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Microsoft has added the ability to make Skype calls within the Outlook.com e-mail service. The site, which left beta in February, will allow Outlook users in the United Kingdom to access their Skype contacts, make calls, and communicate using instant messages, all from within the browser instead of launching external applications.
Microsoft is testing a native Outlook email client for Windows RT, reports CNET. Currently, Windows RT devices like Microsoft’s own Surface RT ship with a free version of Office that includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. However, Microsoft opted to launch the Surface RT without a functional email client in the desktop UI, reserving it for the Start screen UI only.
Microsoft has continued to promote its Outlook web-based e-mail service, introducing an Android app and a range of new features. The Outlook app for Android appears to provide the same basic interface as the company's equivalent Hotmail app, which still carries the older branding. The app helps avoid compatibility issues with Exchange ActiveSync native support for some devices.
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.
Microsoft is planning on releasing two new native iOS apps using a Metro-style interface by the end of October, an AppleInsider source claims. The first is the Outlook Web App for Exchange 2012 users, also reportedly known as the "OWA Mobile Client for iOS." The app will require both iOS 5 and an Exchange 2012 mailbox, though some offline functions will be supported. Versions for Windows Phone 7.5 and Android 4.0 are planned, but Microsoft documentation is said to list their features as "to be determined," while the iOS app is expected to provide the "best" mobile support.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent have ended hostilities in a long-standing patent infringement battle. Yesterday, the two companies jointly asked Judge Marilyn Huff, the federal judge presiding over the case in a US District Court, to grant a motion to end all claims in the matter. The case had been ongoing for over four years.
Microsoft has released two new Office for Mac updates. The first, Office for Mac 2011 14.1.4, deals with security vulnerabilities, as well as as some "extremely important" stability and reliability issues. It should in fact allow some copies of Office to finally update properly, since earlier patches would potentially fail if they were installed simultaneously, through SSH, or to a system where the home directory contains a space.
Microsoft has released new updates for the 2011 and 2008 editions of Office for Mac. The 2011 update, v14.1.3, solves a bevy of problems, including documents not opening in some browsers. The bulk of fixes appear to be directed at Outlook, targeting issues such as contact images not displaying in the Contacts Search box. The email client has had import from Mail disabled under Lion, however, since the option "does not work as expected" under Apple's new OS, according to Microsoft.
A San Diego federal court found on Friday that Microsoft had to pay Alcatel-Lucent $70 million for allegedly violating a long fought-over patent. Jurors decided that Outlook copied a patent for a touchscreen form. Microsoft had been hoping to keep the damage down to $5 million if it lost, arguing that the patent covered a minor element of picking a date, but the court took Alcatel's view that the feature played a "central role."
A leaked PDF file shows how Apple intends to migrate people from MobileMe to iCloud. The document is split into three different sections: one for iOS 5, another for OS X Lion, and a third for Windows. With the first two, Apple's wording currently assumes a person is using the iOS 5 beta or the Lion developer preview.
Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed rumors and said it would buy Skype for $8.5 billion. The mutually approved deal will see Skype's voice and video chat help out platforms like the Xbox 360 and its Kinect camera as well as Windows Phone. Outlook and Microsoft's corporate communication system Lync would also get help, Microsoft said.
As promised last week, Microsoft has released Service Pack 1 for Office for Mac 2011. Changes to the suite primarily revolve around Outlook, which can now communicate with Sync Services in Mac OS X and exchange calendars, notes and tasks with other apps. Resend and Redirect buttons have also been added, and the updated software can make use of Exchange-based server-side rules.
The first Service Pack for Office for Mac 2011 will go live next week, Microsoft has announced. The company is promising a collection of stability, security and performance updates, as well as "some new features." Chief among these is calendar, task and note sync between Outlook and Mac OS X's Sync Services, which will for instance allow Outlook appointments to be copied to an iPhone or iPad.
Microsoft has rolled out a new trial version of Office for Mac 2011. The release contains all of the apps in the Home and Business edition of the suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the first Mac version of Outlook. Although the trial expires after 30 days, a valid product key unlocks the full program.
Intego has updated Personal Antispam to v10.6.5. The program previously offered support for Mail and Entourage, and can now operate in conjunction with the newly-launched Outlook for Mac 2011, part of Microsoft's Office 2011 Mac suite. Personal Antispam is sold as part of Intego's Internet Security Barrier X6 suite. The latter also includes Virus Barrier X6, ContentBarrier, Personal Backup and FileGuard.
Microsoft has posted its first-ever update for Office 2011 for Mac, v14.0.1. The patch is 110.5MB, and deals mainly with stability problems that could lead to programs freezing, or simply quitting entirely. Only Outlook has not received any stability tweaks.
Apple has updated its MobileMe Calendar beta, adding support for Outlook calendars for Windows users. Using the new MobileMe Control Panel v1.6.1, beta users can view and edit MobileMe calendars from within Microsoft Outlook 2007 or 2010. Users who also sync Outlook to an Exchange Server should not have issues, as the data for Exchange and MobileMe are kept separate and can be viewed side-by-side on iPhones, iPads, Macs or PCs.
Microsoft on Monday acted on its promise to be open by posting official specs for Outlook's Personal Folders (PST) format. The combination of a Data Structure View Tool and a File Format SDK give developers an explanation of how to write and read to the format without having to have Outlook itself installed. Developers previously needed to have the e-mail app installed and could only use existing Windows-focused APIs.
Some early screenshots of Microsoft's Office 2011 for Mac have been leaked, a report claims. Not the least because the updated software is only due late this year, the shots are said to represent early code, still in transition to a final Cocoa-based form. Of special note may be Outlook, which is replacing Entourage and employs a streamlined design paired with the ribbon interface first introduced for Office on Windows. Several of the screenshots can be seen below.
restoroot.com has released an upgraded edition of its winmail.dat conversion plug-in for Mail, Letter Opener 3. Winmail objects are automatically converted into attachments, vCards and iCal files, allowing proper interaction with Outlook messages. Version 3 features a complete rewrite for Snow Leopard compatibility, as well as a number of small functionality improvements.
Microsoft on Thursday announced plans to release a new version of Office for Mac sometime late in 2010. The update will feature a new application, Outlook for Mac, that will serve as a replacement for Entourage. The company is also set to include Visual Basic support once again, after the feature was removed from the Office 2008 release.
Microsoft today used its Windows Partners Conference to expand the details of Office 2010, including its web version. Initially considered separate, Microsoft now says Office Web is a counterpart to 2010 but will make it freely available to anyone with a Windows Live account. It will also be free to use on the local network for companies that buy volume licenses of Office 2010, though companies that just want the web app component will also have the option of a subscription.
