Or, “When Things Fall Apart.” And boy can things fall apart when you install the SP2/12.2.0 upgrade to Office for Mac 2008. To begin with, unless you absolutely have to upgrade, it is definitely a good idea to wait.  There are some serious issues here, which Microsoft will hopefully address soon—showstopper issues that can create significant headaches for Office users.  Everybody got their dancing shoes on?  Good, let’s begin the tango with a look at some of what this service pack contains.

One step forward: Entourage and MobileMe

Microsoft has finally made Entourage easier to setup for non-Exchange accounts. Previous versions worked with MobileMe, but it was a manual process to configure server settings.  Most people are frustrated when they have to dig through a knowledge base, then type mail.something.com and smtp.something.com, pray that they typed it correctly, curse when they discover a misspelling…you get the idea.  Apple made email account configuration on the iPhone almost criminally simple, so it is refreshing to see Microsoft following suit here.  The setup process is so easy, starting with your email address:

Entourage then grabs your remaining information, and asks for verification and password.  At this point, you’re just a few clicks away from seeing your mail in Entourage:

Two small points in the slightly irritating category: 1.) There were a few folders which did not show up in my folder list until I manually double clicked them (there is a slight difference in icons, but as is often the case with MS, the meaning of these icons is unclear):

2.) There is no integration with synched MobileMe calendars.  I do love iCal, but having a desktop version of the iPhone (where I can see all my calendars and inboxes) would be great.

Two steps back: Word, etc.

The remaining programs in the Office suite (including one new addition, the Microsoft Document Connection) have all gotten some much needed bug fixes and application enhancements. All the programs load faster and handle text better (huzzah), but frequently refuse to open files that their non-upgraded counterparts created just a few days ago (not huzzah…on an epic scale).  In addition, PowerPoint gets some animation upgrades that bring it a few steps closer to Keynote’s power (though it still lacks polish), and all other programs get some display and stability fixes (no standouts, but overall crashing is reduced).

The OOXML is an ISO-approved standard document format, submitted by Microsoft and now available to any program to save files using the .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx formats. Advantage: anybody can use any program to write a letter, and all programs supporting the ISO standard can open, edit, and resave that document.  Disadvantage: Microsoft does not have direct control of this standard, so there may be times when the standard and programs using it are out of sync with capabilities found in Office.  Or so the story goes.

Opening an Excel expense report template after the upgrade brought about this alarming error message (note that this file was just created on Saturday, July 18.  Using Excel 2008):

Visiting Microsoft’s website leads to this article, with one particular gem of confounding wisdom:

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Service Pack 2 (SP2) has implemented many of the requirements of the ISO/IEC 29500 standard to make it compatible with the next release of Office for Mac. However, Office 2008 programs may not read all OOXML files that use the ISO standard.

But the expense report wasn’t created as an OOXML files using the ISO standard!  It was created using what Office had implemented as of last saturday.  So where’s my workbook?!  Firing it up in Office 2004 did little to help; luckily a standby copy of Apple’s Numbers allowed recovery of the data (the formatting was lost, but is easily reproducible).  This would be an acceptable issue if the file came from Open Office or some other program, but there is no excuse for breaking document compatibility between upgrades like this.  In unscientific testing, all .xlsx files and a majority of .docx files suffered this issue (.pptx, oddly enough, worked just fine, though Googling a bit uncovered other users who are not so lucky).  12.2.1 better roll around very soon and fix this—let’s hope the MacBU is paying attention to the bloggers!

Someday We’ll Find It: The Document Connection

For those people using Office in a corporate setting, there is a good chance you’ve encountered Microsoft SharePoint (a web-based document and team collaboration tool that Microsoft is currently putting a great deal of effort behind).  Being web-based, it has always been “accessible” to anybody; in reality, non-IE users (Firefox on Windows and anything on a Mac) were second class citizens in the SharePoint world.  Certain features, like checking out documents and checking them back in with changes were streamlined for IE users and frustratingly cumbersome for the rest of us.  Supposedly, the Document Connection (a new, standalone Office for Mac app) changes all that, by providing a customized interface for Mac users to interact with content in Document Libraries (Lists function appropriately for Safari users).  Note the different icons indicating a document library and subsites:

Simply provide your SharePoint site address and credentials, and the Document Center forges the connection:

Yeah, right.  If your SharePoint site requires login via an ISA (Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server), the Document Center can not properly authenticate you, unless you know your Kerberos authentication details.  Since most users are not privy to such information, no access for you.  If your site is publicly available without ISA or VPN access required, you do get to the screen shown above, with all your site content available.  But what happens when trying to access this content?  On a slightly older test machine (PowerBook G4 running Tiger), double clicks on any folder resulted in this:

So I can see my site structure, but no actual documents contained therein?  Is it too much to ask Microsoft for some testing on the current and one previous version of the OS (Leopard and Tiger)?  Kudos for trying, but unless it actually works without crashing, it’s nothing more than a tease.  Points are deserved for a great interface, though; many of the icons match those on the Windows side (the check out the arrow, especially), but have been pleasantly Aquafied to feel like a true Mac application.  Also, a suggestion: make the main interface browsable using a tree structure, with little disclosure triangles next to the folders.  As it stands, you must double click a folder, which opens it in the main window; even though you have iTunes-esque bread crumb navigation at the top, trees would be a faster way to drill down to content, or display multiple content sources in one place. 

The best way to describe the SP2 update to Office 2008 is with the old cliché: Good intentions, horrible results.  Compatibility and cross-functionality seem to be keywords—and they are great goals, to be sure—but not at the expense of functionality; documents created three days ago by a program should never be broken by a service pack upgrade.  If we were talking about breaking with some legacy format from the late 1980s, the argument changes to “suck it up and get with the future”.  But this is outrageous.  And the new Document Center, while a step in the right direction towards platform parity, is not stable enough for prime time usage.  At least not without being on the latest version of the Mac OS—SharePoint sites accessed via IE are backwards compatible to IE 6 and Windows XP, so Leopard and Tiger are not a huge request.

Again, if you can avoid upgrading, by all means, do.  If you have already upgraded, join me in entreating the powers that be for a patch that will bring us back our files, and maybe give us access to new ones on SharePoint.  It cannot come soon enough.

Full Story » | Written by Aaron Kraus for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Turns out surreptitious Microsoft updates are no longer a PC-only problem. Microsoft’s Genuine Advantage program is designed to check that copies of Windows as well as Windows-based software (mainly Office) are properly licensed. The stated goal of this program is to “... giv[e] you full capabilities, access to all the latest updates, and confidence that you are getting the experience you expect.” (Source: MS Genuine Advantage Program Information).  Until now, the nagging, pop-up reminders, and reduced functionality that accompany pirated Windows software have been exclusive to the PC realm. Unfortunately, with Office 2008, this appears to have changed.

Here is the scenario: An upgrade from an old PowerBook G4 to a new MacBook Pro and iMac setup (more power on the desktop, plus the convenience of a portable when on the road). According to the EULA for Office for Mac 2008, the program may be installed on up to two computers at a time: one desktop and one portable. In the process of migrating files, it is always prudent to check that important files made the transition intact. Unfortunately, this involved a three-way comparison—on the PowerBook, MacBook Pro and iMac—and here the trouble started.

Attempting to open an Excel file on all three computers produced the following (never-before-seen) error message:

The set-up includes Little Snitch, a killer app for monitoring/blocking incoming and outgoing network traffic (and well worth the $30 price tag). By default, all applications are denied access unless granted it, including Excel, so it was impossible that Excel had phoned home to check on licensing. A quick dig through Little Snitch’s network monitor showed no other Office apps were phoning home either, so the search was expanded to include background daemons and helper applications. The only app that could connect to the internet was the Microsoft AU Daemon (the program that checks for updates to your Office software):

Sure enough, changing the permission from Allow Connections to Deny Connections solved the problem:

A quick readthrough of the Office for Mac website, as well as the EULA of the entire Office suite, showed no documentation that the AutoUpdate program performed licensing checks for software. Out of curiosity, the same setup was replicated using the old Office for Mac 2004, which had the same two-computer license limit. Sure enough, installing on all three computers did not cause the same error message to appear, even with the Microsoft AU Daemon allowed outgoing connections. Looks like involuntary use of AutoUpdate features is no longer the domain of hapless PC users.

How long before Microsoft decides to force updates on Mac users, the way Windows users have received system updates without their knowledge (in many cases crippling their computers or leading to data loss)? Microsoft is, of course, right to check that their programs are properly licensed, but they were burned with the cloak-and-dagger manner surrounding the Windows Genuine Advantage. Is it impossible to learn from those mistakes, and be a little forthcoming with information about how and why a program will be verified?

Full Story » | Written by Aaron Kraus for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

As if all of the holiday season goodness hasn’t already been enough for you, Microsoft wants to make it better by offering a kind 50% off on the Special Media Edition of Mac Office 2008. Although this isn’t across the entire line of software that Microsoft offers for the Mac, it will help you save around $250 off of this certain product at various retailers. With the economy the way it is, that is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. Whether you are upgrading or were simply waiting for the price of the software to come down, this is your chance to capitalize on this software.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what is so special about this “Special” Media Edition. Well, like the normal Mac Office 2008, it has Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage, and Automation actions and workflows. However, this version also includes Microsoft Expression Media, a digital media assets manager. And although you may not use this software ever, this sale does drop the price of the Special Edition below that of the normal Mac Office, so why wouldn’t you buy it? Oh, I know; it’s because there is always iWork for a slim $79.

Product [Special Media Edition Mac Office 2008]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Steve Ballmer runs the world’s largest software company. They make the world’s most-used operating system, and the most-used office productivity software. His job is to sell more of this software. And he would like you to know that the Mac version of the software his company sells, well, it more or less stinks:

“You know, anyway—can you find the applications you want on the Mac? Well, you don’t really get full Microsoft Office.”

Now, I realize that not only does Mr. Ballmer have to trash the Mac, it’s pretty obvious he enjoys doing it, too. But the man just doesn’t think sometimes, because Office:mac is a product that Microsoft makes. To sell for money. To sell to people who aren’t normally buying their product.

There’s more trashing of the Mac to read. I could summarize, but allow me simply to point out that the man in charge of Microsoft should really know the difference between a “mouse” and a “trackpad.”

Read [PCMag.com] Via [The Mac Observer]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

OpenOffice has released version 3 of its open-source alternative to the Microsoft Office suite of applications, which now includes a native version for Mac OS X.

The new OpenOffice 3 includes the following new features:

• ODF 1.2 Support
• Microsoft Office 2007 Import Filters
• Solver component which allows solving optimization problems
• Support for displaying custom error bars and regression equations
• Improved Crop Feature in Draw and Impress

The native Mac version of the productivity suite is only available for Macs with Intel processors. There are projects available for converting OpenOffice for PowerPC Macs, but an official version was not included in this release.

The OpenOffice web site is running quite slowly right now due to the overwhelming demand for the new 3.0 release, but you can skip directly to downloading the software by going here. For all Mac users, make sure the file you’re downloading includes MacOSXIntel_AQUA_install in the name, especially if you’re using an external mirror. OpenOffice 3 weighs in at 163MB, and is a great free and open source alternative to Microsoft’s proprietary Office suite of applications.

Read [Insanely Great Mac] Product [OpenOffice]

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DataViz a few years ago released a very promising product called Documents To Go. The main idea behind this application was to give mobile users the chance to manipulate Microsoft Office documents on a portable device.

It was the days when the Palm m100 just got out—when mobile devices without a color screen were still a normal thing to deal with—that I got to know this interesting product from DataViz.

I tried it back then, even through as many versions as I could install in my handheld, and it was great. It could never be a complete substitute to the desktop version for me, but it was a very powerful option for viewing and editing those Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the go.

Now DataViz has announced they’re working on a version of Documents To Go for the iPhone. They haven’t announced a released date yet, but you can visit their website and subscribe to receive e-mail updates in order to be one of the first to know the availability of the product.

I can’t wait to see how they manage to take advantage of the iPhone interface and capabilities to improve an already mature suite.

Product [Documents To Go]

Full Story » | Written by Juan Gonzalez for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

After leaving it out of Office 2008 along with Visual Basic for Applications, Microsoft has returned Solver to Excel 2008.

Prior to this addition, Office users would have to use Office 2004 for Excel if they needed solver, defeating the purpose of having Office 2008 on the system. It is a standalone application, and you have to run it alongside Excel. There is not a way to run it from within Excel.

Solver requires Excel 12.1.2, and Mac OS X v10.4.9 or 10.5.4. It is a free download.

Solver had been left out of Office 2008 due to Visual Basic for Applications’ dependency. VBA is supposed to return to Mac Office in the next release.

Via [MacNN]

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On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled new updates to its Office 2004 and 2008 programs.

Office 2004 version 11.5.0 adds an update to the Open XML File Converter, allowing for compatibility with the randomly changed file formats of Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac.

Office 2008 12.1.1 offers improvements in Word and Excel, with performance and stability updates for PowerPoint and Entourage. It also fixes issues with date formatting in charts. Word has fixes pertaining to Macros, opening files from the Finder, and general graphics updates. Excel now has improved reliability when calculating and editing formulas and updating data.

You can download the updates via the Microsoft Software Update Application.

Via [MacNN]

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

In what general manager of the Mac business unit Craig Eisler says is the “...biggest hiring initiative since the inception of MacBU eleven years ago,” Microsoft’s Mac BU is expanding. In a blog post on the “Mac Mojo” blog, Eisler wrote that the Mac BU is “...hard at work planning for products beyond Office 2008, and we are growing our team to help turn our vision into reality.” Whether he means yet-unannounced products or making Messenger for Mac just a little less of a joke remains to be seen, but they’ve got something up their sleeves.

Microsoft is the Mac’s biggest developer, mostly because of their gargantuan market share with Microsoft Office. Many alternatives that are increasingly viable have sprung up in recent years including Apple’s own iWork (which is much better than Office in terms of compatibility and usability, but has a long way to go in features) and OpenOffice (which became much more viable with the announcement of its native Aqua port). However, for ultimate compatibility with Office on Windows, Microsoft Office for Mac is the way to go. Sure, before Office 2008, iWork ironically supported Office 2007’s new .docx file formats while Word itself did not, but Apple has only included an “Export” option for saving to Office formats. The only way to Save a Pages file is to a .pages file. iWork gets better with every release, but it still has a long way to go.

Even in situations where iWork or OpenOffice would be just fine, people still go for Office for Mac despite the price-tag, shortcomings, and overuse of animations (it almost cries, “Look at me! I’m a Mac app too! Please let me fit in!”) because it’s what they used on Windows.

I do look forward to seeing what the Mac team has up their sleeve outside of Office, but I hope that it is something unique, and not just their own crappy spin on something that already exists. Make me happy, Microsoft.

Read [Mac Mojo]

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

I was all set to be made happy by Jonathan Blum’s latest article, “Mac Automator a no-brainer for Small Biz.” The first paragraph indulged me. In it, Blum talks about the ridiculousness of the Mac vs. PC debate, and leads into his biggest draw to the Mac: Automator. Then, the second paragraph hit like a ship being slammed up on shore by a Tsunami, dashed to pieces on the rocks, all it’s crew members dead. Seriously.

Rather, for my small business money, the single most exciting productivity tool probably lies hidden deep inside some Macs: Automator. This piece of code, which Apple describes as a “personal automation assistant,” is part of the new Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac (starting at $400) suite of office software.

*Spits out drink* What!? Did Blum somehow manage to completely avoid researching this product he so admires? Did he simply assume that because the last thing he installed was Office 2008, that Automator must have come with it? How on Earth, nay, the universe, does such a glaring error not at least make it past the editors?

It gets better. In what is set to be a glowing review, Blum prefaces the article with one of the biggest cons of the software: “Yes, you have to buy the whole Office software package to get Automator. No, the cheaper $150 version of Office for Mac won’t cut it.”

Appletell Hint of the Day: This isn’t a con because Automator isn’t part of Office!

I honestly cannot fathom how this slipped through the cracks and fell onto thestreet.com, but I’m here to correct it for the one or two of you who may not know. Automator is a great application that allows you to create workflows based on finding files with certain parameters and then applying actions to them. It is part of Mac OS X, and thus ships free with every Mac. You’d think Blum could have caught that.

Read [TheStreet.com]

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

iWork and MS Office are both great apps depending on your needs and wants.  MS Office is great for people who need to have compatibility with Windows users and iWork is a great addition to the rest of the Mac apps.  So the question is, which one should you get?  Each has its upsides and downsides, but how do you know which one will be right for you? Well, right off the bat there is a few things you can look at to help you make your decision.

1) Price. iWork comes in at a nice $79.00 whereas MS Office is anywhere between $149.95 and $499.95.  They both offer the same apps (text editor, presentation maker, and spreadsheet creator), but iWork is a lot cheaper.  However, they both offer free trials to see which one you like, but I imagine the price is enough to turn some away from MS Office.

2) Viruses. Cult of Mac has written a post stating that of 6 viruses in the wild for Mac OS X, 5 of them are exploited through MS Office.  As far as I’m concerned, this is enough of a reason to not go with the Microsoft product.  I don’t want my machine being more susceptible to attacks from simply editing a text file.

So when the day comes for you to decide between these two apps, which one is it going to be?  Have you already made up your mind?

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The mEgg Hunt, “brings seasonal fun” where Mac users will surf a Mac developer’s site and try to find an egg. Once they find an egg they’ll receive a code towards 20% off the purchase of the software. The Easter mEgg Hunt just revealed the list of participants, so once you see them, get hunting! (Then reading Apple news)

Apokalypse Software Corp. - Mori - Your notes, organized / Clockwork - On time, in style
Azure Talon Software - Exces - file encryption made easy
Black Cat Systems - Productivity Software for the Macintosh
Boinx Software Ltd. - Makers of iStopMotion FotoMagico and Mousepose
Chimp Software - Turn your Mac into a $2000 alarm clock with iRooster
Critical Matter, Inc. - Color Picker Pro: professional CSS and HTML color picker
www.x-tables.eu - Developer of Tables
DayTime Software - Makers of Differencia, The Data Comparison Tool
Dejal Systems - Simon, Time Out, Caboodle, Narrator, BlogAssist & Macfilink
Fluidmac - Creativity tools for Mac OS X
GroupSmarts, LLC. - MemoryMiner: Award-winning Digital Storytellin
Houdah Software - Makers of HoudahGeo & HoudahSpot
Indev Software - Revolutionary Enhancements for OS X Mail.app
Karelia Software - Sandvox - Easy, Elegant Website Creation
Lemke Software GmbH. - GraphicConverter & CADintosh
MildMannered Industries - Software for Superheroes
nova media MDS GmbH. - Worldwide mobile Internet access
Outer Level - LicenseKeeper - Keep your serial numbers safe outerlevel.com
Volitans Software - Makers of SMART Utility
Yellow Mug Software - Maker of
YourView - FileChute, EasyBatchPhoto, and more

Wow, that is quite a bit of software, and some good discounts Mac users can benefit from.

Via [macPRcaster]

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Filemaker, the company behind the new application Bento, just announced that they passed 250 000 downloads. Bento is a $49 application for Leopard only, that is an organizational tool designed to manage your life and everything inside it. The app has neat and handy features like built-in links to Address Book, intergration with iCal, and ability to manage contact, events, track your projects and anything else you need to organize in your life.

What Filemaker did not tell us is if the number is the number of downloads for trying out the software, or purchases. We also don’t know if this is unique downloads, or one user downloading it several times. But still good news for Filemaker.

Via [MacWorld]

Full Story » | Written by Nicholas Montgomery for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Microsoft was due to release an update to their latest Office 2008 suite this month. I have found my overall experience with Office 2008 to be good, but it is almost as slow as 2004, and has some bugs with Leopard features like Spaces. Today, Microsoft released version 12.0.1 - an update that should have popped up in Microsoft AutoUpdate - if it hasn’t, you can download it here. The update applies to Office 2008, Office 2008 Home and Student Edition, Office 2008 Special Media Edition, Word 2008, Excel 2008, PowerPoint 2008 and Entourage 2008.

This 114MB download “fixes critical issues in Office 2008, including issues that might cause Office 2008 applications to stop responding or quit unexpectedly” according to Microsoft.

Full Story » | Written by Stephen Chinnadorai for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

We’ve all got lots of things to do in our life and all of that clutter in our working environment doesn’t help at all. In real life you’ve got a garbage can and sticky notes, it does the job and that’s about it. On my computer I’ve got a simple, yet feature full version of that, ShoveBox. ShoveBox is the “the smart clutter-catcher for you and your Mac.” This neat little Mac app sits in your menu bar, waiting to capture and sort your information. If you’ve used a to-do list app or stickies app you’ve probably realized that text just isn’t good enough to keep track of your life. From the menu bar, you may choose to capture clutter by typing it down, or “QuickJot.” Or import from your clipboard, create a longer text note, or record using your iSight or built in camera.

Shovebox doesn’t create more work for you or make you spend more time managing your life. From the preferences panel you can set a hotkey to trigger, QuickJot for example and write down something fast.

In terms or sorting, the application is great, but a little lacking. You’re able to use color-coded labels to specify urgency or highlight clutter, or just flag a certain item. In addition, you’ll be able to share all of that wonderful junk by exporting it, and perhaps sharing it with a friend? In a future release I’d love to see tagging of items and online integration. If I’m about to leave for school and need to remember something, being able to just click and send the info online would be a killer feature. I may then take a peek at it on my cellphone, or on a remote computer. Export may do the trick, but this takes sharing and makes your clutter much more portable.

As a blogger and podcaster, I always need to keep track of what’s happening around the net, and still keep a clean room. The simplicity of the app has enabled me to keep track of everything without have hundreds of text files lying around my desktop, or just relying on plain text to document data.

Ever since I’ve used this I’ve been able to keep track of chores, homework, news, personal thoughts and a whole lot more. ShoveBox is available at WonderWarp Software for just $24.95, but we have an exclusive giveaway at Appletell. To enter, simply comment with a feature you’d like to see in a future release. On the 24th of March at noon EST we will randomly select 2 winners (as long as you meet the above criteria) and email them their licenses.

What do you shove in your ShoveBox?

Full Story » | Written by Nicholas Montgomery for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Microsoft recently released the first update to its new Office 2008 suite - although this is a very minor update and doesn’t affect any Microsoft Office programs at all. The update simply installs a new version of AutoUpdate, 2.1.1. The update is only 2MB in size, so don’t expect any major changes to the updater application - it’s most likely minor bug fixes.

Expect to see another update to Microsoft Office 2008 not long away, as there are plenty of things that need fixing, and Microsoft is aware of this. None of the applications in the suite have managed to work with Leopard’s Spaces feature properly yet and they are a lot slower than Apple’s iWork alternative.

Via [TUAW]

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Mindjet has released version 7 of their MindManager application, which now supports Leopard. The ability to use QuickLook has been added, along with other Leopard-only features like Microsoft Office 2008 integration with a new redesigned Microsoft fluent UI. MindManager 7 is an application designed to help you be more productive. It works by simply creating a single focus in the centre, and adding links from it - you can even add links to files and web pages. It really allows you to capture innovative thinking and organise it structurally. MindManager 7 Mac is available for $130, with upgrades priced at $70. MindManager 7 Mac requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

Some other new improvements are the faster formatting on map styles and galleries, and enhanced ScreenTops that allow you to select topics with rules that users can save and apply as filters. The printing has been enhanced too, with support for large maps that span across multiple pages, headers and footers and more.

Via [MacNN]

Full Story » | Written by Stephen Chinnadorai for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The Mac BU at Microsoft has acknowledged a security issue, and has released a fix, and plans to release an update.

The problem is that the Microsoft Office Installer changes permissions for the Microsoft Office install and the Automator Library folder to user 502, or the second account created on a given Mac. It’s not a huge problem, because there is no threat if you only have one user, and if you have more than one user, all that they can do is mess with your Office install. They cannot really do anything malicious to your Mac.

There is a posted fix; it is only two steps in the Terminal. They must be carried out in an administrator account.

In the Terminal, type the flowwing then press “Return”

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/chmod -R a-st
  “/Applications/Microsoft Office 2008” 
  “/Library/Automator” 
  “/Library/Fonts/Microsoft” 
  “/Library/Application Support/Microsoft”

Enter password when prompted.

Now enter this, followed by “Return”

/usr/bin/sudo /usr/sbin/chown -h -R root:admin
  “/Applications/Microsoft Office 2008” 
  “/Library/Automator” 
  “/Library/Fonts/Microsoft” 
  “/Library/Application Support/Microsoft”

Enter password if prompted.

You should be all fixed up.

Future copes of the installer should not have this issue.

Via [ArsTechnica]

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

I’m not a Mail.app user, simply because there’s no reason for me to have my e-mail locally - I much prefer to keep it “in the cloud” on Google’s servers. But it is up to you how you want to organize your e-mail. Obviously, if your provider only supports POP3 and no web interface, then you’re pretty much forced to use a client. Probably the best mail client for Mac is the one that ships with Mac OS X: Mail.app.

Mail is a great app, but lacks some useful features. Luckily, MailTags is an app that will bring an extra useful feature to Mail.app. It is now in Beta 4 (still a little buggy). I would consider this the ultimate Mail.app enhancement. Tags are basically a part of everything on the internet. It’s a powerful way of organizing anything - and it works well. MailTags does pretty much what the name says - it allows you to put tags on e-mails, as well as much more. It also compliments other shareware applications like iGTD, MailSteward, TagBot, EagleFiler, DEVONthink and Pagico.

Via [TUAW]

Full Story » | Written by Stephen Chinnadorai for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Of course, not all of us are fortunate enough to use a Mac. And for those that don’t - the best free email client is definitely Thunderbird. From the creators of Firefox, the award-winning multi-platform browser, Thunderbird is a very powerful e-mail client and works just as well as Firefox does. Best of all, it works on Mac, Linux and Windows. If you’re using Thunderbird and want to change its appearance to something a little more aesthetically pleasing than the default skin, look no further.

deviantART user, REO-2007, has created a stunning Leopard Mail theme for Thunderbird. It is so convincing that when I first saw it - I thought it was Mail.app. This will, of course, work on all platforms. So the Mac-user-wannabes can make their Thunderbird look like Apple’s mail. Installation is simple: After download, just apply the skin via Thunderbird’s Add-Ons option (Thunderbird 2.0 is required).

Via [TUAW]

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AppleWorks had it last gleam of light killed with the new release of the new iMacs, iWork and iLife. The program, originally released in 1984, was essentially the original iWork application.

I actually remember using it back in the day on my G3 iMac running OS 9. But today, if you go to the AppleWorks webpage, you are re-directed to the iWork page. End of a good life for AppleWorks.

Via [MacWorld]

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The latest update (4.2.2) of iSync from Nova Media has added support for 85 additional mobile phones, including the Nokia 6110 and 8600 Luna, Samsung D900i, E256 and Sony Ericsson K320i, S500i phones.

If you don’t know what iSync does, it synchronizes data from Address Book and iCal to a mobile phone. Costing €9.95 and available for download now the iSync phone plug-ins extend the number of mobiles which are compatible with iSync.

“There are many Mac OS X users who can not or do not want to use an iPhone at the moment.” observed Nova Media’s Jan Fuellemann. “We want to ensure these users can at least synchronize their data with their current mobile phone.”

Via [Macworld UK]

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Office 2004 users, you’ve got an update available. The folks over at Redmond have issued update 11.3.6, which address several security issues within the productivity suite. It’s hard to tell what the updates actually fix because it seems like Microsoft is beginning to follow Apple when it comes to providing vague update descriptions.

If you happen to use public folders in Entourage, you may no doubt have noticed that data loss occurs for users who have a permission level of “Editor” or higher. This fix supposedly address this embarrassing issue. Update 11.3.6 is a 15.2MB free download from Microsoft, so get yours now.

Via [ArsTechnica]

Full Story » | Written by Marvin Sum for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Sure, everyone knows you can view Word documents on your iPhone. But how do you edit them? As Robert Scbole predicted, gOffice has just launched a new Word processor specially designed for the iPhone. Unfortunately, it’s only a web app, but just think about the possibilities if it were running natively. You’d be able to do a lot of funky things like saving files locally and getting a much better response compared to AT&T’s EDGE network.

This isn’t a no-frills application either; you’ll find fancy features like templates, special headers, live previews and custom fonts. If you’re one of the privileged few to own an iPhone, point Safari here. If you’re just a mere mortal, like the rest of us, you can test it out in any browser of your choice. Once completed, you can send a hard-copy of your writing via US postal mail anywhere in the world.

There’s no charge for simply using it.

Read [gOffice]

Full Story » | Written by Marvin Sum for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Ever tried OpenOffice for OS X? Disappointed with what you saw? Luckily for us Mac users, OpenOffice.org has announced improvements in the form of an alpha version called “OpenOffice Aqua”. For the uninitiated, OpenOffice is basically a multi-platform, open-source office suite.

Note that this is a developers’ preview, so it will naturally be unstable; OpenOffice.org warns that “this software may crash and may destroy your data”. However, if you’re brave enough, you can download it here. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

via [CrunchGear]

Full Story » | Written by Marvin Sum for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

For those of you out there who haven’t heard of Mailplane, don’t feel bad because not many others have either. Mailplane is a, currently unreleased, Gmail client for your desktop. Mailplane is a fully functional app that integrates with your Gmail or Google Apps email account. It allows you to read, compose, and do basically anything you could do with Gmail in your browser, but on your desktop in a standalone app.

The latest update (1.46) now allows you to access multiple Gmail accounts simply by double-clicking the name in the account drawer. This release also features a menubar notifier, similar to that of the google notifier, that allows you to easily overview new mail in your multiple accounts as well as choose the email inbox you’d like to read. Mailplane is still in private beta, but you can apply for the beta here.

Read [Mailplane Blog]

Full Story » | Written by Michael Yurechko for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »