Microsoft Office 2008 For Mac Enters Beta

In news that will probably surprise many staunch Apple fans, it seems Microsoft has not given up on its Microsoft office package for the Mac. According to this report, Microsoft has not only been quietly working on Microsoft office 2008 for Mac, but it recently moved the software suite from alpha to beta status.

The new software suite will share some common aspects with its Windows-based brother. Firstly it will be using the Escher graphics engine, which Office utilizes to render graphics and charts. It will also fully support the new file formats that have been introduced in Office 2007. It will however not have the new ribbon interface. New features that will only be available in the Mac edition will include a publishing-style layout view similar to iPhoto. The suite will also be Universal Binary which means that it will allow Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Entourage to run natively on PowerPC and Intel Macs without any issues.

This latest move by Microsoft to refresh its Office suite, for the Mac is a wise business move. Ever since Apple moved its machines to the Intel platform, sales of Apple's products have steadily risen. By announcing a new suite, that will offer both current-generation and unique features, Microsoft is making sure it does not miss out on what is a small but very lucrative market.

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