[Kerrigan]

The MacBU does little things every now and again that lead to the impression that Apple is just a joke to them. If you look at magazine adverts for Mac Office, you often see a Mac user working on his computer at a cluttered desk, with socks and various other items scattered about on the floor, drinks at his desk, etc. Also, the Mac user is typically a bit disheveled looking, and in one advert he was even barefooted. Is this what they think of us, people who go about our day jobs as slobs?

The products they release for Mac seem to be a joke as well. I remember how the first version of MS Word for Mac OS X had a very noticeable typing lag, and it crashed all the time. Surely they could've done better, but they didn't want to. Explorer, of course, was the biggest embarrassment to the Mac platform. Many times I had to explain to friends and family who used my computer that if the page disappears after it loads, you have to scroll down and then scroll back up, and hopefully the page would be there. When you consider how polished other third party apps are, like Photoshop, it is just a joke how unusable MS software is on the Mac.

So, my question is this: is the Mac BU deliberately instructed to release buggy, unfinished software in order to make the Mac look bad to potential switchers? Are they just having a laugh at the way they treat Apple? Or are they doing the best they can on a limited budget?

[ManOfSteal]

Microsoft does, but the MacBU of Microsoft does not.

[sworthy]

I don't think they're doing anything on purpose. The only thing they're guilty of is perpetuating stereotypes about mac users as being the hippy types. Office 2004 is actually a pretty damn good software suite IMHO (though word does crash more than any other app I have).

[Hugi]

Originally Posted by sworthy

I don't think they're doing anything on purpose...

Yup, that sounds like a pretty accurate description of Microsoft.

[ambush]

Microsoft Office 2004 is such a very bad joke...
I want to kill my self every time I have to open it (I copy paste in Mellel or TextEdit ASAP)

[MilkmanDan]

I'm currently bare foot and being all hippyish in a radio station! I take offense to this!

[Superchicken]

Do you have a link to this add?

That said... Mac users are generally viewed as the artistic types... we're the goofs... and many of us are gay... there's lots of stereo types of Mac users. Fact is Apple has always been the less corporate more sandals and a nice shirt type... pants optional.

[gururafiki]

Originally Posted by sworthy

I don't think they're doing anything on purpose.

I agree. They are such a big company it seems hard for them to manage getting things right, let alone on the first try. If they did do it on purpose, then Apple should sue !!

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

Explorer, of course, was the biggest embarrassment to the Mac platform. Many times I had to explain to friends and family who used my computer that if the page disappears after it loads, you have to scroll down and then scroll back up, and hopefully the page would be there.

To be fair to Microsoft, you must be talking about IE 5 for OS X. IE 5 for the classic Mac OS was a decent browser. IE 5 for OS X was a rushed port far from release quality that should never have been released since it has probably done more harm than good. It's really depressing to see people use IE on Macs running OS X, especially on G5s - can you imagine the terrible opinion of the Mac they come away with after such experiences?

[:XI:]

How about Roxio?

[gururafiki]

Originally Posted by Big Mac

To be fair to Microsoft, you must be talking about IE 5 for OS X. IE 5 for the classic Mac OS was a decent browser.

blah. I remember back in the days before OS X and Safari there was some guy who reviewed internet browsing speeds with IE on a Mac vs PC. The PC won hands down, and his conclusion was that PC's were faster for the internet. He was an idiot. He did not take into account that IE was not optimized for the mac, etc.

[His Dudeness]

Originally Posted by ambush

Microsoft Office 2004 is such a very bad joke...
I want to kill my self every time I have to open it (I copy paste in Mellel or TextEdit ASAP)

Have you tried Open Office? I've used it before and it seemed very nice. Version 2.0 is supposed to be awesomer. And the best part is, it's free. As in beer.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

So, my question is this: is the Mac BU deliberately instructed to release buggy, unfinished software

Uhm, where exactly is that different from M$ in general ?

-t

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

many of us are gay...

FINALLY!

[Apple Pro Underwear]

I dont think MS has a personal vendetta against Apple. MS is so far out of Apple's league it's not funny.

MS : Apple

Pete Rose : Albert Pujols



We like Macs but get real. MS puts as much effort into it as they do everything else.

[willed]

MS Word v.X hardly ever crashes for me - can't remember the last time it did - and I use it all day every day.

[im_noahselby]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

many of us are gay...

Originally Posted by analogika

FINALLY!

Huh? Am I missing something here?

[:XI:]

Originally Posted by im_noahselby

Huh? Am I missing something here?

I think analogika read that as Superchicken's coming out of the closet.

[hayesk]

Originally Posted by His Dudeness

Have you tried Open Office? I've used it before and it seemed very nice. Version 2.0 is supposed to be awesomer. And the best part is, it's free. As in beer.

Uhm... Did someone take the Open Office core and stick a Cocoa interface on it, and rework all of the menu items so they are clear and consistent?

Because last time I looked at OpenOffice, it behaved like an ugly windows application.

The best thing about OpenOffice is that it costs nothing, and can open MS Office files. If I used Office apps all day, I'd probably spring for MS Office.

[mitchell_pgh]

While I don't care for Microsoft, I find Office to work well for me. Without it, I would have been forced to abandon the Mac years ago.