critical."
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05/31, 12:27pm
Main development allegedly already finished
Microsoft's long-rumored Office for iPad will launch November 10th, says The Daily. The app's development team reportedly finished its work last month, with the design group wrapping up shortly thereafter. The app is currently being scrutinized by a usability team for compliance with Microsoft's Metro design standard.
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05/30, 9:54am
Required install for Office 2008, 2011 versions
Microsoft has updated its AutoUpdate tool for the two most recent versions of Microsoft Office for Mac. The new version, 2.3.4, completely replaces the old auto-updater and will be used to receive future product updates for Office 2008 and Office 2011. The company says the new version "is part of Microsoft's continued effort to provide the latest product updates to customers." The update is mandatory for Office 2008 users to receive updates going forward.
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05/23, 4:22pm
Office for tablets set to arrive in November
Microsoft is preparing to release tablet versions of its Office suite for both Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms, a source familiar with the software has told BGR. The company had been previously rumored to be bringing its Office suite to the iPad, and the new details, if true, will see the productivity suite arriving on tablets in November.
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05/09, 12:52am
Six vulnerabilities in both PC and Mac versions
Microsoft has starting pushing security updates for the 2008 and 2011 versions of Microsoft Office for Mac, including an "important" security fix for six vulnerabilities that could allow remote code execution, even on affected Macs. On the Windows side, the problems stretch back all the way to Microsoft Excel 2003, but for Macs only the two most recent versions of Office are affected. The fix is available through the Microsoft Updater.
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04/25, 4:15pm
Solves potential Outlook database problems
Microsoft has posted a new version of Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 2, listed as v14.2.1. The update can be installed by all Office for Mac users, but is mainly designed to replace a problematic earlier version of the Service Pack, which caused Outlook database corruption problems. Microsoft was forced to pull the patch from AutoUpdate.
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04/20, 8:15pm
Corrupted identities lead to suspension
After first advising users on how to work around the flaw, Microsoft today pulled the Service Pack 2 update for its Office 2011 Mac software in order to find the cause of an issue that was corrupting identity databases in its Outlook e-mail client. Though the SP2 update is still available for manual download, the company has stopped pushing SP2 out using AutoUpdate until it resolves the problem, according to a post on its Office for Mac blog.
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04/12, 8:00pm
Full-screen support, document connection, more
Microsoft has updated Office for Mac 2011 to version 14.2.0 (SP2), a significant update with a number of changes and improvements, among them support for Lion's full-screen mode in PowerPoint, and the addition of a drag-and-drop feature in Document Connection for Lion. The update fixes numerous small issues, introduces a new sync model for Exchange e-mail, and improves the robustness and rebuild utility of the e-mail database.
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04/12, 12:05pm
Microsoft software roadmap from December leaked
Microsoft has begun sending out a roadmap that shows some details about its future software products such as Office 15, Internet Explorer 10, and Windows Phone to some of its partners. One of them, CEO of Meetroo Maarten Visser, shared part of it over Twitter, revealing said details. Dated December 22, 2011, the images weren't password-protected. Considering the date, the Windows roadmap doesn't mention anything past the Developer Preview and certainly not the Consumer Preview that launched on February 29.
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04/11, 5:10pm
Additional file types supported also
CloudOn, a free iPad productivity tool that offers a cloud-hosted version of Microsoft Office has updated to version 2.0.3, adding support for cloud storage service Box as well as Dropbox. The company has also expanded the number of supported file types by integrating a PDF reader and file viewer that opens almost any file type, and have also built in e-mailing files to colleagues. The program relies on services like Dropbox and Box to handle file management.
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04/10, 3:50pm
Symbian Microsoft Office now downloadable
Nokia users with Symbian handsets can today download the Microsoft Office Mobile apps to their handsets. Previously, only Windows Phone users had access, but the range of handsets that can now use the software suite has now been expanded to a further eight phones. Initially, the Nokia 603, 700, 701, C6-01, C7, E7, X7 and Oro have access.
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03/15, 10:25am
Office 15 to support web extensions dubbed Agaves
The Office 15 program suite coming alongside Windows 8 will support web extensions dubbed Agaves from third-party developers, The Verge found. Developers will have the ability to make a section in an Office app to let websites interact with documents in order to bring extra features. Users will get the Agaves from Microsoft's Office Marketplace as well as the developer sites themselves.
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03/08, 5:00pm
Warns other partners about proper licensing
Microsoft has warned its partners and outsourcers that certain forms of Windows 7 in cloud services might be out of bounds. In most cases, the partner's customers themselves must hold valid Microsoft license agreements. The advisory has come in the wake of allegations that software-as-a-service provider OnLive may be using Windows and Office illegally in the way it streams from servers to users.
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03/06, 11:15pm
Features taken from technical preview
Microsoft's upcoming Office 15 release has been exposed in yet another leak, shedding light on several of the new features. Sources with access to the company's technical preview have reported to The Verge details surrounding new touch-based interface navigation methods, a reading mode in Word, new chart analysis methods in Excel, and weather notifications in Outlook, among other features.
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03/01, 1:25pm
OnLive launches Android-compatible Desktop app
Users of Android tablets can now install the OnLive Desktop app (free, Android Market) to access Windows apps. The new version mirrors the iPad edition with cloud access to a virtual machine with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Adobe Reader for non-web PDFs. There is also 2GB of cloud storage included to save the resulting work.
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02/24, 2:15pm
Microsoft outs business apps for Nokia Belle
Nokia and Microsoft this week released the first batch of productivity apps for the former's handsets running on Nokia Belle phones. Called Microsoft Apps, the free productivity suite includes four programs usually only found on Microsoft's own platforms. A common thread with multiple smartphone OS bases is OneNote, which lets users create documents containing text and images.
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02/22, 7:55pm
OnLive Desktop Plus tries subscription
OnLive on Wednesday boosted its Desktop for iPad with a new subscription tier. Desktop Plus gives access to a version of Internet Explorer with both Flash and PDF support. To help justify the software additions, OnLive gives high-priority access to its streaming virtualization service.
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02/21, 8:55pm
Company PR team continues to reject rumors
After rejecting details in a recent leak surrounding Office for iPad, Microsoft suggests that the issue will be clarified soon. In a Twitter post from the official Microsoft News account, the company reiterates its stance that someone gave The Daily "bad info," but hints that evidence supporting its accusation will become "clear in the coming weeks."
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02/21, 3:25pm
App may be under development
(Updated with rebuttal from The Daily) Microsoft is downplaying a supposed leak of Office for iPad, according to reports. The New York Times quotes a spokeswoman as saying that the The Daily's information is "based on inaccurate rumors and speculation." A spokesperson reached by ZDNet insists that a screenshot accompanying the The Daily article isn't authentic, but is refusing to say whether or not an iPad version of Office is in development.
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02/21, 8:55am
Office for iPad gets early details
Microsoft's long-rumored Office for iPad got a much more tangible piece of evidence after a leak Tuesday purported to show the suite itself. As shown by The Daily, Office would be an all-encompassing single app with Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. The interface would recall OneNote but bring in more of the Metro interface language from Windows Phone and Windows 8.
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02/09, 3:50pm
Office 15 to get more sparing UI
The same Microsoft preview that discussed Windows 8 on ARM in detail also gave the first official appearance of Office 15. True to some earlier rumors, the interface will be much sparser than Office 2010 and, at least in the touch implementation, lets users hide the ribbon. Both the menus and the main document view have ample amounts of white space to improve their usefulness for touch.
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02/01, 4:40pm
Apple takes Mac OS X 10.7.3 live
Apple on Wednesday afternoon posted Mac OS X 10.7.3 (release notes). The Lion upgrade adds several languages, including Catalan for Spaniards as well as Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian. RAW photo compatibility has expanded to several new cameras, including the Nikon J1 and V1, Olympus' current PEN cameras, and current Sony Alpha and NEX cameras, such as the NEX-5N.
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02/01, 3:25pm
Windows 8 desktop may get special-case scenarios
New leaks have hinted that Windows 8 could make important gestures to catch certain users. Although it's still thought by The Verge that the regular Windows 8 desktop won't be on ARM, it will purportedly kick in for Internet Explorer and Office 15. The restriction would in part be to keep traditional Windows apps from draining the battery, since they can't suspend themselves like Windows 8's new Metro apps.
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01/31, 5:35pm
Developers said to be facing time constraints
Microsoft may be sticking to traditional Windows programming for the upcoming Office edition, which is currently referenced by the monicker Office 15. The overhaul is said to include a revamped interface with a radial menu system designed for touch input, however unnamed sources have told The Verge the utilities will not be true Metro-style apps.
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