Mac Office 2008 Waits 'Til 2008

It seems we'll all be celebrating the one year anniversary of Windows Vista by the time Microsoft releases the Mac version of Office. It seems the Redmond-based company has decided to push back Mac Office 2008's release, now appropriately set for mid-January next year.

It's already the second major delay for the software. Unfortunately, it seems as though the Mac edition of Office was nowhere near ready. According to development group General Manager Craig Eisler, "It was clear from our June and July quality checkpoints that no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't release our product in time for the Christmas season with the kind of quality we wanted". (Source: computerworld.com)

It's a tough decision to make for newbie Eisler, who only jumped aboard Microsoft's Mac division in June of this year. Although some rumors link the delay with hardware and development obstacles, a few of which blame Apple, officially Eisler is sticking with, "It really is just a quality issue across the board". (Source: forbes.com)

As expected, some users are peeved. It's not the first time Microsoft has pushed back a much-anticipated product, and nothing about the Mac Office delay is as blatant as the long wait for Vista.

At the moment, a select Office 2008 beta is underway. There's no intention of opening that to the Average Joe, however, despite community anger over what has felt like a parade of Microsoft software delays.

Given that Eisler has told the media that other Mac 'n Microsoft projects have been put on hold until Mac Office 2008 is complete, consumers should feel (fairly) confident in the product's new year release date.