On being a Macintosh girl at Microsoft

Article
08/30/2006

Macintosh. Microsoft. Macintosh. Microsoft. To a lot of people, it seems like these two shouldn’t go together. But, here we are: the biggest Macintosh development organisation outside of Apple, and yes, we’re at Microsoft. There’s about 180 of us, and all we do is Mac stuff.

It’s kinda strange being a Mac person at Microsoft. My machine set-up is more difficult than for the average Softie. There’s permissions and exceptions and access requests and all sorts of things to make my various Macs work happily on our network. If I’m in one of the MacBU buildings toting around my PowerBook, no-one notices. But outside of those two buildings (one at the Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, California; the other on our main campus in Redmond, Washington), I get strange looks. In an elevator, someone came up to me and told me that I had to be pretty special to get a PowerBook. I reminded him that Microsoft makes world-class Mac software, and someone’s gotta work on it. I had a building receptionist ask me if I needed her to call someone to come get me.

It’s also kinda strange being a Microsoft person in the Mac world. I spent all week at WWDC watching people look carefully at my badge. At MacWorld Expo, I worked at the Microsoft booth every day, answering questions and telling people about our software. A lot of people use our products, but they sometimes forget that they’re using Microsoft products.

I spend a lot of time reminding people that we’re the biggest all-Mac development org. I remind them of the history of Excel and PowerPoint, two apps that started out on the Mac and were only later ported to Windows. It’s amusing to me that I have to do this both within Microsoft and when I’m at various Mac-related events.

I realised something as I typed all of this out. All of this is superficial. Although I might use a different laptop than the majority of the other Microsoft employees, we have a lot in common. We all have a commitment to making the best software that we can. And even though I work for a company that you might think doesn’t get along with Apple that well, we all have a commitment to our Mac customers to give them the best software possible. I think it’s like those old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ads. Some people might say, ‘Keep your Microsoft off of my Mac!’ And some people might say, ‘Keep your Mac out of my Microsoft!’ But that’s the wrong attitude. Microsoft and Macintosh are two great tastes that taste great together.

Comments

Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Your intrepid reporter has made the plunge and posted to Mac Mojo, the new MacBU team blog.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Should have waited for rev 2 MacBook Pro Nadyne :P
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I used to work as a Mac developer at Microsoft in a Mac group that was not part of the MacBU. I didn't work there very long because I didn't care for working there - and another company offered me a lot more to leave.

I can't say I miss it. These days, I prefer to use non-Microsoft solutions on my Mac (NeoOffice & Mail instead of MS Office and Exchange).
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Considering some of the people working for both companies, your Reeses analogy makes me want to do the stabbity thing at in my eyes with a spork.

BADTHINGFILTER...ahhh
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
My main work computer is a PowerBook, so I am still waiting. :P
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
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Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Hey Nadyne, don't let the folks at MacDailyNews find this article. They still think only evil comes out of Redmond. =P
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
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Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Good to hear from you.
Good to see the Mac BU personalized.
Sun (not the company!) for the weekend in Redmond!
(I'm in Bothell.)
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Scott - Nah, I'm not saying 'dude, give me respect', just saying that it's interesting to me how people on both sides of the fence forget that we exist at all.

konakahuna - I think I was unclear. I didn't mean to say that I don't understand why some folks are less than enthused about Microsoft. Most people don't realise that the team that made the decision about Windows Media Player for Mac is entirely separate from the team that makes the vast majority of the rest of Microsoft's Macintosh offerings. They just see it as all being Microsoft.

(Oh, and Steve: Not all of MacBU is in Redmond. I'm writing this from our office in Mountain View, California, and it will be sunny here this weekend too!)
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Give me a frickin' break. Nobody in the Mac world believes that Microsoft cares about Mac users. Over the last 3 years, I have reported over 50 bugs in both Microsoft Word & Entourage... and none of them have been fixed yet. Microsoft doesn't create ANY Macintosh products except for Office -- they have dropped support for IE, Windows Media Player, Virtual PC, FoxPro, and have absolutely no desire to make ANY of their other products Macintosh-compatible. How many more years until Microsoft stops developing Office for the Mac too? I guarantee you that the MacBU will not be around in 10 years. So you create Mac versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint... and they barely work with the same finesse that the Windows versions have. Microsoft is a horrible company.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I for one and really happy to see this blog. As a new Mac Book Pro owner I am looking forward to the intel version of Office. As well as the next features that will be introduced in the next version. Hopefully the MACBU will let a few tib bits of information leak out so we can have something to look forward too.

Keep up the great work and let us know when you want feedback on what we want to see in the future.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
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Anonymous
August 30, 2006
ive always wondered if microsoft stunt their mac dev team at all, so they donot make the mac more attractive with apps, no offence i think you do a fine job, just a thought, like messenger, why so little features in the mac version?
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Maybe you could explain to me why PowerPoint presentations on the Mac look so much better than they do in Windows?
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I appreciate that you have different internal teams, but why does it matter to me as a customer? Microsoft had a product, Microsoft axed it. Just because your email signature says something else doesn't mean that the company isn't shafting us.

That said - thank you for the few product you do maintain. Any chance we'll see a Universal Binary update for Remote Desktop Connection? I use it for 3+ hours every day, and it still has issues on my mac book pro.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
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Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I am aware that the Windows Media team is entirely separate from the MacBU. That said, it is disappointing that they don't appear to put forth the same effort to meet the needs of Mac users as MacBU does. I will applaud them for moving to the Telestream solution (WM codec within QuickTime) as I believe it's the best choice under the circumstances. However - why can't Microsoft give Telestream a license to implement Windows Media DRM? This is the last sticking point I have with the Windows Media team.

IMO, as Intel-powered Macs and virtualization software become more common, the complaints about Visio, Access, IE, etc should go away. As long as those applications can be run in a pinch, I agree that there is no need for MacBU to undertake the effort.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
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Anonymous
August 30, 2006
konakahuna - no access - no loss
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
As someone who has been using Microsoft products (and the Mac) since the very beginning (as in 1984 and Word 1.0/Multiplan 1.0)... I'm a big fan of Microsoft's Mac software. Sure there have been rough patches (Word 6.0! Explorer for OS X) but there has also been some incredibly good software over the years (Word 5.1, the tasman rendering engine, Office 98, Office 2004) that in general is rock solid. Anyway I look forward to hearing from the folks behind the software and hope the MacBU will continue to grow adapt and innovate.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Everything that comes from Microsoft is craptacular.

I don't know why you haven't realized this yet.

It's the sad, sad truth....

((sigh))
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Nadyne, great articles!
Will you or any other MacBU blogger pen a response to the recent Vista teasing at the WWDC.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I think you've been hanging around this guy too much:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060830_799123.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
konakahuna forgot to mention the awfully featured (in comparision with the PC version) MSN Messenger!! We don't have voice or video conference, we can't see or use custom smilies, etc!! It has always seemed to me as a way to show that the Mac is limited because it can't have all these features at the same time (although there are much better alternatives from other developers).
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
There are a few groups within Microsoft that are interesting in their exemption to perceived animosities. People who work on Unix interop, partner with Sun, write Java compilers, etc. I had a conversation with a co-worker that reminds me of this post - it pertained to being a Unix guy at Microsoft. He would remind me of various pieces of trivia such as the roots of Windows NT or tales of the infamous Xenix.

I was at a meeting in Redmind recently with my Powerbook in tow, which invited a few glares. I didn't let on that it was actually running Windows Vista.

Now, all of that said, with the exception of Word and Excel, I've never been quite as pleased with Microsoft's mac apps as I have with their Windows apps - probably due to budget and time constraints, I'm sure. Most notably is the difference between Outlook and Entourage.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Why not roll "all things Mac" into the MBU?

Wouldn't it make more sense to have you guys, who have a proven track record of making good Mac products, in charge of Remote Desktop, MSN Messenger, and Windows Media Player?

I feel like a lot of the "bad feelings" Mac users have towards Microsoft would go away if these other applications were developed to the same standards that we've become accustomed to froom your group.

So here's an official Wish List, and I suspect most Mac users would concur with it:

- Mac versions of Access, Visio, and Publisher
- Making sure that every font bundled with Windows + Office is bundled with Office/Mac
- Fixing the cross-platform problems with Macros in office
- Fixing cross-platform problems with embedded OLE objects in Office
- A feature-complete version of Windows Media Player for Mac that supports ALL Windows Media Codecs, and supports Windows Media DRM, so Mac users have access to movie and music services that currently use Windows Media as a crutch to discriminate against Mac OS and Mac OS users
- A completely rewritten MSN Messenger, with the same features as the Windows version
- Updated Services for Macintosh in Windows Server 2003
- A new UAM module for Mac OS clients connecting to Windows Server 2003 that is Universal.

Oh, yeah... and some word on a Universal version of Office would be nice, too.

Ernie
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Nadyne: I promise not to write MicroSoft if you promise not to write MacWorld :-)

(j/k, looking forward to reading mac mojo)
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
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Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Dan (above poster) are you kidding?
This is definitely a M$ sanctioned blog.
Mainly a PR excercise and absolutely monitored by Monkey-Boy Ballmer's Goons.
I bet this post goes missing as soon as the attached URL is looked at.
http://www.ntk.net/media/dancemonkeyboy.mpg
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I must say that your post is overwhelmingly positive - like it came from MS (which it did).

MS and Apple both have contributed great things to computing (and life in general!), but I would not expect any unbiased opinions about MS-Mac products to come from this blog.
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
girl, you REALLY need some pictures in this blog!
Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Hey, Nadyne!
This is a great post, and I've added this blog to my feed reader. Didn't know MS is such a big player on Macs.
So, keep a good thing going, share some secrets with us, post good news. :)
Good luck!
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I've been following the earlier blogs from people in the MacBU so it's nice to see this aggregate, and welcome. While obviously this is going to attract a lot of 'haters' I'd like to say that I really appreciate MS Office - and the way MS understood the mistake it made round Word 6. The future sounds promising (more Cocoa and Applescript support) although I do worry how it will affect my ability to work with (the few) VBA macros I need to use. However, I'll still have Office 2004 which works well enough.

Wishes : Clipart integration to be as easy as Office 2003, rather than 'navigate to web, select images, download, install'.
Something that will work with MS Publisher documents - maybe just a mode in Word. I suspect it is probably a nightmare as Publisher probably has a very different lineage to other Office apps - it's certainly easy to develop Publisher style apps on Cocoa, but it looks like the file format is a lot harder to deal with than Word or Visio (otherwise I'm sure someone would have done it).
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
In Germany we say: "Viele Köche verderben den Brei". In the case of Office for Mac it is totally the same. Did you know that Office is worth using it in an Network environment? Maybe some of the 180 developers should focus on basic functionality instead of creating toolboxes bothering me while creating a fully compatible new document ...
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
They weren't looking at your BADGE, but rather what it was pinned to . . .
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Hi Nadyne,

Thanks for this post. It's good to hear that the committment to the Mac OS runs so deep.

Quick question - I'm exploring Office Live and would like to know if it will function on a Mac. My organization has a mixed platform environment and Office Live might be a great solution for us if it works well on Mac. Will it work on the current Mac version of Explorer? Will it work on Mac / Intel based Safari or Firefox browsers?

Thanks,

Evan
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
When you were at the WWDC this year, or any year for that matter, did Apple's digs at Microsoft bother you?
How much independence do you have? Can you develop a Mac only application as a group without getting the ok from higher up?
Thanks for the post, I'm going to keep reading.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Chris - We announced at WWDC that we are working on Remote Desktop Connection, and that it will be a Universal Binary. We haven't announced a release date yet, but you can be assured that we're working on it.

Paul M - Just for the record, I'm not in marketing. I'm a user experience researcher, which means that I try to make our software easier to use. No-one asked me to write this particular post, and no-one approved it or edited it after I posted it. This is just what I feel about working in MacBU in general. If you haven't yet, you can check out my own blog to see if it feels a bit more natural to you:
http://blogs.msdn.com/nadyne/

Dan F - I saw that product feedback that you submitted about our spell check for your magazine. I noticed it on the Sunday night before WWDC, and have been trying to track it down and get it fixed since then (during WWDC and my own vacation afterwards). :) I've actually written up most of a post about what it's taken to track it down, and have been waiting to ensure that I get the whole story and the (more importantly!) the resolution before posting it.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
konakahuna: You mentioned that ms droped many products for mac, such as windows media player.

I was also wondering why apple does not release more products for windows, such as iLife. (iTunes is available, because they want to sell ipods.)
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I think your comments are going to get filled up with people complaining about messenger. SO heres another one video audio all the pc features should be in the mac version. Messenger on mac is a horrible mess and the only real reason that people can see is because thats the way that microsoft want it to be.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Nadyne: Just to be clear, I was teasing up there :-)
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
What drew you and some of your other blogging team members to MacBU in the first place? I am curious what path took you to what you do today.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Marry me?
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
First I'd like to thank you for this blog, for it's nice to know what's going on inside MBU.

However, I'll also the join the group of all those wanting more features to Messenger for Mac. Although I do like the clear and ad-free interface of the Mac Messenger (especially when compared to the latest Windows versions), it would sure be nice to have audio and video conversation options as well.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://innerangst.net/2006/08/31/on-being-a-macintosh-girl-at-microsoft/
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Keep your Mac out of my system tray.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Give us some of those great Microsoft games out there!

Even better yet would be an Mac version of Access, would make sharing data here at work (60% Mac, 40% PC - PC guys refuse to switch database software) much easier.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I love reeses pieces. I think you are exactly right. Two worlds that do go great together. I have supported both enviroments and enjoy both. They both provide our users with excellent tools to do their jobs. I get those same looks from a lot of people.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I laughed...I cried...I laughed again. Being an ex-Microsoftie I can sympathize. When I carried around an iPod I was harrassed by everyone. When I told people in the exchange group to take a look at how google organizes email in gmail I was told that they wouldn't even look at their product for one second and I shouldn't talk to them or any customer about it. Watch out for those blinders.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://jasonrosenberg.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/macs-at-microsoft/
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
You're on the right side of the wrong team ;)

Microsofts mac software is usually fairly good though I hadn't used more than office a few years ago. Often microsoft get's dragged down in the geek community because of Windows faults but being as big of a Linux Fanboy as I am. I still say their software, but rather not the windows OS itself is pretty great. I'd use Messenger for Linux anyday, but I don't see that happening.

I'm not poking fun at Microsoft I'm saying you guys in the more specific software departments do a pretty good job!

Grats on the digg front page as well!
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I feel ya on the fact that in some ways compatibility is a PITA, but the fact that you and your co-workers try for us is truly awesome, I couldn't live without the Notes feature in Word :P
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Thank you for this blog post - as was said a hundred times above, it's nice to see a softer side of Microsoft (the Mac BU). Personally, I like most of the products that aren't Windows - and even that is just personal preference.

I also must say that some of the other comments above that show mistrust of Microsoft are fairly well founded, but I am also aware that the Mac BU is very much like the old "Store within a store" at CompUSA - a small haven of Mac within an otherwise cold and unwelcoming place for Mac fans.

It's the little things that have really left a bitter taste in our mouths. Things like the Mac BU supposedly existing as a subsidiary of the Games division... which shows complete and utter disrespect for the platform. Most of the other reasons are stated in comments above, so I'll spare the rehash.

Anyway... thanks again for a great post (I liked the Reese's comparison, BTW).
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Microsoft is NOT the biggest Macintosh development org outside Apple. Macromedia/Adobe is much bigger.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I've worked at both Apple and Microsoft.

Apple has these four story open air atriums that house things like video games & pool tables. Microsoft has these two story stair wells that have unused ping pong tables.

Apple has beer busts. Microsoft has awkward lunch get-togethers.

Apple has offices filled with Legos and laughter. Microsoft has bare minimum offices with very little talking.

I have to say the environments seem to reflect the products coming out of them.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I think what you talked about shows you guys what direction would really make us want to buy office for mac - if you made it easier to hook in at these microsoft worlds. How bout a version of NetMeeting for osx? That would be great. Sharepoint that performs all functions on standards compliant browsers. Make using a mac in a windows world a non-factor with your software, and we'll support you with purchases.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://www.struktour.de/news/on-being-a-macintosh-girl-at-microsoft.html
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Just down the hall from my office (as in, less than 10 feet away) is a lounge with a couple of video games, a television, an Xbox, an Xbox 360, and a couple of weird games that I've never figured out. There's a ping-pong tables here that get a fair workout, although it's a toss-up between the PowerPoint dev lead and one of our summer interns as to who's better. When I'm in my office, there's an ongoing conversation with the guys in the offices around me whenever one of us gets something interesting. (We just close our doors when we're really heads-down on something.) Several of us have lunch together every day.

I'm pretty happy with my environment. I can't speak to what it's like for anyone else, but my particular corner of it is pretty comfortable.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Please ,

1. help expand WMP for the mac with DRM, i would love to play my tivo files.
2. Add outlook to the mac back, pleaseeeeeee

my only two wishes., I do use office on the mac, and its worth the money i paid for it.

peace.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Hi

Are there any linux developers there?
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://manoj.wordpress.com/2006/09/01/mac-mojo-on-being-a-macintosh-girl-at-microsoft/
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
I was a product manager at another MAJOR cross platform software company as well as a former 7 year Apple employee and had similar experiences when I carried an HP laptop to demo our Windows wares.

I just wanted to say that the software history books are awash with the stories of companies that dropped, or never gave support to the Mac, that died.

Those that have thrived have a strong cross-platform story. I'm not sure this has anything to do with the products themselves as much as it has to do with an obvious culture that sees the benefit in dealing with two sometimes very different markets and leveraging that knowledge across both to gain a competitive advantage over the others.

I recently interviewed for an Office for Mac PM job but I think they were scared off by my current salary. That's a shame because I think Office for Mac is a great product and would have worked for less to contribute to it becoming an even greater one. Such is life...

Having said that I'm glad to read that someone like you that has passion for the product and the platform, with a balanced dash of business reality, is there in the mix.

It's a tough role to be in! Good luck and have fun!

-Jeff
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Wonderful post! Keep up the great work!
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
just use the new crossover tool
source: http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/

(found on digg! :P)
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Man, you Mac zealots need to mellow out. Apple has done just as many horrible things to Windows users as Microsoft has to Mac users. It's called competition.

If you're not a musician you probably wouldn't be aware of the fact that Apple bought a company called Emagic. They made an industry standard music sequencing software package called Logic for both Windows and the Mac. Well, after buying Emagic, Apple decided to discontinue the Windows version of Logic, thereby stranding thousands of PC-based Logic users. Apple's "customer support solution" to these users? Buy a Mac.

Believe me, Microsoft has nothing on Apple. They're both mega corporations that want to make a lot of money. End of story.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
thats hilarious, and a little unfortunate. in today's black and white world, people want to pick a side and stick to it. its always easier that way.

great post, cheers
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://www.rent365.com/mac/archives/448
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://oregonstate.edu/~chapmant/wordpress/?p=21
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://blog.elipixs.com/?p=424
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://www.macdunyasi.com/2006/09/01/mac-mojo-microsoftun-resmi-mac-blogu/
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
i would like to start by saying i am a former mac user, i switched to windows xp after being very unsatisfied with what was available to me on the mac. i am a pc gamer, but i also enjoy playing with photoshop and browsing my favorite web sites. i use absolutely no microsoft software other than what comes with the operating system. for word processing i use www.openoffice.org (a great open source multi-platform office suite) and for internet and email, firefox and thunderbird, respectively. obviously, the selection of macintosh games at the time of my switch was lacking at best.

to be honest, i'd use linux if it promised 100% compatablity with all the things i use, but it doesnt.

ANYWAY... all im trying to say is don't use a mac just because you always have, have for as long as you can remember, and are stuck on the notion that microsoft is evil. i mean, other than Windows XP, microsoft is not involved with my computer..

if youre a graphic artist and rely heavily on mac's ability to display "print colors", then ROCK ON!!!! but otherwise... try to be a bit open minded hmm?
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Great article, and it's wonderful to hear that the Apple platform is 'preferred' by some Microsoft employees.

I just started my first professional year in my pharmacy program, and we got Tablet PCs. Needless to say, I'm hooked on it. OneNote is simply one thing that Apple has yet to do... they need a tablet first.

As far as I'm concerned, I love my iMac a ton, and will continue to do most of my web design and multimedia projects on it. However, I love that I can open most of my files on both computers (MS Office), and that they connect to eachother without a hitch over the university network.

Keep up the good work in the Mac sector.
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
PingBack from http://wordz.wordpress.com/2006/09/01/on-being-a-macintosh-girl-at-microsoft/
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
Hey, all I can say is keep up the good work. I think you guys are doing great.

You know what I would love to see though... and Exchange Server for Mac. Probably wouldn't be called Exchange, but still. Entourage is so well used... it could really use a server that works on OS X Server...
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
This was an interesting post from an MS employee in the Macintosh Business Unit and her experience with...
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
August 31, 2006
All I can say is..

"Word."

good read
Anonymous
August 31, 2006
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Anonymous
September 01, 2006
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Anonymous
September 01, 2006
Great read, btw you should go over to the Enterprise Software building and tell them that most of the times you get a "Server too Busy" message when trying to post a comment!
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
Hey, good article. I never knew Excel and Powerpoint started on a Mac.

Really, there is too much conflict between Mac users and PC users. What's the big deal?
Anonymous
September 01, 2006

So I can't help but wonder if iPods are still career-limiting contraban around the Redmond campus...
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
PingBack from http://www.austinmullen.com/journal/?p=9
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
I have been using a Mac and MS Software since 1984. (Also have used MS OS's, DEC OS's, UNIX, on and on...) Being a scientist and a manager that happens. My most productive has been using MS apps on Macs. I can remember using File, Multiplan, Word and Project as an office suite before "Office" came into being. File and Project are gone. Multiplan is now Excel (WONDERFUL APP!! for a scientist/manager!) I find that I use Excel and Word daily on both Macs and Windows. I am frightened by MS dropping Visual Basic for the Mac. Very bad vibes on this one. We have tons of macros in VBM. How are we going to keep cross platform parity? Maybe there is a solution planned. (VBM development on a PC is okay here, what happens in Mac only shops...) As I said, I am frightened, not informed enough yet to be upset...

I love Office 2004. Entourage is the best e-mail client and works acceptably with Exchange (not on par with Outlook tho.)

PLEASE reconsider bringing back Project. It is so good for projects with less than 10,000 tasks. I still use it in OS 9 (the only app in use in OS 9, the rest are all OS X.) Many more managers are going to be in the OS X crowd real soon (I believe this to be true, and have witnessed a number of stalwart Windows users convert recently.)

Thanks for the blog. I shall come back often.
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
Please, Please make a Mac version of Microsoft Money!!

Or perhaps Apple can develop an iMoney product.
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
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Anonymous
September 01, 2006
iPods are ubiquitous on campus. Usually about 20% of the folks on my morning bus run (which is probably 80% Microsoft emplyees) are wearing those white headphones. Never been a career-limiting move as far as I could tell. :)
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
Bryan - They're not in MacBU! Everyone who was in MacBU when Office:Mac 2004 shipped got an iPod as a gift for successfully shipping that product. I got asked this question on my own blog a few months ago, and wrote up a whole post on this topic:
http://blogs.msdn.com/nadyne/archive/2006/04/28/586191.aspx
Anonymous
September 01, 2006
Hi, my name is Brian Johnson and I'm a product manager at MacBU. Welcome to our Mac Mojo weblog! It's...
Anonymous
September 02, 2006
OK, I'm impressed, my link to MonkeyBoy Ballmer is still up.

Maybe we can take you seriously.
Anonymous
September 02, 2006
Speaking of iPods , heres another link.

Of particular note to those in marketing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pXL5_RvGrs
Anonymous
September 02, 2006
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Anonymous
September 02, 2006
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Anonymous
September 03, 2006
PingBack from http://www.appnews.org/mac-ipod/on-being-a-macintosh-girl-at-microsoft/
Anonymous
September 05, 2006
The pros and cons of being dugg.
Anonymous
September 08, 2006
http://www.communicationtube.net/ - chat web client for the popular IM (internet messaging) networks: ICQ , MSN , GTalk
Anonymous
September 10, 2006
There's just no accounting for taste, is there?
Anonymous
September 10, 2006
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 17, 2006
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 18, 2006
Hi Mac Girl,

Well certainly you yourself have some across this printing dilemma then... How does a MAC OSx view / manage their print jobs that have been sent to a Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 R2 Print server? We don't use Appletalk.

Scott
Anonymous
September 22, 2006
I've been using Excel since ver. 2.0 on the mac ... I remember when it was ported to Windows! lol
Anonymous
February 07, 2007
PingBack from http://www.macdunyasi.com/2007/02/08/macbu-10-yasinda/
Anonymous
June 18, 2009
PingBack from http://gardenstatuesgalore.info/story.php?id=655
Anonymous
June 19, 2009
PingBack from http://debtsolutionsnow.info/story.php?id=260

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On being a Macintosh girl at Microsoft

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