My comments are in-line...
-Jim
I heard a vicious and ugly rumor that there was yet another effort to
exclude Mac users from some of the features and benefits that
Microsoft Office (Windows) users enjoy. I've heard that macros are
being dropped in Office 2008.
The rumor your heard is correct. Please don't beat up the messenger of the
rumor, as the facts you have stated are substantially correct. VBA will be
gone. Since for years (at least since Word 98, maybe even earlier) WordBasic
macros were automatically turned into VBA Macros I doubt they will work any
more either. No news yet on Excel version 4 style macros. But as a practical
matter I think it is fair to say macros will be gone from Office 2008.
I just wonder whether anyone in the
product management group at Microsoft considers the fact that Mac
users work with Windows users.
They are aware that some Mac users share documents with Windows users.
Microsoft does not think there are many of us who need complete
interoperability in this regard.
Or is this yet another effort to fly
under the radar and drop support for the Mac OS forcing Mac users to
run Office in emulation?
With regard to users who need VBA compatibility with Windows office
Microsoft offers Office 2004. At least until January, 2008. Otherwise you
are stuck using Windows either in emulation, via Remote Desktop, or on a
PC-based computer. Office 2004 appears to be the final version of Office to
be offered on the Mac that is VBA compatible. You better stock up if you
want to keep the existing compatibility, such as it is.
I don't think Microsoft is trying to fly "under the radar." They've been up
front about their decision to drop VBA support on the Mac. No one who uses
VBA should consider purchasing Office 2008 unless they are willing to invest
what they know in re-doing their code in AppleScript, in which Microsoft has
invested quite heavily. No existing VBA macros will work at all in Mac
Office 2008, nor will any new ones. There will be no VBA compiler. No VBA
editor. No VBA run-time. No VBA player. AppleScript will be the only way to
do any programming of Office 2008. AppleScript accomplishes this by using a
somewhat modified version of the OLE feature of VBA, which is an indirect
way of executing VBA commands externally from the Office applications. Some
compromises had to be made along the way.
Where does the oppressive Mac bias end?
When it hurts sales of Microsoft products for the Mac. In other words, when
Mac users don't buy Office 2008.
I mean have you SEEN Vista?
Yes. I think it's OK. Nice, even. I've seen demos of Leopard. It's amazing.
I can use VISTA and XP when I have to. But I really *want* to use Leopard.
Is anyone else tired of being a "second
class" citizen when it comes to the Mac version of Office? I am!
Me, too! But right now, you and I don't have Microsoft's ear. For years
they've been hearing Mac people whine and moan about "feature bloat" and
complaining that Office has lots of features that they will never use. What
these whiners have been saying translates to what we see in Office 2008 -
lower cost of creating the product and happy customers who get what they
asked for: no "unnecessary" features.
People like you and me have been relatively quiet - scraping along on the
workable, but far from ideal situation of VBA version 5. Beginning with
Office 2008 we are shut out. Microsoft apparently thinks there aren't enough
of us as customers of Mac Office to make a difference in sales of Office
2008 to the point where it will hurt sales. They are shedding a costly set
of features that get low use. They know they will shed some customers, but
expect the vast majority of Mac users will continue to purchase the Mac
Office 2008 product even without VBA. In short, Microsoft seems to think
there aren't enough of us Mac Office users who want programmability and
compatibility to make it profitable for them to continue its implementation
and support.
I guess the Mac user base is going to have to report these actions to
the US Department of Justice and the European Community as evidence
that once again there's a concerted effort to undermine the Mac OS by
Microsoft. Maybe then Microsoft will take Mac users seriously.
Ouch! I *hate* getting courts and the law involved. They are typically out
of touch on science and technology issues. Remember the judge who said that
Microsoft's line-by-line copying of Apple's OS was not infringement? That
decision pretty much made Microsoft a viable company. I just don't trust
these folks to make good decisions about technology issues.
I think there are more effective ways to lobby for the cause of demanding
that Mac customers be offered quality Microsoft products that are equal to
or better than their Windows counterparts.
Of course the #1 way to show how important VBA is would be if Office 2008
simply flops. If Mac customers continue to purchase 2004 instead of 2008
Microsoft will get the message plenty fast.
Be outspoken in every forum you can think of. Blogs. Magazines. Local
newspapers that run computer columns. User groups. Your message will
directly conflict with some long standing Mac smugness about feature bloat.
Your argument is as much against the folks in the Mac community who don't
want you to have these features as it is against Microsoft for listening to
these jerks.
I can't see another reason to support macros in the Office version of
one OS and not the other unless there's a concerted effort of some
kind. If I'm wrong I'll be glad to acknowledge it - but the rumor
seems fairly well supported and what other reasonable explanation can
there be?
http://www.macworld.com/2007/09/reviews/vmwarefusion/index.php
The rumor is right on the money. You were not mislead. I'm sure no company
wants to shed customers, but ones like us who are too costly to satisfy
simply have to go sometimes, I guess. It's not easy to be rejected, but here
we are.
If our numbers are small, then only a few of us go home bruised. I conclude
Microsoft apparently thinks that's the case. If our numbers are large, then
not only we get hurt, but so does Apple, as customers have to resort to
Windows as the only practical office solution. This puts a damper on the
Apple "switcher" campaign and unfortunately turns the tide in the opposite
direction.
Personally, I think this Microsoft decision will cost Apple serious money -
many millions of dollars in lost sales as Office 2008 will be an even less
attractive option than Office 2004 for organizational office users, but what
do I know? We're supposed to stay in our graphic/creative/home-user pigeon
holes, right?
-Jim
--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVPs are not Microsoft Employees
MVP info
Just a few points (as I understand them) to help clarify: