Office for Mac 2011, a major new version of Microsoft’s productivity suite, is now available. Featuring a brand new Ribbon interface and lots of new features geared towards long-time Mac users and recent switchers, the new update to Office replaces Entourage with a full version of Outlook for Mac.
Office 2011 has new built-in integration with Windows Live SkyDrive as well as connections to SharePoint so users can manage files and work from any location, Wilfrid says. With Office Web Apps, Mac consumers can edit Office documents straight from their browser.
The release’s new co-authoring tools let users edit the same Word document or PowerPoint presentation simultaneously with other people in different locations who are using Office 2011 for Mac or Office 2010 for Windows. They can also quickly share presentations with anyone who has browser access through PowerPoint broadcasting.
Finally, the team continued its investment in file format compatibility so users can create the same professional-looking Office documents on a Mac as PC users can with Office for Windows. “That’s been our focus since the first time we made Office for Mac,” Wilfrid says “If you print a Word document out for Mac and another for Windows and hold them up to the light – IT pros do it all the time – they will come out the same.”
You can check out all the new features here and here. Office for Mac is available in two different versions, which retail respectively at $149.99 (Home & Student) and $279 (Home & Business). OS X 10.5.8 and 1GB RAM are required to run Office for Mac 2011.
