Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      Microsoft Releases Office XP Service Pack

      By
      Peter Galli
      -
      December 13, 2001
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        Microsoft Corp. has released the first service pack for Office XP–essentially a collection of all the bug fixes it has released and been working on since the product hit the shelves on May 31.

        The Redmond, Wash., company said the updates focus primarily on providing improvements in three key areas: security, performance and stability. “SP-1 combines a variety of updates into one integrated package, including both previously released and new updates,” Office XP spokesman Nicole von Kaenel told eWEEK Thursday.

        Microsoft “highly recommends that all Office XP users download SP-1 to take advantage of the significant security, stability and performance improvements associated with it,” she said, noting that all future updates to Office XP will require that SP-1 be installed.

        Among the security updates included are those that address macro-security vulnerabilities, which had allowed malicious code to run in Excel, PowerPoint and Word, as well as those dealing with Outlook view control vulnerability, von Kaenel said.

        Stability fixes include an update to address stability issues in PowerPoint when using custom bullets and an update to Outlook that addresses the issues of users not being notified when their PSTs ae full, she said.

        On the performance side, updates include MSN Messenger integration with Outlook, e-mail performance when an Office document is attached, expanding Office XP application performance on Windows XP and the ability to publish SharePoint Team Services sites from one server to another using FrontPage.

        Members of Microsoft Select, MSDN and TechNet programs will receive SP-1 as part of their regularly scheduled mailings.

        Von Kaenel cautioned that individuals within an organization should check with their IT administrator before installing this update.

        The Office XP SP-1 also includes the SharePoint Team Services site-migration tool, which will help users migrate to Microsofts Web-based SharePoint Team Services technology. SharePoint Team Services is essentially a team Web site in a box.

        As Microsoft continues to move toward its .Net platform, it is increasingly focusing on a subscription-based, service model. This was evidenced in May when Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates launched Office XP–perhaps the last such launch of a fully packaged desktop suite.

        At that time Gates actively touted the SharePoint Team Services and smart tags found in the XP product, both of which he says are basic Web services and .Net features.

        But, while there is much talk about the .Net and Web services nature of its product, there is also a paucity of information about Microsofts Office plans going forward. When the product was launched, Lisa Gurry, then an Office product manager, told eWEEK that the full .Net platform was still a ways away and would play out over the next two to five years. But a Web and subscription offering would form part of the next version of Office, she said.

        Von Kaenel declined to comment on this, saying the company has not decided on any specifics around how the next version of Office would be delivered.

        Microsoft President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Belluzzo also told eWEEK at launch time that the plans for the next version of Office, believed to be its Office .Net offering, were still being defined.

        “Maybe youve seen some of the demos of NetDocs [Microsofts single integrated application that includes e-mail, personal information management, digital media managing and instant messaging]. Were going to have a lot of technology to talk about and how we deliver more of a Web-based set of productivity tools,” he said.

        “Those plans will take shape now that this release is complete. We really will focus in on a .Net type of Office release, and youll be hearing more about that as our plans become a little more firm,” he said.

        The 400-odd-member NetDocs team was moved under the Office umbrella early this year.

        But Office XP has “really started the drive to provide more services-based features with things like SharePoint and smart tags that are able to link and deliver service information within the shrink-wrapped product.

        “I think youll continue to see that with probably more emphasis on some of those services over time, but youll continue to see a lot of innovation and continued improvement in the base product,” Belluzzo said.

        Office XP has the capability, with SharePoint Services, to be able to publish information easily onto a Web site and basically create a customized Web site for collaborating. This is one way of extending a traditional product into a services-based environment. Smart tags are able to link information to other services and Web sites intelligently into documents to provide a more complete experience, he said.

        Von Kaenel confirmed that the next version of Office will have greater Web integration, additional collaboration and further advances on the messaging front. The first beta is expected to be released “sometime next year,” with the final product shipping in early 2003.

        While Microsoft has said it will be offering Office XP under subscription, that initiative is currently only active in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. “This has been well-received and successful in those countries, but I do not have a timetable for its rollout to other countries, including the United States,” she said.

        Avatar
        Peter Galli
        Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Android

        Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

        Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
        Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
        Read more
        Cloud

        Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

        Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
        Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
        Read more
        Cybersecurity

        How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

        eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
        Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
        Read more
        Big Data and Analytics

        How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

        Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
        There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
        Read more
        Apple

        Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

        Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
        If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
        Read more
        eWeek


        Contact Us | About | Sitemap

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

        © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×