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Announcing Art of Office

The MacBU is excited to announce a new user-generated community site, Art of Office. Art of Office is a place for people to submit artistic and/or useful content made using Office applications (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint). Whether it’s creating pixel art using Excel (a la our Post-it Notes) developing an animated short story in PowerPoint or artistic pieces in Word, this online community allows you to share, rate, remix and discuss user-submitted content with other Mac Office users around the world. It’s a fun way to show unique applications of our product and helps people think of Mac Office in ways they may not have thought of before.

Some amazing art already on the site includes:

- Really fun postcards from Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame

- A wonderful retelling of one of my favorite math stories (yes, I have more than one favorite math story.) by Zeus Jones

- And of course, an awesome use of Excel by Rene Hernandez Miranda aka ‘pixelfreak’, a design student from El Salvador.

- I created my own profile with the files I used to create the post-it icons as well as some funny charts, random art generator, and useful stuff.

We also have artwork from Phil Torrone, senior editor of Make magazine and many other contributors that you can check out. So go create a profile, look around at others’ artwork and add your own creations. We all use Office to work with the files we need to for business, school and day-to-day tasks. This is a great opportunity to show off your creative, unusual or useful documents.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    August 28, 2007
    Us:  Where's Office 2008 and what's in it? You: Look at this nifty website we found! Say, didn't iWork have OOXML import built in?  Time's-a-wastin'!

  • Anonymous
    August 28, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 28, 2007
    PingBack from http://www.macdunyasi.com/2007/08/29/microsoftun-yeni-hizmeti-art-of-office/

  • Anonymous
    August 28, 2007
    Is this a joke?

  • Anonymous
    August 28, 2007
    I´d love to have a better tool to develop those "useful" and "creative" documents. I can imagine the meeting targeting the mac user: -What´s the profile of the mac user? -Creative and artsy, ain´t it? On the other hand that web 2.0 effort is well designed and could be lots of fun. If only this had been released prior to iWork 08... Congrats. I expect the best productivity suite ever released for a mac from you.

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    I cannot believe there is time for this, yet Office 2008 gets pushed back to January. This is a joke, right? I am dreamin, right? Was that  a bad batch of extasis I just had?

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    OK so it was MacBU receptionist using Web Expresions.

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    I am really curious what you guys thought the reaction would be to this? I am sympathetic of the challenges of moving code environments and to a new file format, but let's call it like it is. Every single Adobe application has been re-written for Intel now. Did they not face similar challenges? Are their applications not as complex? Hardly. I am glad to see support for the Mac community but you should be sensitive to the fact that people have been waiting for a very long time. A post like this (without further explanation) does nothing to appease the customers that are patiently waiting for your next release.

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    Whether or not it took even five seconds of your time, it just looks bad and it sends the wrong message. Read the comments that follow nearly every post you guys put on this blog. Understand the very real frustrations people have with your product. Realize that people are very skeptical that you are going to do much of anything to resolve the issues in the next version of office. In that perceptual environment, does it make good PR sense to unveil some art site? Or, even though it took no staff resources, do you maybe just not go there. Don't you think it makes it look like you have all the wrong priorities from the perspective of your customers? All we know is that while no one is willing to tell us much, if anything, about how our myriad problems with your product are getting solved in the next version, you sure found it important to let us know about some art site. The disconnect between you guys and your user base is truly stunning.

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    I appreciate the comments and understand the frustration. Those who can shed the most light on the engineering and put the challenges around the release schedule in more context on the blog tend to be the people putting in the longest hours right now (getting back to the "what we should be doing" theme.) More info and commentary will come. Your patience is extremely appreciated.

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    From the looks of it, most requires Windows version of Office. So.. what does this got to do with Mac's Office eh?

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    And if you are going to ask me why I said that, take a read at your main page (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/). It says: Unveiling masterful works of art created entirely with Office for Mac. Well, contradicting isn't it? When most of the works are Windows version.

  • Anonymous
    August 29, 2007
    "Mac-first, Mac-only" might sound good in principle, but in practice it just serves to add one more concern to Mac-users in a Windows environment. Instead of encouraging us that some Windows-only features are being added to Mac Office, we're being told that Mac-only features are being added that don't exist in the Windows version. However good the additions are, it just comes across as worrying because it's adding to the problem from the other side. All a lot of us really want is feature parity between Windows and Mac versions of what is meant to be the same software suite. Being told what a Mac can do that Windows can't using Office is no different really than knowing about the Windows-only features. That and the ongoing lack of integrated DOCX convertors for Office 2004 is becoming an increasing problem, as Office 2007 users (who don't know any better) are saving in the default format, blissfully unaware that they might be creating something unreadable for other users. As a result, when we check the Blog pages for new news, and it's an article about an art site...

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
    This always happens.  We complain about no information, and you guys respond in the comments with "Please, just a little more patience!  We promise we're working REALLY hard for you to deliver Mac-only features!  We're working so hard!" I'm sorry, but why do you have to wait for the comments to do this?  You claim to be so busy working on the software itself that you don't have time to post about it, but then where's the time to comment coming from?  I followed the Office 2007 team's blogs, and they were constantly talking about tough design decisions they had to make, showing juicy screenshots, and generally demonstrating their creative and productive output.  You guys aren't.  Sure, you tell us you're working hard, but why all the secrecy surrounding what you're actually doing?  Tell us all about the minutiae of ledger sheets.  Wax poetic about how the publishing layout slays Pages' attempt to muscle into DTP.  Talk about how your UI blends in better to the emerging unspoken interface conventions. Just say anything!  Show anything!  Demonstrate that you're doing anything!  Anything!

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
    I'd like to see some stuff for Entourage!

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
    "I don't know, I just feel like this post has been a sort of last straw for many of us." I think that really sums it up well Jordon. While I sympathize with the Mac team who are seemingly slaving away on this - it's an embarrassment that Microsoft are still expecting Office users to use something that was released in 2004 when other options are coming out constantly that provide increasingly viable alternatives. I'm at a point where I'm sick of waiting and by the day am becoming more loyal to products made by others - products which innovate, update regularly and are so obviously software for now. I doubt I'll bother to update Office - who can afford to wait another 4 years for an update?

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
    Um, I just created a pie-chart in Excel. The light grey area represents "hang out time", whereas the dark greay area represents just "kicking it". Just about to post this on Art of Office. Then I'm going to download NeoOffice because, clearly, you guys have LOST THE PLOT.

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
    Timing a little off chaps? There is obviously a HUGE amount of resentment being vented here, and honestly, it is valid. However, I am continually amazed that people are, and seem to enjoy being reliant on Office. There  are  other  options  out  there. The sooner corporates wake up and realise this, the better. I will look at 2008 with interest, when it arrives, but until then, I am not holding my breath, nor being non-productive.

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2007
    If the product is so long overdue why are you only working late one night of the week?

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    I kinda like Art of Office, seems cool and possibly even useful to get templates.  Give these guys a break, even the best developers can't work 100% on the same thing every single day.

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    Please don't waste youre time MS! People need proper MSN and Office!

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    Wow did April 1rst come early?

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    Well I've just given up caring about whether Office 2008/9/whatever ever gets released, especially after getting iWork '08 a couple of weeks ago. For a lot less money, Pages is soooo much easier & quicker to put together something like an advertising brochure than Word has ever been. I was really surprised by how much. It also opens & saves WinOffice 2007 documents right now. And everyone knows Keynote is superior to Powerpoint. Numbers is nice too; not as extensive as Excel but then again hardly anybody needs that much functionality. Time to move on people.

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    Geoff and the MacBU: That's it, really.  Sorry guys.  I've cut the cord.  Art of Office is just typical out-of-touch with the user nonsense from Redmond. I was very excited when I moved to mac OSX.  It's a beautiful operating system. I figured I could keep using getting corporate email from Exchange through my office suite with entourage, powerpoint, etc... I'm sure there are a lot of reasons why it's difficult for you to get a proper Outlook client on the Mac OSX. I'm sure there are a lot of politics within Microsoft.  I'm sure your team is top-notch.  I'm sure you're working hard. But the reality of it is, I just don't like the product you've given us.  I've waited...waited...and waited for a proper version of Outlook running in OSX.   In the meantime (note to others!): What I've discovered is that I don't need your product anyway. I can use the native Mac OSX mail application to synchronize with Exchange no problem. I can use the native Mac OSX calendar application to synchronize with Exchange.  I can use iWork '08 for virtually everything I do; it's compatible with all of my coworkers who use MS products.  Occasionally I run parallels/Excel to do a few spreadsheets. [Note to others -- I use a wonderful little program called GroupCal, see www.snerdware.com/groupcal/  which synchronizes OSX calendar with Exchange] Basically, I'm out of here. I won't be purchasing Outlook for Macintosh '08 (or '09, or '10...whenever you do release it) because I don't have to.  Basically, you started with goodwill (or at least a great deal of inertia) and you've squandered it. The sad thing of it is, we're probably moving our entire office with dozens of clients off of Exchange Server into Google. It's just not worth dealing with MS anymore; we are so disappointed.  Your products don't feel good to users.  Your development process is so sclerotic that you need to release nonsense like "ArtofOffice" so we feel like something human is up there in Redmond. Bye, good luck, don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave... -A former User of Office on the Macintosh

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    Geoff et al: (1) Showcasing the artistically significant work of Mac Office users on a Web site is a great idea. A great time to launch such a site would be in coordination with the launch of Office '08 - NOT several months before it's out. (2) In the meantime, if you want to great good will among Mac users, you should focus marketing time and effort on publishing Mac Office '08 progress reports, rather than publishing artistic Web sites. (3) If you really want to serve the Mac Office brand in the most effective way, your marketing team should be spending part of every day lobbying within Microsoft to get money to hire additional software engineers for the MacBU. One press release announcing Mac Office's surprise early release - or one two-minute presentation by a Mac BU rep announcing immediate Mac Office '08 availability during Jobs' January '08 MacWorld Expo Keynote - will do more than 100 Web sites to promote the MacBU.

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    If I may be so bold as to quote from Craig's immediately preceeding post: "Starting in September, we are planning a series of “sneak peeks” to show you more of the features and functionality of this release. I’m very pleased that we can soon start sharing more of what the team has been up to – stay tuned." September is just around the corner, so I'd expect to see some more info from us soon.

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    Why wait for something MSFT clearly has little incentive to produce? Get VMware Fusion or Parallels, and run PC Office 2007 on a Windows XP VM. You think MSFT wants to enable you to have a compelling user experience without their OS?  

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2007
    With the release of Apple's iWork08 and iLife 08 the need factor just isn't that great anymore... I'll just go with iLife 08 & iWork 08 and say money in the process... M$$$$ has missed the boat and that's a very good thing... You guys have a hold on a sinking rock... If your thinking different at all... you should let go and seek employment elsewhere...

  • Anonymous
    September 01, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    September 01, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    September 01, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    September 01, 2007
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  • Anonymous
    September 02, 2007
    how about a real refresh for Mac Messenger too, boasting feature parity with that delicious 8.5 beta client floating around on Windows?

  • Anonymous
    September 02, 2007
    "September is just around the corner, so I'd expect to see some more info from us soon." Well, most of us wouldn't. Because judging from history, the sneak preview will come out September 30th - if we're lucky and the deadline doesn't slip. Please notice that one of the repeating requests in many of these posts: We do not want "Mac-only" features - we want FEATURE PARITY - please. Don't turn Office for Mac into an artsy-design-layout-iWorklike package - I want a serious, professional office tool! Excel rules but I want is to work properly on Mac! Full exchange support on Mac! A rock-solid Word edition that seems light and responsive, even with 100+ page documents!

  • Anonymous
    September 03, 2007
    Not since the "Microsoft Empowerment Pack" during the long nightmare of Office 6 for Macintosh has this company released something as condescending and insulting to Macintosh users. No real product is being released here. And the release of Office 12's Macintosh product (you can call it Office 2008 all you want) is being delayed a full year behind its Windows counterpart. Just look at the Mactopia website to see which products Microsoft no longer updates for Mac users: MediaPlayer, IE, etc. Try using Windows Live Mail (the successor to Hotmail) with Safari or other Mac Browsers. It appears obvious that whatever part of Microsoft that is higher up the food chain than the MBU is deliberately trying to erode market share for the Macintosh platform to try to drive serious office and enterprise users over to Windows. And frankly, Apple's anemic spreadsheet competition ("Numbers") doesn't help. Steve Jobs. Steve Ballmer. Same name. Same game.

  • Anonymous
    September 03, 2007
    re:our new UI - not the Ribbon and based on extensive usability testing with Mac users; very soon we'll be talking about and showing more, both here on the blog and out in the community. ========= If Mac Office is NOT adopting the Ribbon then how will users react when forced to use Office with ribbon interface on their work PC then adapt to Mac Office on their home Mac? Surely there needs to be compatibilty in interface as well as file formats. PC users who consider switching to Macs or students who use Macs at school or university will look for familiarity in basic word processing apps, etc. I suggest that a 'different mac centric' interface for Office will NOT help Mac users - especially educators like me who deal with academics and students who switch to and fro PC and Mac throughout the day. Or does Microsoft quietly know this new Mac will cause consternation among PC users in a Mac environment (like a school or small business)? One louder message emanating loudly from the sidelines is OPEN SOURCE. Maybe this will push users of Macs and PCs to true compatible apps like OpenOffice, etc. Oh, they are free too. I look forward to MACBU response. Finally, Mac Office with no ribbon aka PC Office? Is it true? How about an option in Preferences?

  • Anonymous
    September 03, 2007
    Hello - it's September 3rd today. 40 minutes to Sept 4th. FYI

  • Anonymous
    September 03, 2007
    Ok so 10% of September is already in place....

  • Anonymous
    September 04, 2007
    Were is messenger for mac 7

  • Anonymous
    September 04, 2007
    Another September day goes by....

  • Anonymous
    September 04, 2007
    September is here - where's the sneak preview? Maybe the deadline's been pushed...

  • Anonymous
    September 05, 2007
    Nope, no deadline change.  Craig just posted some information on what we'll be showing you and when, and Andy just posted on the first new Entourage/Exchange integration feature we're revealing.