All editions include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage. The $400 "standard" edition also has Microsoft Server Exchange support and Automator actions. The $500 Special Media edition has all of that plus Microsoft Expression Media, formerly iView, a program for managing and processing vast batches of 100 different media types.

If you're a cheapskate with a conscience like me, though, you'll be happy to hear that the former "Students and Teachers" edition has been renamed "Home and Student" edition. That means you can pay just the $150 for the four key programs without making up some excuse that you're going back to school for some sort of "adult education."

The biggest advantage of the new Office is that it runs great on the MacBook Pro. After experiencing some crashiness with the old Microsoft Word, I decided to make iWork my default word processor, but compatibility still takes an extra step (you have to Export to Word). My wife is an Office for Mac veteran, and while she hasn't experienced too many stability issues with Word, she finds instability when working in the old PowerPoint, especially with Excel data. She's committed to Office for the long haul, never gonna touch iWork, and I like Office features, like that damn style paintbrush, which comes in handy when you're doing a lot of cut-and-paste. So in my house, a new Office arrival is good news indeed. Needless to say, this Office suite, even in beta, has been nice and stable to date.

My favorite new feature, one of those Mac-only treats, is My Day, which goes with Entourage but is a free-floating purplish-blue standalone app. It is what it sounds like, a little calendar that show you what's on tap. But you can add To-Do's directly to it, and check them off as you go through your day, almost like it was scratch paper. I can use all the to-do I can get, and this has been a big help.

I have to say that when Office 2007 for Windows came out last year, I was a little miffed by the tab interface. I was happy to see that Office 2008 for Mac doesn't follow suit. As you can see from the Word screenshot above, you still have all the familiar ways of finding things, as well as new animated tabs for adding graphics, tables and all sorts of other stuff.

PowerPoint users like my wife will be happy about compatibility with Apple Remote and a "send to iPhoto" feature that save slideshows directly to iPhoto for auto-syncing with an iPod.

Excel nerds get their patience rewarded with more than 1 million rows and 16,000 columns, equal to that of Windows Office 2007. Also, there's a new Formula Builder for people like me who need a little help inserting calculators and stuff. (Usually I just call my wife, who's a total Excel freak.)

As one of the last living humans who uses Hotmail, I was glad to see that the new Messenger for Mac 6 was integrated into the suite. I don't use the messenger (the Mac version doesn't really pack much in the way of multimedia messaging) but I like having the rapid-fire new-mail notifications.

I wish I could say the same for Hotmail support in Entourage. It's sad, but when I loaded up my account info, it downloaded 474 of my oldest emails and refused to go any further, leaving something like 30,000 messages stranded on the server. I inquired about this, as part of my zeal for the new Office was having a pleasant way to manage Hotmail on the Mac. All I got was the cold hard fact that nobody in Redmond cares about Hotmail anymore. The official word: "Improved Hotmail functionality in Entourage was not a main focus for the new version." Don't worry, Hotmail team—wherever you are in that nest of cubicles, fire off a flair and we'll send someone to rescue you. Office is a massive suite, and I haven't had the time to explore every nook and cranny yet. I can say that I will be using it going forward, and will investigate any issues that arise. I know many of you already have the beta. Well, now that you're free to talk about it (trust me, you are), I'd like to encourage you to share your comments below—maybe you've discovered some dark underbelly that we haven't found yet. [Mac Office 2008; The Three Editions]

•New, thinner iMacs, crafted from glass and aluminum like Mr. iPhoneface, with 20 and 24-inch screens. Awesome, and just as cool as we'd imagined.
•New thin keyboards with aluminum bases and white plastic keys (in a Macbook like layout).
•Mac Mini got a speed bump.
•iLife '08 is out, with iPhoto able to "skim" through sets of images collected into events. iMovie gets skimming of clips, and other enhancements which make editing very fast. Wish I could have edited the above movie with the new iMovie.
•.Mac gets 10GB default space, native domain support, and iPhone integration where images can be sent over the wire to Web Galleries, among other things
•iWork '08

What announcements will Jobs make this year...new iPods, "iPhones", Macbooks, or even mock turtlenecks? Hit the jump for our Frankenreview...errr...Frankenrumor: rumors from a plethora of Internet sources congealed together in an apple-flavored gelatin of knowledge hearsay quasi-intelligent rumors.

iPhone
"...we probably will see an iPhone."
"No Apple iPhone"
" Coming in January to all providers 2 batteries (1 MP3, 1 Phone) 2 capacities (4GB & 8GB) Prices will run $249 & $449 Flash memory (surprise) Slide out keyboard Touchscreen (on outside) "Cool" OS"
"small as shit."
"[Morgan Stanley analyst] Runkle says the phone will cost $599 for the 4GB model and a whopping $649 for the 8GB version...it'll be wider than an iPod Nano, but narrower than the 5G iPod. It'll have a nice 3.5-inch display and will come in multi-colored aluminum shells like the Nano..."

Video iPod
"If Apple's patents are to be believed, there is also a new crop of iPods on the horizon that will offer larger screens and possibly new navigation techniques."
"...little attention has been given to the rumored full Video iPod despite clear evidence that Apple has been considering such a form factor."
"The focus of the patent is the incorporation of a touch-sensitive bezel (edge of screen) that can adapt to the screen contents to provide an input method for the user...non-screen area would eliminate many of the "smudge" and "scratch" concerns for a full-screen touch iPod."
"...we're more likely to see a bump to 100GB capacity, courtesy of Toshiba's new 1.8-inch drive..."

iTV
"Apple now aims to begin shipping iTV (likely under a different product name) in late January or early February. They added that the additional time is necessary to fine-tune an embedded version of the Mac OS operating system that will reportedly run on the device..."
"Many people are speculating and/or hoping that Apple will ink a deal with TiVo or offer its own personal video recording capabilities...it seems a bit hard to believe the two companies are collaborating on a Mac product."
"There's an Apple patent application dated November 2, 2006 that outlines techniques for acquiring a season's worth of TV shows. However, it only mentions the word TiVo once in the entire document, and that's only in a generic sense, describing recorded digital video."
"I've been hoping for a video update to the AirPort Express, but it seems like the iTV more or less kills that idea..."
"Google integration (iTV + YouTube)"

Cinema Displays
"Look for Apple to announce a 17-inch Cinema display to complement their existing 20, 23 and 30-inch monitors."
"Apple hasn't made any major update to the Cinema Displays since their initial release in June 2004...the next generation of Apple Cinema Displays could feature a built-in iSight, HDMI connectivity as well as support for HDCP...23 inch model may be replaced by a 24 inch one while a larger model may broaden the line-up."
"...a 50" monitor may be planned for 'early 2007'."
"...a coordinated effort to intentionally spread false information to rumor sites...these rumors should be viewed with some skepticism."

iLife, iWork
"Apple's iApps usually get updated at Macworld Expo and this year should be no exception."
"iLife and iWork 07 are a sure thing."
"...introduction of a new spreadsheet application code named "Lasso"

Leopard
"Leopard could be released at Macworld Expo despite Steve Jobs' assertion that it would be released in 'Spring 2007'."
"It will certainly not be released at Macworld."
"the Mac OS[X] appears to be the key to Apple's ensuing consumer electronics strategy, beginning with iTV and iPhone and extending far beyond."
"...as much as I'd love to see PVR capabilities built into Mac OS X, I think Apple is much more likely to continue to focus on sales of TV content through the iTunes Store."

MacPro
"Apple's desktop Mac is due for a quad-core Intel Xeon Processor..."
"One more thing: 8-core Mac Pro."
"The new Mac Pro configuration will feature two of the recently announced Quad-core Intel (more likely Xeon) processors for a total of eight cores per configuration... development on the systems has been complete for some time..."

Macbook Pro
"...the miniaturized MacBook Pro should keep its built-in optical drive and sport a dual-core processor, providing unequalled size/performance ratio in the PC industry... Apple should use the 12 inch form factor... could be priced in the $1700~$1800 range."
"[odds: 50:1]"
"Unlikely rumors, which [PiperJaffray analyst] Munster calls "a stretch," include an ultra-portable 12-inch MacBook Pro..."

iTablet
"... a number of new Apple patent applications that relate to the long-rumored Apple Tablet based computer. The most recent patents appeared...February 2nd, 2006...with a filing date as recent as January 31st, 2005."
"...Methods and systems for processing touch inputs are disclosed. The invention in one respect includes reading data from a multipoint sensing device such as a multipoint touch screen..."
"Apple researchers have built a fully working prototype of tablet Mac and three companies in Taiwan are bidding for a potential launch in mid 2007."
"...it's not likely to happen..."

– Mark Wilson

Rumor Links...In No Particular Order
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