Apple took a bit of a gamble recently, trying to push the new version of Safari (3.1) to Windows users via Software Updates. There was some concern about the reaction and acceptance of the new Mac browser… However, to date it looks like it was a very smart move.

On March 18th, Apple released Safari 3.1 for both the Mac and Windows. During this release Apple decided to include Safari 3.1 with Apple’s Software Update service on Windows. The Safari update was pre-selected, and needed to be un-checked to not install. This was clearly a new move from Apple, who hasn’t released new software in this method before… They must have wanted to take a bite into the Windows browser market share… and they did.

Safari 3.0 has historically performed pitifully on Windows, gaining at most .07% market share. However, the new Safari 3.1 with the Software Update option in full effect has already tripled Safari 3.0’s highest market share totals. Looks like Apple only had to make it mandatory (or at least, partly mandatory, you can un-check the install) in order to get people to use it. Check out the chart below for Safari’s historical Windows browser market share over the past year. Interesting stuff!

[via MarketShare]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Safari 3.1, Windows Software Update

Microsoft is planning to offer up software for the iPhone. A recent interview noted that Microsoft developers are looking into a variety of possibilities including Office functionality on the iPhone.

Tom Gibbons, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Specialized Devices and Applications Group (wow, that’s a mouthful) recently told Fortune magazine:

“It’s really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone…To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we’re actually in the process of trying to understand that now. We do have experience with that environment, and that gives us confidence to be able to do something. The key question is, what is the value that we need to bring? We’re still getting comfortable with the SDK, right? It’s just come out. So we had a guess as to what feasibility would be like, now we’ll really get our head wrapped around that…”

It should prove interesting to see what Microsoft develops for the iPhone. With Apple’s support for Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail server and ActiveSync protocol, there are a lot of possibilities here. Seems as though Microsoft would be smart to take a piece of the iPhone App ‘Pie’ so-to-speak.

[via InformationWeek]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone SDK, Mac Office, Microsoft, Tom Gibbons

As speculated, Office 2008 for Mac version 12.0.1 was released yesterday. It contains fixes for most of the applications in the suite.

Many Word bugs have been addressed and fixed, including one that causes the app to crach upon launch (wow, I imagine that wouldn’t be frustrating at all?). A few security fixes have been added, and a fix for a security hole caused by the Office 2008 installer has been addressed.

Excel has the WORKDAY function all fixed up, plus, the app should be more stable.

Entourage received a whole lot of work too, including synchronization fixes, notification sound fixes, improvements for importing and filtering rules… In fact, I could go on and on with the fixes Microsoft had to work on for this update. For more details on the update from Microsoft, click here.

The Microsoft Office 2008 12.0.1 update weighs in at 114.1MB, and can be downloaded from Microsoft, or through your AutoUpdate application. Enjoy!

[via arstechnica]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Microsoft Office 2008 Mac, Office 2008 12.0.1

Xbox Media Center has finally arrived for the Mac. I think i’ll stick with my Front Row, but as the XBMC team points out, the Xbox Media Center apparently outshines iTunes/Front Row/Apple TV in the following areas:

• Resolutions up to, including and even surpassing 1080P (AppleTV is currently @ 720P)
• DTS/AC3 passthrough that decodes multichannel audio (which is great for playing DVD/BluRay/HD-DVD sourced audio).
• Almost unlimited video and audio format support.
• A great virtual file system layer with support for protocols like UPnP
• There is a great looking weather item that puts very useful info in front of your eyes.
• It’s an open platform… Look for Youtube browsers, RSS readers, visualizers, MAME/Other emulators can and are being integrated seamlessly.

Interesting stuff. I will not be checking this one out hands-on, but it definitely looks like there are going to be a lot of happy Macboxers… er, Xmacers, um… well… Happy mac users that happen to have an xbox.

[via 9to5mac]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Apple TV, front row, Microsoft, xbox, xbox media center

Vista, Vista, Vista… We’ve heard nothing but trouble over here regarding the Microsoft Vista operating system. Do you run Vista? Having trouble getting apps and devices to work properly? If so, you’re not alone. Don’t believe the hype you hear from the big Microsoft promo machine.

In a recent survey of IT professionals (961 surveyed), 9 out of 10 have major concerns about migrating to Vista.

I’ve heard horror story after horror story regarding Vista… Numerous more complaints than I’ve heard about OS X Leopard. No OS is perfect, and Leopard does have its issues, but it appears Leopard’s issues are nothing compared to Vista’s at this point.

If you are a Vista junkie, there is potential help on the way. A support pack 1 preview was sent to 15,000 testers last week.

[Source]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Microsoft, Vista