Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft recently increased the price of its Office Product for the Mac OS. Office for Mac Home and Students now costs $140, which is about a 17% increase from its original $120 price. Office for Mac Home and Business now costs $220, which is a 10% hike from its original $200 price-tag. Microsoft didn’t release a statement about why it increased the prices, but at the same time not a lot of people noticed.

The increase in prices brings the Office for Mac OS software up to the same price-point as Office 2013 for Windows. Also with the price increase for Office for the Mac OS, it looks like Microsoft has also gotten rid of its multi-license products, which is probably a move that’s meant to drive consumers towards Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription service. For $99 a year, or for $9.99 a month, you can subscribe to Office 365 for families, and install Office on up to 5 devices. With the subscription, the user will be given the installation software for Office for Mac Home and Business. For Windows users, you get the installation files for Office 2013.

According to Computer World, the price change for the Mac OS software was most likely increased around January 29th, the same day Microsoft Office 2013 and Office 365 was launched. For Mac owners, if you still want to purchase Microsoft Office for the older price-point, many retailers, like Apple itself, are still selling Office for Mac 2011 at its original price.

Microsoft hiking up the prices of its Mac software, and also its elimination of multi-license software does bring the spotlight to open source projects, like Open Office or Libre Office, who offer programs with the same functions for free. So unless you specifically need the Microsoft Office software for your job or business, there are plenty of alternative, free software that can meet your needs.

[via Computer World]

Microsoft secretly increases the price of Mac Office is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the video chat program Skype has begun to roll out updates to Mac, Android, and iOS devices that will allow video messaging in addition to live-talk. This update is, incidentally, not ready for Microsoft products today even though Skype is owned by Microsoft. This means Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 will have to wait a bit longer to be able to leave short video recordings for their Skype buddies.

Each video you’ll be leaving as a message will be able to be approximately 3 minutes in length. Inside the USA and the UK this update will be rolling out over the course of the day with other countries coming soon if enough interest is shown. Skype has currently not given a specific reason as to why each of the other major mobile and desktop operating systems have been included in this update while Windows was left out.

And this isn’t the only service that’s recently been boosted in its ability to leave messages when a person’s friends are away. Facebook’s mobile app was updated to include voice messaging just this past month, while BlackBerry 10 was introduced with ooVoo for 12-person video chat. The many different ways people are able to connect with one another aside from typing with their keyboard are quickly becoming a hot commodity – different, if not entirely better, that is.

And remember – if you want more than 20 video messages in the very near future (at least in this early Beta stage here at the start of this functionality) you’ll have to grab yourself a premium account – have at it! Have a peek at the timeline below for more Skype-related news to see where the service is going in the very near future. Also be sure to let us know if you see one of these updates and find it to be excellent!

[via AllThingsD]

Skype Video Messaging for Mac, Android, iOS, limited to 20 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

On the mobile front, BlackBerry 10 is still waiting to get in on the Skype action, but the same can definitely not be said about the calling / messaging services on the more desktop-oriented platforms that are OS X and Windows. On this occasion, the application’s new revision brings, most notably, an eGifting feature that’s set to allow Mac and PC users to send Skype credits to anyone they deem worthy of receiving them — so long as they have an account set up, of course. Skype’s also slightly redesigned the top toolbar on the Windows edition to make it more of an all-around hub for accessing “Home,” “Creating Groups,” and “Adding Contacts,” while, in version 6.2, the OS X app gets the ability to send one-way SMS without the need for number verification. Both updates are available now, so hit that source link if you’re interested in checking out the novel features.

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Source: Skype (1), (2)

This week we’re hearing quite a bit about a stockholder issue with Apple surrounding a lawsuit headed by David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital – and today Tim Cook has fired back. In a talk at this year’s Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, Tim Cook spoke about how Apple’s biggest shareholder Greenlight Capital is suing the company, saying Apple should be dishing out more money to investors than they already do, saying that Preferred Stocks would be a good idea for the company. Cook spoke up today saying that the issue is being “considered” by Apple, but that in the end, it’s all a bit of a waste of time.

Cook spoke up today responding to a question about the Greenlight Capital situation saying, “I don’t think this is well understood. The disagreement centers around a question on Apple’s policy. We filed this back in February, it’s called Prop 2. It’s not about whether Apple returns cash to shareholders, it’s not about the mechanism Apple uses to return cash to shareholders … what this proposal is about is the rights of shareholders.”

With the Greenlight letter which you can see here, you’ll find that the hedge fund recommends that Prop 2 be turned down. This proposal would “impede Apple’s ability to unlock shareholder value” according to its authors. Cook has responded today saying, “I find it bizarre that we would find ourselves being sued for something that’s good for the shareholders. It’s a silly fight show, honestly. My preference would be that people on both sides take the money they’re spending on this and donate it to a worthy cause.”

Needless to say, Cook is voting yes, but isn’t encouraging either side of the argument to be pushing harder than they need to with campaign dollars. Cook continued, “You’re not going to see a ‘Yes on 2″ sign in my front yard. I support it, I’m personally going to for it. I encourage others to vote for it. … But it’s not something we’re going to spin cycles on.”

[via Apple]

Cook assures Apple wont “spin cycles” on proxy fight is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Macs weren’t very well known for being gaming machines just a few years ago, but things have changed drastically. More and more developers are bringing their games to OS X, and Valve’s Steam gaming service has been available for Mac for quite some time now. This time around, EA’s own Origin service is ready for Mac gamers.

Origin for Mac was initially announced way back in August 2011, and just went into alpha testing last month, but the platform is finally releasing to the public in all its glory. Origin is almost identical to Valve’s Steam service, in which it allows gamers to buy and download games and demos, as well as chat with friends.

And, just like Steam’s own cross-platform abilities, select EA titles will also be available to play across both Mac and Windows machines, meaning that gamers using both Windows and Mac can purchase a game once and download it for both systems. The game obviously has to be compatible with both platforms, but if so, gamers can play the game on a Windows machine and continue where they left off on a Mac.

EA doesn’t say exactly how many titles in Origin are compatible with Mac, but they mention popular games like Dragon Age 2, Batman: Arkham City, LEGO Harry Potter, and The Sims 3. EA also recommends that gamers be running OS X 10.6.8 or newer with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better in order to get a maximum experience with the service.

EA’s Origin gaming distribution service arrives on Mac is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.