Maria’s Guides

Information from Microsoft AutoUpdate.

The Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.3 Update contains several changes that improve security, stability, reliability, and performance. Additionally, this update includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer’s memory by using malicious code.

This is a critical update and is highly recommended for all Office 2008 users.

For more information, visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958267

Information from Microsoft’s Web site.

The Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.2 Update contains several changes that improve stability and performance. In addition, this update includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer’s memory by using malicious code.

You can learn more at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956344.

Note: This update is huge: over 100 MB. If you’re updating on a laptop, make sure you have a good Internet connection and your power cable attached.

I said I’d never upgrade to 2008 and I lied. Then I paid for it.

There’s nothing wrong with Office 2004 that’s fixed in Office 2008. It’s the same software with some Interface tweaks. After all, at this point, what can Microsoft do to change Office?

The answer, of course, is to create an abomination like Office 2007 for Windows. They said they made it more intuitive, but for who? People who have never seen a computer before? As a long-time Office user, the new “ribbon” interface drives me batty. I can’t find any of the commands I need.

I thank my lucky stars that they didn’t destroy the Mac version, too.

But although I didn’t need or want to update to Office 2008 for Macintosh, I soon realized that if I wanted to record videos about the software and write the occasional article or Maria’s Guides post about it, I should bite the bullet and put it on at least one of my computers. That lucky computer was my MacBook Pro, which I have with me in Washington State this summer.

The installer warned me that the sky would fall (or something equally horrible would happen) if I didn’t uninstall previous versions of Word. So, like a real sucker, I let the installer uninstall Office 2004. I’d learn Office 2008 with a thorough emersion.

Compatibility Woes

I began running into problems almost immediately. The first was compatibility. For some reason, the geniuses in Redmond decided that Office 2007 (Windows) and 2008 (Mac OS) should have a different file format. So when you save a document from Word 2008, by default, it saves in the .docx format. Unfortunately, the vast majority of my editors and other people I share files with did not upgrade to Office 2007 or 2008. These people couldn’t read the files without installing a special converter, which was not immediately available.

And if I happened to open a Word 2003 or 2004 file and save it, I got all kinds of worrisome warnings about document formatting possibly being lost.

The solution, of course, was to save in Word 97-2004 format. And so I didn’t have to deal with choosing a file type option every time I saved a document, I set that as the default file type. That would pretty much guarantee that my file could be read by anyone using any modern version of Word.

Macro Woes

Things got worse.

I began work on a book I revise each year. (I’m not allowed to say what it is because I’m under nondisclosure, but you can probably figure it out if you consult my Books list.) That book is written in Word, which my editors use. We make extensive use of the Track Changes feature. All of my editors are on Word 2003 (Windows). While I assume that the Track Changes feature works the same in both versions, I know the macro feature does not.

You see, the geniuses in Redmond decided to disable Word’s Visual Basic macro feature in Word 2008 for Macintosh. Sure, there’s a dialog full of predefined macros that are probably preprogrammed into the software. I haven’t fiddled with the feature yet, so I can’t say much more about it.

But I can tell you that if you try to open a Word document or template that contains macros with Word 2008, Word wants to strip them out. Yes, you can open the file without stripping out the macros, but you can’t use the macros.

While for most folks, this might not be such a big deal, it’s a huge deal for this book project. Each book file has to be based on a template that includes these macros. The macros automate several tasks and really do make my life easier. I want to use the macros.

While I do have my old 12-in PowerBook handy and it has Word 2004 on it, it doesn’t have Photoshop on it. I need Photoshop, which is on my MacBook Pro, to process the screenshots. My MacBook Pro also has my e-mail software so I can send out the finished chapter files and art.

I was looking at a workflow nightmare. My options were as follows:

• Run the software I’m writing about on my Dell PC (it’s a Windows software program), write the book on my PowerBook, and edit the screenshots on my MacBook Pro. That meant having three laptops open while I worked and shuffling the files among all three computers before putting them on the MacBook Pro to send them out.
• Reinstall Word 2004 on my MacBook Pro. Then run the software I’m writing about on my Dell laptop and do all the text and image editing, as well as e-mailing final files, from my MacBook Pro.

Which option would you choose?

So that’s why I’m downgrading to Word 2004 on my MacBook Pro.

Information from Microsoft’s updater.

This update contains several improvements to enhance stability and performance.

For detailed information about this update, visit
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=119963.

Note that this is a huge update: 150+ megabytes! Be sure you have a fast connection and enough time to complete the download before beginning the update.

Information from Microsoft AutoUpdate.

This update to Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac is part of Microsoft’s ongoing effort to provide the latest product updates to customers. To receive future Microsoft product updates, you must install this update.

For additional assistance, or to obtain a downloadable version of this update, visit http://www.microsoft.com/mac.

Links worth following.

Here are the links of interest to readers of my books for the week ending January 12:

• Your GTD System Isn’t the Problem
  Excellent advice for people trying to implement GTD to be more productive — and not succeeding. On the Cranking Widgets blog.
  (tags: productivity Advice gtd)
• Making the Switch: Going From Partial to Full Feeds
  Good article about switching from partial to full RSS feeds. On PlagiarismToday.com.
  (tags: feed rss blogging)
• A long list of modifier key tricks
  For Mac OS X Tiger; should work in Leopard, too. On MacOSXHints.com.
  (tags: Apple Mac reference tips MacOS)
• Color Wheel Article
  Link to EXCELLENT article, in PDF format, that explains exactly how colors work together. From Before & After magazine.
  (tags: colors design tutorial reference)
• An Interface of One’s Own
  An anti-Word, pro Scrivener piece (of all things!) in the New York Times. By Virginia Heffernan. Thanks to @ev on Twitter for sharing the link.
  (tags: Word Microsoft software Times)
• Goodbye, cruel Word
  Steven Poole no longer uses Microsoft Word. Here’s why.
  (tags: Word microsoft writing journalism software productivity)
• E-book the letter
  Steven Poole lists the features an ebook reader SHOULD have. I think they sound rather familiar, don’t you?
  (tags: Amazon Kindle funny ebooks books reading)
• What to Expect at Macworld
  More rumors of what might be in store for us at Macworld Expo next week. On ReadWriteWeb.
  (tags: Apple MacworldExpo)
• 10 Ways Twitter Can Boost Your Social News Profile
  Some tips for getting more followers on Twitter, which can boost your profile on other Social Networking sites. On ReadWriteWeb.
  (tags: twitter Web2.0 socialnetworking tips)
• Author Uses Amazon Kindle to Beta Test New Book
  Interesting article about using Kindle to publish a book and entice readers to provide feedback to the author. On ReadWriteWeb.
  (tags: Kindle writing publishing ebooks Amazon)
• Twittering without access to Twitter.com
  A how-to piece with suggestions on how you can participate in Twitter when you don’t have access to the Twitter.com Web site. On Twitter Facts.
  (tags: twitter Web2.0 socialnetworking)
• Mac OS X 10.5, iChat: Unable to participate in video conference
  Workaround for problem using video chat feature of iChat with Mac OS X 10.5. On the Apple Support Web site.
  (tags: Apple MacOS Leopard iChat)
• My essential WordPress plugins
  Great post by Miraz Jordan that summarizes her must-have WordPress plugins. I’ll have to do a similar post soon. On the WordPress Visual QuickStart Guide support web site.
  (tags: WordPress plugin Webdesign)
• Why It Won’t Work
  John Scalzi’s take on why the Sony BMG plan to release non-DRM protected music won’t work. I tend to agree with him.
  (tags: DRM sony music download itunes ipod)
• Apples For The Army
  According to this story on Forbes.com, the U.S. Army is adopting Macs to help thwart hackers. Not exactly good news for Mac users — we don’t need to give hackers a reason to go after us — but good for Apple.
  (tags: Mac Macintosh military technology Apple security)
• DUM
  John Gruber’s take on the Kindle. On Daring Fireball.
  (tags: Amazon Kindle publishing ebooks books)
• Sony caves; DRM is dead, dead, dead
  Sony drops DRM. On MacUser.com. Thanks to @dmoren on Twitter for the link.
  (tags: drm music itunes sony)
• iBed
  Humorous photo of a recycled iMac. On I Can Has Cheezburger?
  (tags: funny humor photo imac)
• The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry
  Excellent article about the secret history of iPhone development. On Wired.com.
  (tags: wired Apple history iphone)
• A Savvy Approach to Copyright Messaging
  A great tip for helping to protect an image posted on a Web page from being stolen and used by others. By Derek Powazek.
  (tags: copyright Photography photos)