Microsoft just released Office 2011 for Mac, and power users stuck with Office 2008 are really excited to upgrade. Pretty much anyone in a corporate setting has to use Office (sorry Apple and Google) so the Office 2011 upgrade is a Big Deal.
I’ve been looking for the best deal on Office for Mac, and it’s hard to beat Amazon. They’ve got free shipping, and are already discounting the suite around 10%.
Here are the various versions available:
- Microsoft Office For Mac Home & Student
- Single License, $109.99
– save $10 (MSRP: $119.99)
- 3 License Family Pack, $129.99
– save $20 (MSRP: $149.99)
- Single License, $109.99
- Microsoft Office For Mac Home & Business
- Single License, $174.99
– save $25 (MSRP: $199.99)
- 2 License Pack, $239.99
– save $40 (MSRP: $279.99)
- Single License, $174.99
The main difference between “Home & Student” and “Home & Business” is the presence (or absence) of the Outlook email program. All versions include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint but only the Business version has Outlook. The Home & Student versions aren’t intended for commercial use, but there’s no reason you can’t use them this way.
There are lots of new features here, but some of my favorite are Tufte-esque sparklines, the restored Visual Basic, and the Broadcast Slideshow feature in PowerPoint. I’m mainly looking for Outlook, but will welcome these new features, too. I’m not sure about the “ribbon” interface, but reviewers say it’s not as annoying as the Windows version. Let’s hope not.
I just returned my new copy of Office 2011 for the Mac to the Apple Store and they gave me my money back. We couldn’t get it to sync my calendar to my iPhone with Outlook which is the main reason that I wanted it.