NEW YORK, July 19, 2001 — Attendees at Macworld Conference & Expo today got a first look at the newest productivity suite from Microsoft Corp., code-named
“Office 10 for Mac OS X,”
developed exclusively for Apple Computer Inc.’s Mac OS X operating system.
“Office 10”
was developed from the ground up as a native productivity suite able to take full advantage of the modern technologies and architecture in Mac OS X, such as Aqua, Carbon Events, Sheets and Quartz, while offering new features.
“Office 10”
is a native Mac OS X application, with a new Aqua user interface (UI) incorporated into all applications in the suite. More than 1,000 dialog boxes, toolbar icons and alerts in
“Office 10”
have been changed to match the bold and classy appearance of Mac OS X’s liquid UI. Subtle user interface improvements have been made in each application as well. With 700 new Aquified icons that use Anti-Aliased graphics, additional colors and mouse-overs,
“Office 10”
gives users a first-class visual experience.
Support for Mac OS X Native Architecture
Microsoft® “Office 10”
is a Carbon application that has been designed to take advantage of Mac OS X’s modern system architecture. First, because the Carbon Events framework is incorporated into
“Office 10,”
users get maximum responsiveness out of their Office applications and a longer battery life when running on a laptop. By incorporating Carbon Events into
“Office 10,”
Microsoft was able to add another key Mac OS X feature, called Sheets, which replaces select alerts and dialog boxes. Since a Sheet only immediately affects the document in which it appears, users can open other documents within the application and continue working on other projects, even if the Sheet has not been dealt with.
In developing
“Office 10,”
Microsoft has also worked closely with Apple to incorporate the Quartz Drawing Layer into its code. Through Quartz, the great drawing tools shared by all Office applications enable users to use Anti-Aliased lines to give graphics a finished appearance. In addition, true transparency allows users to layer objects and reveals items that are underneath.
“‘Office 10’ for Mac OS X is the ultimate example of what a native Mac OS X application interface should be like,”
said Kevin Browne, general manager of the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft.
“In just one year’s time, we have been able to design ‘Office 10’ to take full advantage of the Mac OS X architecture, incorporate its new user interface across all ‘Office 10’ applications and add some new features as well.”
New and Improved Features for Users of Mac
Microsoft is continuing to demonstrate its support for the Mac community by providing
“Office 10” users with both brand-new and improved features. Multiple Selection and Clear Formatting in Word enables users to select several stretches of text in the document and apply customized formatting to all of them at once. In Excel, there are new Customizable Keyboard Short Cuts and a new AutoRecover feature that eases the recovery of work in case of a computer crash. Enhancements to animation effects in the PowerPoint® presentation graphics program support richer QuickTime Movies and improved Collected Linked Files. Finally, users can access the new
“Getting Started with Microsoft ‘Office 10′”
product guide, which will be available in PDF format on the CD-ROM.
MSN Messenger 2.0 for Macintosh Released
Microsoft today also announced the release of MSN® Messenger 2.0 for Mac, a true Mac OS X Carbon application with an Aqua user interface. Designed to natively support Mac OS X, MSN Messenger 2.0 also runs natively on Mac OS 8.6 and 9.x, adopting the individual user interface benefits of the respective operating system a user is running in. It features improved Microsoft Passport authentication, which enables users to log on with the same sign-in name and password they use for MSN sites as well as a variety of other sites that support Microsoft Passport. Improved integration of the Hotmail® Web-based e-mail service in MSN Messenger 2.0 gives users easier one-click access to Hotmail accounts as well as an up-to-date count of unread e-mail messages. MSN Messenger 2.0 is also powered by Microsoft .NET Messenger Service.
Other new features include message formatting, which enables users to customize message fonts, colors and styles, and a host of new emoticons. Usability improvements include updated buddy lists and status notifications as well as significant enhancements to the instant messaging experience. Finally, MSN Messenger 2.0 supports Microsoft .NET Alerts, a forthcoming service that will allow users to receive the information they want where they want it, including on their computer, mobile device or e-mail inbox. MSN Messenger 2.0 is available now as a free* download at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/ .
Windows Media Player for Mac OS X Announced
In addition, Microsoft today demonstrated the new Windows Media™
Player for Mac OS X, a native Mac OS X digital media application with a new Aqua user interface. Developed on Carbon, Windows Media Player for Mac OS X was designed to give users of Mac the best possible digital media experience with playback of MP3 music files, as well as audio and video in the industry-leading Windows Media Format. It supports the latest Windows Media Audio and Video 8 codecs, which provide near-DVD-quality video at rates as low as 500 Kbps, near-VHS-quality video at rates as low as 250 Kbps, CD-quality audio at 64 Kbps and near-CD-quality sound at 48 Kbps, about one-third the file size of MP3. Windows Media Player for Mac OS X will be available for free* download this fall, but users can download Windows Media Player 7 for Mac now, which runs on OS 8 and 9, from http://www.microsoft.com/mac/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* Connect-time charges may apply.
Microsoft, PowerPoint, MSN, Hotmail and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Apple, Mac and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computers Inc.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information about Microsoft’s Macintosh products:
Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/mac/ .
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