Is it a case of Microsoft dwarfing their OS X software or a business decision that’s keeping 64-bit out of the OS X version? Microsoft is claiming that it’s part their fault and part Apple’s fault at this point. They’re saying that if they were to move to 64-bit, Apple’s framework would require them to completely rewrite their application in Cocoa, and apparently they aren’t ready to do that just yet.
The move is being downplayed by Microsoft, “most users with typical or even larger-than-average document content will not notice a difference in performance.” My take? They’re completely right — users won’t notice a difference, because they have nothing to compare it to.
That being said, a 64-bit version of Microsoft Office for the Mac would undoubtably be faster than the 32-bit version, and it’s asinine to say otherwise. But, at least Microsoft is being consistent across operating systems, as they’re also recommending Windows users use the 32-bit version over the 64-bit version. I seem to remember Microsoft pushing users hard to adopt 64-bit technology back in the XP days, so it’s interesting that they’re suggesting consumers stick with 32-bit architectures.
Hopefully the application doesn’t suffer in Snow Leopard, because I know a lot people who are pretty excited about Microsoft Outlook coming to the Mac in Office 2011. Personally, I’m going to be passing on the Ribbon-riddled application and stick with iWork, but I’m sure you could have guessed that.
