Many Mac users may have never even heard of Technet or MSDN and in most cases it is useless to them. Technet, for those who may not know, is a program sponsored by Microsoft where you can evaluate a slue of Microsoft’s operating systems, applications and some things that very few people even need to know about, like Solomon.
Typically these programs are only good for Windows-based software, excluding downloading Virtual PC for the Mac, but last week Microsoft changed this practice. Microsoft has made Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 available for Technet and MSDN subscribers.
Now, this is important for many reasons. The first is that this is the first time that Office for Mac has been available via Technet, which marks a major shift in the thinking at Microsoft.
Secondly, this change indicates that Microsoft is committing itself to the Macintosh platform. With Microsoft putting Office for Mac 2011 on Technet, plus with Syncing support for Windows Phone 7 available before the release of the product, Microsoft knows that they may not always run the entire show when it comes to dominating platforms
Related to this point, Microsoft may also be putting more effort into creating iOS applications in addition to their Mac OS applications. Rumors have speculated that this is the case. If this is true, Microsoft would be acknowledging that Apple’s iOS platform is a significant competitor in the overall computing platform.
If Apple is creating iOS versions of their applications, it may also just be a way to market to an even larger audience which would only serve to bolster their influence within the overall technology market.
If you’re a Technet or MSDN subscriber and you own a Mac, this is a definite plus to your subscription. Remember though, it’s for evaluation purposes only and should not be used within a production environment.
