14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft kicked off Office 2008 for Mac on the first day of the Macworld Conference & Expo 2008. But unlike its counterpart for the Windows operating system, the Office 2007 System, Office 2008 will have to work its way to global availability.
The Redmond company only informed that the debut of Office 2008 means that the product will become immediately available in "most regions of the world". U.S. customers will be able to access Office 2008 via Microsoft Volume Licensing deals starting on February 1, 2008, and by the end of the first quarterof this year, the company should have already offered global availability.
"We developed Office 2008 for Mac as a comprehensive productivity suite that also helps people simplify their work. To complement the deep set of new and improved features, we redesigned the interface so that it is truly easier to use. Even Office beginners can create great-looking documents very quickly. And, at the core, we focused on delivering reliable compatibility so that users can confidently share documents across platforms," stated Craig Eisler, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft.
Office 2008 for Mac brings to the table the much expected, and long overdue interoperability with the Office 2007 System for users of Mac computers. This is possible due to the fact that both Office 2007 and Office 2008 use the same Open XML File Formats. Office 2008 is an universal binary, integrating seamlessly with both Inter- and power PC-based Mac machines, and comes in three flavors Office 2008 for Mac at $399.95 full retail and $239.95 for the upgrade; Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition $149.95 full retail; and Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition at $499.95 and $299.95 for the upgrade.
"Office 2008 is the latest in a long line of great Office for Mac releases that get better with every version. It has many new features that help you work faster and with more ease, and Mac users will also love how seamless it is to share Office 2008 files with PC users," added Ron Okamoto, vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations at Apple Computer.