iPad Maxi and MS Office

Apple will start selling a 4th generation iPad with 128Gb storage. Nothing updated on this model except for the doubled storage.

Apple will market this product toward professional users, such as architects with 3-D CAD drawings of skyscrapers and jumbo jets and doctors with MRI/CAT whole body scans. Of course, you home consumers who itched to put all their music on an iPad are welcome to do so.

The cost? $799 for the Wi-Fi only version and $929 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Get it at the Apple Store in your local mall, online at the Apple Online Store, and at selected Apple 3rd party resellers.

The Reselling of New Wine in Old Bottles

Microsoft announced Office 2013 on Tuesday, January 30th. This product is only for Windows 7 or 8.

Microsoft has also announced Office 365, a subscription service allowing users to install Office on up to 5 computers at home or office for $99.99/year. This applies to both Macs and Windows.

Windows users get the new Office 2013, but Mac users get Office 2011-which many of them already bought.

Looking at the comments for this articles, many users expressed dissatisfaction with this arrangement. Several mentionedLibreOffice, a free office suite derived from OpenOffice.org.

Another problem for Microsoft is that their user’s requirements and needs don’t march in lockstep with each upgrade. If Office 2003 worked for them, they don’t see any need to upgrade immediately to a later version. I used Office 97, which I got free at a Microsoft seminar in 1996, until Microsoft’s Home User Program (HUP) offered me a better deal for Office 2007 through my employer. It cost me just $9.95!

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog