Tag Archives: Office 15

Microsoft Office 2013 releases to manufacturing, reaches most of us early next year

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Office 2013 OneNote

Break out the party streamers and balloons -- if only in an orderly fashion, because this is the day Office 2013 has been released to manufacturing. The completion swings Microsoft's attention towards a rollout staggered over the next few months. Wider availability will have to wait until the first quarter of 2013 -- such synchronicity with your branding, Microsoft -- but companies who've sprung for volume licensing will get access as early as mid-November to December 1st, depending on whether or not they're embracing a Software Assurance plan. In the meantime, Microsoft is offering an easy path for anxious workers by promising a free copy of Office 2013 to everyone who buys Office 2010 from October 19th onwards. The upgraded software might not be cheap for those who aren't already buying a Windows RT tablet, but it's likely to be an important piece of the puzzle for anyone hunting down a touchscreen Windows 8 PC.

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Microsoft Office 2013 releases to manufacturing, reaches most of us early next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Czech Microsoft manager claims Office 2013 will reach Android and iOS, rest of company is less certain (update: more direct denial)

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Microsoft Office for iPad rumor

The story of Office for the iPad has been something of a rollercoaster. Depending on who you've talked to this year, the mobile app has been on, then off, then on again... if it was ever real to start with. Imagine our surprise, then, when IHNED says Microsoft Czech Republic product manager Petr Bobek "confirmed" native Android and iOS ports of Office 2013 during a press conference. The Office division higher-up reportedly outlined a strategy where the productivity suite would reach Windows for large businesses and individuals in December and February respectively, but would reach "other platforms" later on through more than just mobile-optimized web versions. It sounds promising, but we have reason for skepticism -- assuming the testimony is accurate, there's still a history of employees at Microsoft and other companies overstepping their boundaries without direct guidance from the corporate mothership. We reached out to Microsoft ourselves, and a spokesperson gave us a relatively conservative answer. While the company reiterated statements that "Office Mobile will work across Windows Phones, Android phones and iOS," it added that there was "nothing additional to announce" regarding Office's retail availability. As much of a glimmer of hope that might represent for some Android and iOS fans, it doesn't equate to a direct Office 2013 port with a release schedule.

[Image credit: The Daily]

Update: To underscore its point, Microsoft has issued a further statement that casts doubt on the very remarks in question. "The information shared by our Czech Republic subsidiary is not accurate," a spokesperson told us. "We have nothing further to share."

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Czech Microsoft manager claims Office 2013 will reach Android and iOS, rest of company is less certain (update: more direct denial) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceIHNED (translated)  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft responds to critics, defends touch UI in Office 2013

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Microsoft responds to critics, defends touch UI in Office 2013

If you read our preview of Office 2013, you know we liked it. A lot. But if we had one reservation it's that Office still isn't that finger-friendly, even with the addition of a touch mode that widens the spacing between onscreen objects and flattens the menus so that you don't have to tap quite as much. As if in response to critics like us (and readers too!) Microsoft has published a lengthy blog post detailing the thinking that went into the design of Office's new touch-enabled features. Which is to say, it's a more detailed recap of how the company's engineers tweaked the desktop interface for touch, and designed some standalone apps that better match the Metro experience of Windows 8. At the very least, it's a handy primer for folks who missed Steve Ballmer's keynote and haven't yet read up on radial menus or the Metro-styled OneNote MX app. Even if you have, though, it's worth a read: Microsoft offers some interesting insight into the various scenarios where it imagined each touch-enabled app being used, and what kind of posture the user is likely to have, even. Whether that's enough to prompt a change of heart is up to you, but it's interesting nonetheless to get a little more color on how it all came together.

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Microsoft responds to critics, defends touch UI in Office 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OneNote MX Metro-styled app for Windows 8 now available for download

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Yesterday saw Microsoft publicly unpack Office 15. Part of the deal was the forthcoming dedicated OneNote MX Metro-styled app. While we knew it was coming, it was one of the few things we didn't manage to get much time with. It looks like we might not have to wait that long though, as it's the first of new gang to be up for grabs. It's available to download now, from the Windows Store in Windows 8 Release Preview, just set a final reminder in your current note taking app to go get it.

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OneNote MX Metro-styled app for Windows 8 now available for download originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Office 2013 preview: details, screenshots and impressions

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More Info

It's been about three years since Microsoft unveiled a new version of Office, and particularly with Windows 8 just months away from dropping, the software has been well overdue for an upgrade. Today, Redmond unveiled the latest edition -- Office 2013 (aka Office 15) -- which the company will be showing in a preview stage until the final version goes on sale (hit up the source link if you want to download it for yourself).

Perhaps the biggest news isn't any single feature Microsoft's added to Word (hello, easy YouTube embeds!), but how and where you'll access your files. With this version, the company is moving to a subscription-based model wherein your Office files are tied to your Microsoft ID. Once you sign up, you can download the various desktop apps to a certain number of devices and, as with Windows 8, your settings, SkyDrive files and even the place where you left off in a document will follow you from device to device. (It's telling, we think, that files now save to the cloud by default.) As you'd expect, too, this version is also more tablet-friendly than editions past, with a touch mode that widens the spacing between onscreen objects and flattens menus. In Word and PowerPoint, you'll also find a read-only mode that turns documents into full-screen editions, whose pages you can swipe through as you would an e-book or digital magazine.

Of course, Microsoft included plenty of granular updates like PDF editing and a behind-the-scenes Presenter View in PowerPoint. Fortunately for you, curious power users, we've been spending the better part of a week testing the software on a Samsung Series 7 Slate loaded up with Windows 8. So join us past the break where we'll give you a detailed breakdown of what's new, along with screenshots and detailed first impressions.

Continue reading Microsoft Office 2013 preview: details, screenshots and impressions

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Microsoft Office 2013 preview: details, screenshots and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Office Next blog is here to answer all your burning questions about the future of spreadsheets

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Office Next blog is here to answer all your burning questions about the future of spreadsheets

Microsoft has this really great habit of publicly tracking the development of all its products. Windows 8 has been thoroughly documented over at the Building Windows 8 blog, and now Office will have its time to shine over at Office Next. The site will give the engineers and developers toiling away in Redmond an outlet to provide updates, discuss design decisions and offer peeks at the new features being baked in. It won't be just a place full of bullet lists either, PJ Hough, the VP of program management for the Office Division, promised in his inaugural post that the data and feedback that informs their choices will also be shared -- telling you not just what, but why. Is there anything new to share right now? Sadly no, but it probably won't be long before the pages of Engadget are filled with the minutia of Office 15's development.

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Office Next blog is here to answer all your burning questions about the future of spreadsheets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked video promises Office 15 on a crane, on a train, in a boat, potentially with a goat

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What's this, then? It's purportedly a leaked promotional video for Office 15, the upcoming version of Microsoft's perennial favorite software suite. Not surprisingly, the animated short, which was "pulled from beta software," talks up the software's cloud functionality. "It's your Office," says the chipper voice. "It goes wherever you go." That includes a number of motor vehicles and electronic devices, all the while being stored safely online. Hop in after the break for one of the happiest office suite promotional videos ever made.

Continue reading Leaked video promises Office 15 on a crane, on a train, in a boat, potentially with a goat

Leaked video promises Office 15 on a crane, on a train, in a boat, potentially with a goat originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked Microsoft roadmap reveals Office 15, IE 10 and Windows Phone details

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If it's accurate, then this leaked Microsoft roadmap has revealed the company's plans for many of its forthcoming products. Here's the basics: Internet Explorer 10 is due part-way through the year, at the same time that we hope to see Windows 8 appearing. Office 15 will enter beta-testing partway through 2012 and become "available" next year, but that's no sure sign of a release date. On the Windows Phone front, there's a launch expected in the summer that's labelled as "future investments," which we can only hope is a euphemism for Apollo. Oh, and any Silverlight fans better pour one out for their beloved flash-killer: nothing was marked on its timeline after the December 2011 release of Version 5. After the break we've got another shot of the internal document that Windows fans will spend the next few days analyzing with Zapruder-esque fervor.

[Images courtesy of Maarten Visser]

Continue reading Leaked Microsoft roadmap reveals Office 15, IE 10 and Windows Phone details

Leaked Microsoft roadmap reveals Office 15, IE 10 and Windows Phone details originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet  |  sourceMaarten Visser (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments