News

Microsoft Recommits at Apple Love Fest

The same day that Apple trotted out the first in its line of Intel-based iMacs, Microsoft recommitted to supporting Apple going forward, the company said at this week’s MacWorld in San Francisco.

Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) yesterday unveiled a new five-year agreement with Apple that reinforces Microsoft’s previously announced plans to develop Microsoft Office for Mac software for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.

That’s good use for IT shops with legacy Macs, according to one analyst.

“About 21 percent of large enterprises use Mac OS X on the desktop [and] the same percentage of these businesses also use Mac Office. The deal assures these customers that Microsoft will continue to make Office available for their existing Power PC-based Macs,” Joe Wilcox, senior analyst at JupiterResearch, remarked in his Weblog.

As part of its show of reassurance, the Mac BU described a handful of updates coming to Microsoft’s Entourage 2004 for Mac information manager. For instance, the Mac BU has worked with Apple to enable Mac OS X’s Sync Services integration with Entourage. That means, Microsoft said in a statement, that customers will be able to sync their Entourage calendars, address books, notes and tasks with handheld devices that also work with Sync Services.

Microsoft also said it will release converters to enable existing versions to read Microsoft’s Office Open XML file formats.

Additionally, Messenger for Mac 5.1, due out in March, will improve security for users sending files to external contacts, and improve its ability to determine the user’s location and where to send the message if the user is logged into Microsoft Office Live Communications Server on more than one machine. In addition, IT managers will have improved control over how they save chats at an organizational level. Messenger 5.1 is expected to be released in March.

About the Author

Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.

Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.