Hey, we're relatively rational people; despite our personal distaste for most things Microsoft, we're willing to accept the harsh reality that without Microsoft Office, the Mac platform would be deader than the Macarena by now. In this dimension, many people have to use Office-- not because of its feature set, mind you, but because everybody else uses it. Sad, but true. So it's a darn good thing that Steve got Bill Gates to guarantee the continuation of Mac versions of Office back in '97, even if he had to agree to be a shill for Internet Explorer at every public appearance to do it.

Ah, but what about Mac OS X? Sure, office:mac 2001 is all well and good in Mac OS 9, but we've heard there are some "issues" when running it in Classic. Even though Microsoft patched some of the more grievous problems, it'd still be nice to have a native Mac OS X version of the software available, given how many people need to use it. Well, most of you already know the "good" news: Office 10 for Mac OS X is under active development and is slated to ship this year. But the slightly-less-good news is that it's going to be late to Mac OS X's coming out party; whereas Apple is expected to ship all Macs with Mac OS X as the default operating system starting at Macworld Expo in July, Office 10 isn't scheduled for release until sometime this fall.

However, according to MacCentral, Microsoft will be attending the party, even if Office 10 itself is a no-show. Reportedly the company has scheduled an hour-long "Microsoft Office 10 for Mac OS X Users Update" at the Expo for Thursday, July 19th; interested Mac users who can drag their partied-out carcasses down there at the terrifying hour of 9 AM will be treated to sixty thrilling minutes of reasons why, when Office 10 finally ships, it will "take Macintosh productivity to the next level." Gee, if there's any time left over at the end of the session, perhaps Microsoft can also tell us about "thinking outside the box," "working smarter, not harder," and how "there's no 'I' in 'Team.'" Who knows? Maybe next year's show will feature a whole "Tired Business Catch Phrases" conference track.

In any case, while we aren't surprised that Microsoft won't be bolstering the acceptance of Mac OS X with its all-important Office suite until probably after Windows XP ships-- oooh, color us shocked-- you can always console yourself with the OS X-native version of Internet Explorer (otherwise known as the "Please Don't Switch To OmniWeb" release). And don't fret; Office for Mac OS X will be here eventually. Wait a minute... are we sure they meant Office for Mac OS X, and not Office as Mac OS X?...