Microsoft commits to Mac

Microsoft has used its presence at this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco to talk up its Mac credentials.

The company has said it is moving closer towards its plans for developing Microsoft Office for Apple’s PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.

Its Macintosh Business Unit has flagged upcoming improvements to its Mac version of Entourage 2004 and said it plans to build converters to read the new Microsoft Office Open XML formats.

A formal five-year agreement has also been signed between the two companies.

For US vice president Consumer Productivity eXperiences Business, Tom Gibbons, the agreement in particular underscored Microsoft’s commitment to the Mac platform.

“We’ve had many years of success with Office for Mac, and this formal commitment confirms that we’re in the Mac business for the long haul,” he said in a statement.

As previously reported, Microsoft ceased its support for the Mac version of Internet Explorer on 31 December 2005.

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