If you own an Apple OS X device such as the MacBook Pro or even the iMac, there is good news for you. Mac Rumors has the story.
“Following a beta testing period that began in March, Microsoft today announced the official launch of its next-generation office software designed for Mac users, Office 2016.”
The new Office 2016 software brings new versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with redesigned Retina optimized interfaces, new features, and a focus on collaboration and cloud integration. Gizmodo says that with the new release, Office finally works just as well on OS X devices as it does with Windows.
“Office for Mac 2011 was the last update, so this is a long time coming. This upgrade includes integration with Mac features like full screen view, and Office 2016 is designed for Retina displays. Office for Mac now seems completely up-to-date compared to its Windows counterpart.”
One has to shell out $100 for a yearly subscription to the Office 365 service in order to take advantage of Office 2016. There are always different types of discounts (student, government) that people can take advantage of, as well. However, as Computer World indicates, Office 2016 now has some competition.
“Quip released a desktop version of its word processing and spreadsheet software Wednesday, giving Mac and Windows users the ability to modify files on the service without having to open their Web browser.”
Computerworld notes that Quip provides a number of benefits for users, including the support for editing files online. Once logged into Quip Desktop, the program downloads files and stores them locally so they can be used offline. There are other competitors to Microsoft Office, but none have been really successful.
Microsoft Office has been the go-to office software since the mid-1990s. Corel Office was Microsoft’s main competitor in the early to mid 1990s, but Microsoft Office eventually took over in popularity. Microsoft Office is even popular on iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone. Microsoft claims that Office for the iPhone and iPad have been downloaded 80 million times.
Out of all the Microsoft Office apps, Word and Excel are the most popular. However, with the popularity of tablets, Microsoft’s OneNote has become a popular note-taking app that allows you to write notes like you would on a pad of paper. With companies failing to match the success and quality of Microsoft Office, the software will probably still dominate for the next decade or so.
[Photo Credit: Techcrunch ]
