Microsoft has addressed performance and feature problems by releasing bug fixes for Microsoft Office v. X, its Mac OS X-compatible Office suite. The update, dubbed Office v. X Service Release 1 (SR1), fixes more than 1500 problems with the original version of Office v. X, adds several new features--including text smoothing on Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later and toolbar button customization--and improves performance and stability in the Office v. X applications, including Microsoft Entourage, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
"Microsoft is committed to providing the most seamless experience possible with the Office v. X \[SR1\], particularly in terms of compatibility and ease of use," said Kevin Browne, general manager of Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (MBU). "To that end, we have made more than 1500 improvements, updates, fixes, and new features in SR1 that make Office v. X faster, more stable, and more reliable than ever. With great new features like Quartz text smoothing \[and\] FileMaker and ODBC \[compatibility\], which help Office v. X connect with Mac OS X and other applications more seamlessly, users will see why downloading SR1 from the Mactopia Web site is so important."
In a related announcement, Microsoft also released MSN Messenger 3.0 for Mac OS X, which includes file-transfer capabilities, contact-grouping functionality, and improved emoticon support. Both Office v. X SR1 and MSN Messenger 3.0 are free downloads and are available now on the Microsoft Web site.
