Microsoft Office for the Mac is out

SOFTWARE CHURNER Microsoft has released the latest incarnation of Microsoft Office for the Mac OS X operating system.

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 will cost $199.99 from Apple direct with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Powerpoint as standard.

There is an Outlook-free Home and Student version for $149.95.

While you expect a Microsoft product to get a rough ride on the Macolyte websites, the consensus is that Microsoft Outlook on the Mac is not as good as its PC version.

Reviewers have been complaining about its poor sync potential with other Apple hardware and services. There's only basic address book sync, rather than integration with Ical or the Iphone. Direct Google sync is also out.

However Microsoft's Eric Wilfrid is happy. Writing in his blog, he said that the Mac version has built-in integration to existing Microsoft cloud-based applications such as the free Windows Live SkyDrive, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Office Web Apps.

He said that this will give Mac users more flexibility and control to work when and where they want. Microsoft Office Web Apps lets users work in any browser from any location with Internet connectivity while making sure your document stays the way it was created whether it's viewed on a PC or Mac.

A co-authoring tool lets users edit the same Microsoft Word document or Powerpoint presentation simultaneously with other people in different locations who are using Microsoft Office on a PC or a Mac. Users can share their presentations with anyone who has browser access by broadcasting their presentation.

There is a battery of improved tools to create more professional-looking documents. There is also a Microsoft Word publishing layout view page to allow users to simply drag photos, graphics or text to rearrange the content. µ