Pack 2 (SP2), adding a tool that beefs up access to documents stored on enterprise SharePoint servers and Microsoft's free Office Live Workspace service.
Office 2008 SP2 is the first major update to the suite since May 2008's SP1.
Microsoft touted several stability and performance improvements to the Mac suite, including faster launch and scrolling for Word, and 24% faster calculating in Excel. But it focused attention on the new Document Connection tool, which it first unveiled in January 2009 at the Macworld Conference & Expo. At the time, Microsoft was coy about a delivery date, saying only that it would ship the tool "later this year."
The tool is meant to make it easier for business users to share documents with colleagues running the Mac and Windows editions of Office, as it streamlines opening and saving documents to Office Live Workspace, the for-free online document access, storage and sharing service. At the same time, Office Live Workspace supports Safari 4.0, Apple's newest browser, as of today.
Microsoft also talked up Document Connection's improved access to SharePoint, the corporate-grade document sharing and collaboration server.
"With SP2, we are not only delivering on top customer requests mid-cycle, but also taking a first step in bringing Microsoft software plus services to Mac users," Mike Tedesco, a senior product manager for Microsoft's Mac business unit, said in a statement.
Last January, the company also promised it would upgrade Entourage this year as part of an effort to migrate to Exchange Web Services (EWS) for connecting to Exchange mail servers, and drop the currently supported WebDAV. A beta of EWS was released in January, but a final has not yet appeared.
Office for Mac 2008 SP2 is available for manual download from Microsoft's site, although users can also use the "Help/Check for updates" command within any of the suite's applications, or simply wait for the auto-update tool to offer the service pack.
The Mac version of Office will continue to lag behind the Windows edition. Although Microsoft has said it will ship Office 2010 for Windows in the first half of 2010, it has not set any timetable for the next version of the Mac suite.
Microsoft started Office 2010's first round of beta testing last week
Microsoft detailed on Tuesday how its partners and business customers can get their hands on Windows 7 RTM (release to manufacturing) code, which will be available next month on different days for different sets of users.
The company also confirmed in an entry on The Windows Blog that it would release a rumored "family pack" of the Windows 7 Home Premium edition of the OS for households with multiple PCs, allowing for installation of the software on as many as three PCs. Microsoft did not give details on pricing of the pack, however, saying that would be available later.
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ISV (independent software vendor) and IHV (independent hardware vendor) partners and developers with MSDN subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM from Microsoft Connect or MSDN on Aug. 6. Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal starting on Aug.16, according to the blog entry. However, the RTM code in other languages won't be available to partner program members to download until Oct. 1.
Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting Aug. 23, with the remaining languages for them also available for release by Oct. 1.
OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will receive Windows 7 RTM software images beginning about two days after the code is officially released to manufacturing, as Microsoft requires time to release and distribute these images, the company said. The time should allow them to prepare images and ship Windows 7 PCs in time for the Oct. 22 general release, according to Microsoft.
Business customers who are also volume-license customers with existing licenses for Software Assurance (SA), Microsoft's upgrade program, can download Windows 7 RTM in English starting Aug. 7 via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). The rest of the languages will be available two weeks after that, Microsoft said.
Volume License customers without an SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on Sept. 1, as Microsoft announced at its Worldwide Partner Conference last week.
Microsoft IT Professionals have several options for acquiring Windows 7 RTM. Like ISVs, IHVs and developers, TechNet subscribers can download the English edition on Aug. 6 and remaining languages by Oct. 1. IT Professionals with volume-licensing contracts can download Windows 7 RTM code at the same time as other volume-licensing customers, Microsoft said.
Beta testers who subscribe to TechNet can receive Windows 7 RTM the same way other subscribers can; however, testers who are not subscribers can continue to use the release candidate of Windows 7 that is now available until March 1, 2010, though they will still have to wait until the worldwide general availability of the OS on Oct. 22 to get the final code.
Microsoft also plans to release an evaluation of Windows 7 Professional for IT Professionals via its Springboard Series program shortly after the August RTM. More than 40 percent of beta testers are IT Professionals and can get the code this way, according to Microsoft.
People also can continue to pre-order Windows 7 through various online retailers, including the Microsoft Store, though the company's early discount for the OS, which was nearly 50 percent off the regular price, has expired.
Windows 7 is the follow-up to the disappointing Windows Vista release, which was widely panned by users and skipped by many business customers.
REDMOND, Wash. — July 22, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the next versions of its flagship desktop and server operating systems. With the completion of this development phase, industry partners are readying products in time for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 worldwide general launches. Windows 7 will be generally available to customers around the world on October 22, and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be generally available on or before that date. As always, current customers of the Windows Volume Licensing program, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers and TechNet subscribers will be among the first to get customer access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the coming weeks.
Microsoft will make the announcement on its Windows Team and Windows Server Blogs later today. More information about today’s news is available via the following links:
• Windows Team Blog, http://windowsteamblog.com
• Windows Server Blog, http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver
• Partner Web sites, http://readyset7.com and http://talkingaboutwindows.com/Default.aspx
• Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for businesses, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.aspx and http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/R2.aspx
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.
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