The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

You're viewing an article in TMO's historic archive vault. Here, we've preserved the comments and how the site looked along with the article. Use this link to view the article on our current site:
Time Magazine: Mac Office Clearly Superior To Its PC Counterpart

Time Magazine: Mac Office Clearly Superior To Its PC Counterpart

by , 3:15 PM EDT, May 3rd, 2004

Time Magazine's online arm has published a quick look at the Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac preview release that Microsoft is shopping around to the media. Microsoft Office for the Mac is developed by Microsoft's Mac Business Unit (MBU), the largest Mac development team outside of Apple. In her look, writer Anita Hamilton says that this new version of Office for the Mac is "clearly superior" to the version Microsoft makes for its own platform, Windows. From the article:

Because of their meager ranks (currently about 3% of the personal-computing universe), Macintosh users have long been given second-class status in the software world. Sure, Apple has created some nice products, such as iTunes, for its computers. But most third-party programs are written for Windows PCs and then adapted, sometimes poorly and often months later, for Apple machines.

A notable exception arrives later this month when Microsoft releases the latest version of its ubiquitous Microsoft Office package for the Mac. My verdict: Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac is clearly superior to its PC counterpart for most users. Last fall Microsoft put out a bloated update of Office for Windows that focused more on collaborating with other users than on making it easier for you to get your own work done. The streamlined Office for Mac puts individuals first.

There's more in the full article at Time Magazine's online site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

Long time readers will know that we like the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft, and that we tend to not include the MBU in our frequent condemnations of Microsoft. Part of the reasons for both of those things is that Microsoft's Mac offerings tend to be better than the company's Windows versions. As Mac users, we appreciate that.

There are notable exceptions, such as Internet Explorer, which started off as a very solid Mac app, and ended up dying an ignoble death from neglect, but Office in particular shines on the Mac. To have that same sentiment voiced by Time Magazine, however, carries that word to a more mainstream audience, and that's a Good Thing™.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Comment on this Article

Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.


Recent Headlines - Updated November 21st

Fri, 7:07 PM
Games - Soccer Sim Championship Manager 2010 Released for Mac
6:47 PM
Games - EA Publishes Original Monopoly for iPhone
6:15 PM
News - Original Apple I on Ebay for $50K, w/Letter from Steve Jobs
6:11 PM
Games - New iPhone Games: Secret of the Lost Cavern Ep 1, New DJ Nights, More
5:47 PM
Games - Star Trek D-A-C Game Headed to the Mac Next Month
4:57 PM
Product News - TidBITS Releases “Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard”
4:26 PM
John Martellaro's Blog - Particle Debris (week ending 11/20) Stationery Pads Go Poof
2:59 PM
Free on iTunes - Musée du Louvre, Art Lite, SketchBook Mobile X and More.
1:50 PM
Deal Brothers - Acer P215H bmid 21.5” Widescreen LCD Monitor:  $139.99
11:24 AM
TMO Appearances - Jeff Gamet Shares More Holiday Gift Ideas on MacJury
10:43 AM
Product News - Cocktail 4.5 for Leopard Adds QuickLook Cache Clearing
10:06 AM
News - Hack Enables Mac OS X 10.6.2 on Netbooks

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • __________
  • Buy Stuff, Support TMO!
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!