According to Microsoft, it seems that not only is Office 2007 a smashing success on the Windows client, but Office 2008 has debuted with the strongest launch in history for Apple's Mac computers. Designed as the equivalent of Office 2007 but for Mac, Office 2008 was launched at the beginning of this year at the Macworld Expo 2008. The Redmond company applauded a strong market performance of Office 2008, revealing that sales of the suite are soaring to unprecedented levels in the 19 year history of Office for Mac, on the same day when it unveiled the evolution of the product via Service Pack 1.

"The response has been amazing - since we launched in January, the velocity of sales for Office 2008 is nearly three times what we saw after the launch of Office 2004", said Craig Eisler, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft. With a strong wind blowing in the sails of Office 2008 for Mac, the Redmond company revealed a strong commitment in continuing to provide software products for Apple computers.

May 13 marks the day when Microsoft is making available Service Pack 1 for Office 2008 for Mac, complete with stability, security and performance enhancements. According to the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit, SP1 for Office 2008 deals with all the issues reported by end users, including the feedback submitted through the Microsoft Error Reporting Protocol (MERP). From compatibility, to printing, to layout and viewing problems, Microsoft has fixed a range of issues affecting Office Excel, Entourage, Word and PowerPoint in Office 2008 for Mac.

"As we set our course for future versions, we are working closely with customers and we'll also expand our staff to ensure that Office for Mac remains the most powerful and compatible productivity suite for Mac customers", Eisler added.