[asxless]

Recently there has been a good deal of dialog about OOo vs Office:mac vX in their current forms. So I though it might also be interesting to speculate about the future of some Mac office suites/applications a year from now.

Here's an excerpt from an Email I sent Ed and Dan (the core OOo Mac porting developers) on Jan 17, 2003..

"Apple's Strategy - iOffice?:
Apple's MacWorld announcements of Keynote and Safari have convinced me that Apple is building iOffice the way they built iLife: an Apple branded Office suite that will do most of what MSOffice, released one piece at a time, bundled with all new Macs. I believe this will be based on as little OpenSource 'core' code as possible (e.g. Safari, OS X) . Apple will be going for functional parity, UI superiority and file level compatibility, not an Open Source version of MS Office. Hence iOffice will _not_ be OpenOffice.org in an Aqua wrapper."

What follows is an update to that prediction which describes one possible outcome for 3rd-4th qtr 2004. Note: I do not claim that this is entirely original though. This is simply a synthesis of my own thinking and what I've read in publications, online forums, etc.

"iOffice...
When Apple unleashes the next feline OS X 3rd-4th qtr 2004 it will bundle a set of "iOffice lite" applications for word processing and spreadsheets. These will be like Panther's TextEdit but with even more functionality (e.g. 80% solution for average home users) . Apple will also announce "iOffice pro" which will include 'commercial grade' word processing and spreadsheet applications bundled with Keynote. By 'commercial grade' I mean that iOffice pro apps will have "functional parity, UI superiority and file level compatibility, not an Open Source version of MS Office". iOffice lite & pro will be better suited for 'Mac shops' than an MS-centric Corp-IT environment.

Office:mac vX...
I suspect that both iOffice lite and iOffice pro will be immensely popular (ala Safari) and drastically reduce the sales of Office:mac vX. Microsoft will respond (if they haven't exercised this option already) by dropping further development of Office:mac and offering Mac users a special Windows version of Office (including Access and Outlook) bundled with VPC. This will solve those pesky Mac vs PC Office document compatibility issues, and allow MS to focus the Mac unit on VPC. Of course, MS-centric IT depts will rejoice in the streets

OOo...
The OOo Mac Porting team will have had the latest cross platform version of OOo (v1.1 or maybe even '1.5') working natively in OS X (e.g. NeoOffice/J or a full carbon port) for a while. It will look / function much like OOo does now but will be better integrated with OS X (clipboard, fonts, open/save dialogs, etc.) and of course not need X11. They will be working on an Aqua version of OOo v2 which will allow a more Mac like HI."

As with all predictions, this one is almost certainly not correct, in at least some detail. So simply saying 'XYZ isn't going to happen' serves little purpose. However a critique saying 'XYZ isn't going to happen because' and/or 'ABC will happen instead...' may help all of us open our minds a bit and think about the future of Mac office suites/applications.

-- asxless in iLand

[clarkgoble]

I think Apple will upgrade Appleworks. I mean it hasn't really had a significant upgrade since its initial (poor) OSX port. That suggests they are rewriting it from scratch.

At the same time MS Office has had only minor upgrades.

I suspect both are going to use a lot of features of Panther, will require Panther and will be quite good. I'm not convinced that Appleworks will be better than Office. The big place of controversy will be in reading/writing OfficeXP documents.

We'll see probably come November.

[Jonesy]

I can't believe that Apple would wait for another year before releasing a new version of AppleWorks (or whatever they are up to). AppleWorks has not been properly rewritten for OS X still and is desperately in need of a new version. If they wait that long everyone will have given up and moved to M$ already.

I am hoping to see something a lot sooner than the end of 2004. If it is as good as Keynote I would buy it.

[asxless]

Originally posted by clarkgoble:
I think Apple will upgrade Appleworks. I mean it hasn't really had a significant upgrade since its initial (poor) OSX port. That suggests they are rewriting it from scratch.
...
We'll see probably come November. [/B]

Originally posted by Jonesy:
I can't believe that Apple would wait for another year before releasing a new version of AppleWorks (or whatever they are up to).
...
I am hoping to see something a lot sooner than the end of 2004.

I'm assuming that the Appleworks upgrade you guys are talking about is what I am calling -- iOffice or Appleworks Extreme. Particularly if it is rewritten from scratch.

After think about a bit more, I agree. I had the timing wrong. I was thinking of Steve's recent penchant for linking new stuff to the each new OS release to build the number of 'reasons to upgrade'. But this timing/linkage only fits the free iOffice lite scenario (like the revised iChat which will be free with Panther but cost extra for those who didn't upgrade). If the rewritten Appleworks is a commercial iOffice pro, the timing could be much sooner. Apple could still bundle it with new Macs as an inducement to upgrade hardware, etc.

In either case, I'd guess that a completely rewritten Appleworks (AKA iOffice or Appleworks Extreme) will probably need a public beta period of 3-6 months. Hopefully Clark's right and we'll see it before Christmas

-- asxless in iLand

[Jonesy]

A short time after the release of AppleWorks 6 there was a section on the AppleWorks User Group website asking for feature requests for future versions. It said that these requests were being forwarded to Apple. This was years ago now. Apple have had a long time to work on their new Office suite. I don't think they have been sitting idle since the last release.

I agree that there may be special features to make use of the OS, but I don't think that we will have iApps for free to do the same job as M$ Word. The Word translation in TextEdit may be the closest thing we get for free.

I don't expect a public beta of anything. There was no beta release of Keynote or Final Cut Express. When it has been fully tested and is ready for release I think it will be announced. I'm just hoping it is sooner rather than later.

[Peter]

haha Appleworks Extreme.
I think Appleworks will be remade, with a brushed metal interface

[soullessbastard]

FWIW: the rumor mills say that the entire AppleWorks team has been retained during these past three years and has been working on something. It could be just another point update, or perhaps finalizing that OpenDoc version

[asxless]

Originally posted by PeterClark2002:
haha Appleworks Extreme.
I think Appleworks will be remade, with a brushed metal interface

Be careful. Setting your expectations so high could lead to bitter disappointment or worse... another aqua vs brushed metal UI poll

-- asxless

[businezguy]

I'd really LOVE to see Apple make an office suite. If anybody can improve the office suite and make it easier to use and more productive to use, Apple can!

Still, I wonder if they would include a program that replaces Entourage when they already have Mail and iCal. It would be ashame if they didn't. iCal and Mail are nice and all, but they aren't as feature-rich as many office users would need.

If Apple is going to take over making an office app from Microsoft, it is going to be to be a comprehensive release.

Also, what about a database? Hmmmmm, I wonder....

[Jonesy]

Originally posted by businezguy:
Still, I wonder if they would include a program that replaces Entourage when they already have Mail and iCal. It would be ashame if they didn't. iCal and Mail are nice and all, but they aren't as feature-rich as many office users would need.

If Apple is going to take over making an office app from Microsoft, it is going to be to be a comprehensive release.

Remember that new versions of Mail and iCal are coming with Panther. From what I have heard they may plug some holes for business users.

I think 3 years is long enough in development for a comprehensive release.

Let's hope it comes out next week. I can't stand AppleWorks much longer.

[businezguy]

Yeah, which is why I'm wondering if they would release a replacement to Entourage with more features. I hope so.

[passmaster16]

Originally posted by businezguy:


Also, what about a database? Hmmmmm, I wonder....

www.filemaker.com

yeah it's not the same as access but it is a database app

[businezguy]

But, will Apple make their own version, which would be integrated with the office suite, Mac OS X, and .Mac? There is potential there.

[passmaster16]

Originally posted by businezguy:
But, will Apple make their own version, which would be integrated with the office suite, Mac OS X, and .Mac? There is potential there.

Apple owns filemaker

[businezguy]

I didn't realize that. But, for the most part, the question still stands (sorry).

[asxless]

Originally posted by passmaster16:
Apple owns filemaker :err:

Which leads to yet another speculation....

Apple's switcher strategy has been based on:
* you can do everything on a Mac that you can do on a PC (e.g. MS Office) but with a better OS/hardware and
* you can do some things much better (e.g. iApps).

The problem is that MS has always crippled Office on the Mac by leaving out Access and Outlook Exchange, etc. So most PC users that i have spoken to think they are actually are being asked to trade down in absolute functionality even though they would be trading up in over all usability, etc.

But if Apple produced iOffice for the Mac and then went cross platform like they did with FileMaker. Some subset of PC users would be Filemaker/iOffice:pc users. When this subset was asked to 'switch' they would be trading up on both functionality and usability. In other words, convert PC users to Apple quality software _before_ they switch to Apple hardware/OS. For reference, a subset of even 5% of PC users would double Apple's user base.

Apple would still make money from the iOffice:pc sales (like MS does with Office:mac now). And Apple would get a foot in the door of the more independent minded home / small business users that are more likely to switch anyway. To encourage iOffice:pc users to actually switch. Apple could take advantgae of the better integration with other iApps and OS X. Now where have I heard that strategy before? ;)

-- asxless in iLand

[Jonesy]

Must be a political reason not to release a new Word Processor, etc. I can't believe they need 4 years to update AppleWorks. Must be one hell of an update otherwise.

I guess Apple want the next version of Office before risking having it pulled by M$.