Software juggernaut Microsoft announced today that it has sent Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows to manufacturing, ending the large Office beta release and testing program the company has ever undertaken. Business customers and volume licensees will be able to set hands on Office 2007 beginning November 30, 2006—the same date those customers will be able to obtain Windows Vista and Exchange Server 2007. Everyday consumers will have to wait until January, 2007, to purchase either Windows Vista or Office 2007.
“We’ve crossed the development finish line, and the team deserves to celebrate,” said Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division. “The 2007 Microsoft Office system RTM completes the most significant improvements to the products in more than a decade. It’s rewarding to be able to send this release off to our customers and help them take the next big leap forward in productivity.”
According to the company, more than 3.5 million people downloaded the second beta release of Office 2007.
Microsoft plans a series of new tools and Office trials to promote the new release, including downloadable product trials via Office Online beginning December 1, 2006 (these are in addition to the Office Test Drive already available), plus 35 new demos, 24 new online training courses, 400 new downloadable doocument templates, and some 50,000 new help articles. Microsoft has posted a complete product guide to Office 2007, along with a summary of new features; however, in true Microsoft fashion, you may need to be using Internet Explorer to view them.
Microsoft plans to office Home and Student and Professional editions of Office 2007, as well as upgrades to the Professional version; pricing information has not been announced.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.