Microsoft has put back the consumer launch of its new Office software suite to 2007, to coincide with the delayed start date for Windows Vista.
It had originally aimed to launch Vista – the first major update since Windows XP was introduced five years ago – in the second half of 2006.
On Friday, Microsoft confirmed that the mainstream launch of its new Office 2007 system would also be delayed to January.
“We are enhancing the leadership team and structure across the division to ensure we have the right organization to support our technology vision,” said Kevin Johnson, co-president of the software giant’s Platform and Services Division.
Yup.
Hee, hee, hee!
Office 2003 is already so bloated that I could care less about the next version. Seriously considering Open Office.
Who cares, more vaporware.
I don’t know anybody who uses office unless forced to by their employer. And even then there are usually multiple office suits thoughout a building. At the hospital where I work it’s really common to find people using Open office or Star office, but Microsoft Office is on (but unused) on all those PC’s. Everybody I talk to uses Open office at home, myself included.
Yet another reason why I am sticking with OOo…Way to go MS!
At this rate Apple will release OS 10.5 before Vista ever will see the light of day. They need to rename Vista Vaporware.
Yet another reason I stick with OOo…Vista…the next OS to be vaporware.
I like how the people in the photo are looking around as if to say “Where’s Vista!?”
Good one… 🙂
“on a clear day – you still can’t see the shipping date!”
Personally I suspect that DRM is the reason for both these delays, not so much for the third parties but DRM for MS themselves. MS has probably abandoned anything but the pretext of pleasing the customer. From now on expect MS to mean DRM when they say security and expect these products number one feature to be guarding MS’ revenue stream.
Ok Alex, so you’re a Mac man…not there’s anything wrong with it. Unfortunately my finances haven’t allowed me to try it.
Open office is okay unless you are stuck with Excel macros that won’t work in OO.
#8: No, they saying is it here yet?
#8: No, they’re saying is it here yet?
I have no intention of buying Vista. I paid for Windows XP, an imperfect operating system, as evinced by the endless effusion of fixes from Microsoft. Let Microsoft get one iteration of their operating system right before moving on to an even more complex, imperfect one.
Peter, a good point. But eventually you’ll have to buy or switch especially when the security updates for XP stop.
Why Doesn’t MS just go buy Apple and then move down to Cupertino?
They have the cash… then they could have a decent OS.
Buy the way, the picture was taken in the hills above Cupertino and San Jose…
“Peter, a good point. But eventually you’ll have to buy or switch especially when the security updates for XP stop.”
Not really, the security updates aren’t that big of a deal in the first place. Most hackers wont be doing a direct hack of YOUR computer unless you’re Bill Gates or something. And you can stop viruses and spyware with free programs (AVG/SpyBot/AdAware) probably more effectivly than windows updates. Not to mention that once security updates, and most people switch to Vista, no ones going to be writing viruses for XP. It will be easier on the newer Vista and more people will be affected. Sure, 9X is buggy and easy to hack but does anyone? I haven’t met anyone who still does.
James, a lack of updates might not bother you, but how about when they turn off product activation for xp and you can no longer reinstall it if you have to. I can see M$ doing this after a few more years to force people to upgrade. All in the name of security and trustworthy computing, of course.
Nah, it’s more likely that they would invent a whole lot of new programs and formats that aren’t backwards compatible. Forced upgrades generally don’t fair so well as a buisiness tactic. People tend to feel like they got ripped off. You have to convince them to upgrade, not tell them that they can’t use what they payed for anymore because you want more money. That will get all sorts of people climbing up your rear and gives competetors another foothold.
“security updates aren’t that big of a deal in the first place” – James
I don’t think the point is someone manually hacking your system. Installing updates protects your system from being automatically exploited by spyware and viruses. If you aren’t going to install updates, do us all a favor and unplug your computer from the Internet. Not installing them is complete idiocy. Sheez. You probably don’t run anti-virus or a firewall either.
LMAO to #3 and #8.
Office is only delayed because of Vista’s delay. The code is still set to be RTM in October. But after discussions with venders and the large oems they decided to delay the launch date until retail and oem versions of Vista are out.
Both Vista and Office will be released to manufactures this year, both will be available to those buying volume licences this year. It is only the OEM and Retail that is delayed til next year, in a large part due to vender&large oem’s concerns of relasing Vista in November or December and other marketing decsions. (not wanting to compeate with the holidays, launch in the middle of Holiday shopping season…)
But as the code will be placed on disc this year, and some customers will be able to buy them they are still meeting a this year compleation. Office is 100% on time code wise, only the OEM/Retail launch date is delayed due to the Vista code being a few weeks delayed and thus its launch date delayed til jan.
Hmm … who wants to bet the Vista date’ll be pushed further back … and here I was hoping after the early news (years ago) that it’d be ready this summer – wishful thinking …
vista was delayed to make sure security is topnotch? eh i bet there’ll be still “critical updates” to download. sure vista will be topnotch for the first few weeks and then bam, its 10,000 updates galore again a la windows xp.
:p
This news is totally irrelevant to me, personally. I have switched over to Open Office and hope never to switch back to MS Office.
Years ago, I was the one who successfully campaigned for my work to switch from WordPerfect to MS Word/Office. I had some resistance (esp from secretaries) but I won out and eventually won-over all the staff.
Now I’m advocating that we switch to OpenOffice.
This time it’s the administration who are resisting, I think they are gut-level suspicious of free software not coming from a branded-institution. Something has to be wrong with it, right?
So far, after nearly a year of using Open Office exclusively on three operating systems, I can’t find hardly anything wrong with the modules I use regularly. (I don’t use the database or the presentation software)
I have used Open Office for over a year now. My only complaint is the spell check is weaker then MS Office.
John you maybe right. The delay and rewrites are to optimize Vista to run on Intel Apple computers!
Perhaps they could use that new and improved msn search engine to locate Vista.
Meanwhile Office for Mac is a great application suite. Blows both OpenOffice and iWorks out of the water.
They should just call it Software of the future!
Certainly moores law dosn’t apply to software.
I just don’t get it years back software was sold as versions and each and every year a new version software came out at the same time.
First they did thier alpha, then beta, then a final release loaded with bugs.
We had
Windows. then Windows 3.0 then when ever they did a modification it was Windows 3.1 and so on.
As the hard drives grew so did the software.
But do we really need an upgrade?
Im using Office 2003 and its 2006
This is the classic case of the enourmous project falling in on itself. You can imagine the “death march” goin on at Redmond. And now “the peasents are revolting”.
Too much crap in the kernel – too many conflicting product requirements and “features” too ,much legacy code. Add to that the layers of management and teams working on the project, and you have a disaster fortold 30 years ago in the Mythical Man Month (check out my review here) http://www.techpersonality.com/reviews/book_review_the_mythical_man_month.html
Sad – but not surprising….Hmm..never got round to buyin gthat book published years ago called something like “Systems Development the Microsoft Way)!