Product Focus - Get The Dirt On MS Office 2001's Release Info

by , 7:00 AM EDT, September 15th, 2000

Microsoft e-mailed us with information about the release of Microsoft Office 2001. They discussed availability, pricing and system requirements. According to Microsoft:

Availability

As we announced at Macworld NY, Office 2001 for Mac will be available in October. We are doing our best to get Office 2001 on store shelves as early in October as possible, and we are targeting October 11.

Products & Pricing

Office 2001 for Mac will include Word 2001, Excel 2001, PowerPoint 2001, Internet Explorer 5, , Entourage 2001. Office 2001 standard packaged pricing will remain unchanged from Office 98. The estimated retail prices are $499 for full version and $299 for upgrade version.

System Requirements

• Any PowerPC processor-based, Mac OS-compatible system (clock speed
  of at least 120 MHz recommended).
• Mac OS 8.1 or later (System 8.5 or later recommended).
• 32MB of RAM with at least 1MB of Virtual Memory for systems prior to 9.0; 48MB of RAM with at least 1MB of Virtual Memory for systems 9.0 and later
• Approximately 160MB of hard-disk space for a Drag Install; 75MB for a minimum custom install.
• CD-ROM drive (or connection to a Local Area Network if installing over network).
• Monitor or display supporting 256 grays or 256 colors, with 640x480 or higher resolution.

Additional Items or services required to use certain features:

• 9600 or higher-baud modem (14,400 recommended).
• Some Internet functionality may require Internet access and payment of a separate fee to a service provider.

Microsoft Office 2001's Value Pack also offers:

• Approximately 120MB of additional clipart.
• Approximately 40MB of additional templates and wizards.
• Approximately 140MB of help, add-ins and other components.

You can find more information about Office 2001 at Microsoft's site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

The numbers speak for themselves. You need at least a PowerPC processor and Mac OS 8.1 to run Office properly. The price did not change, which is positive to us since companies like to increase their prices as often as they can.

Microsoft