Microsoft will prevent Office 2019 for Mac owners from editing their documents from July 13, a restriction the company is attributing to the productivity suite’s expiring digital certificate.
The Office 2019 apps affected include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Once the certificate used to confirm the suite’s license expires, these apps will drop into what Microsoft is calling “reduced functionality mode.” In other words, users will still be able to open, view, and print existing documents, but creating, editing and saving documents will be disabled. The same restriction will apply to iPhone and iPad apps that can’t be updated, according to Microsoft.
Category: Microsoft
Microsoft’s Windows 10 Support (Mostly) Ends Today ⇢
Andrew Cunningham, writing at Ars:
This end-of-support date comes about a decade after the initial release of Windows 10, which is typical for most Windows versions. But it comes just four years after Windows 10 was replaced by Windows 11, a version with stricter system requirements that left many older-but-still-functional PCs with no officially supported upgrade path. As a result, Windows 10 still runs on roughly 40 percent of the world’s Windows PCs (or around a third of US-based PCs), according to StatCounter data.
Windows XP Crocs ⇢
The Microsoft Smurface ⇢
I wish Tom Warren was joking:
Microsoft rarely does limited editions of its Surface products, but it has quietly launched a “ Smurface Edition” in time for the Smurfs movie. I was expecting it to be a totally blue design, but instead Microsoft has laser-etched the Smurfs to the front, alongside a blue Surface logo.
Microsoft’s Mac Lab ⇢
In a group chat earlier, a buddy of mine brought up Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit and I had a flashback to this 2006 blog post by David Weiss:
I’m going to write a little bit more about what I do to help MacBU ship great software and provide some color around what’s it’s like to work on Mac software at Microsoft. Often when we have press events or special visits from our MVPs I’ll give them a tour of the Mac Lab and explain what we do. They’ve always found it very interesting and so I thought I’d share a virtual tour of our Mac Lab.
The Blue Screen of Death is Going Away ⇢
Tom Warren has the details:
The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) has held strong in Windows for nearly 40 years, but that’s about to change. Microsoft revealed earlier this year that it was overhauling its BSOD error message in Windows 11, and the company has now confirmed that it will soon be known as the Black Screen of Death. The new design drops the traditional blue color, frowning face, and QR code in favor of a simplified black screen.
Windows 11 Test Builds Include Vista Startup Sound ⇢
Tom Warren, writing about the mistake:
Microsoft quickly acknowledged the mistake,1 and added a line to its release notes for the latest Dev Channel build. “This week’s flight comes with a delightful blast from the past and will play the Windows Vista boot sound instead of the Windows 11 boot sound,” says the Windows Insider team. “We’re working on a fix.”
I kinda like it.
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Part of me likes to think that this was not accidental, but another subtle jab at Liquid Glass. In a world of regulation and law suits, tech companies poking fun of each other is the energy I need. ↩︎
Exploring the Original Microsoft Source Code ⇢
The story of how Microsoft came to be begins with, of all things, a magazine. The January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics featured an Altair 8800 on the cover. The Altair 8800, created by a small electronics company called MITS, was a groundbreaking personal computer kit that promised to bring computing power to hobbyists. When Paul and I saw that cover, we knew two things: the PC revolution was imminent, and we wanted to get in on the ground floor.
Microsoft Turns 50 ⇢
Today is Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, as Tom Warren writes:
Founded on April 4th, 1975, Microsoft went on to strike a deal with IBM to provide software for its first PC in 1980. This became the foundation of MS-DOS, which dominated IBM-compatible PCs during the ’80s. Microsoft’s early success in developing software for PCs eventually led to the first version of Windows in 1985 and a dream of a PC on every desk and in every home.
Skype to Drop Its Final Call on May 5 ⇢
Tom Warren, writing at The Verge:
It’s the end of an era. Microsoft is shutting down Skype in May and replacing it with the free version of Microsoft Teams for consumers. Existing Skype users will be able to log in to the Microsoft Teams app and have their message history, group chats, and contacts all automatically available without having to create another account, or they can choose to export their data instead. Microsoft is also phasing out support for calling domestic or international numbers.
Goodbye, Surface Studio ⇢
For years, Apple fans have looked at the Surface Studio longingly, wondering what a version of a tilting Mac desktop could look like. Many wondered if Apple would ever do anything like this machine, adding Apple Pencil and touch support to macOS, or doing some wild Mac/iPad hybrid.
I fear Apple won’t ever get that weird with its products, and it seems like Microsoft is backing out as well, according to Zac Bowden:
maciNTosh: Windows NT for Power Macintosh ⇢
Wack0 on GitHub has put together an incredible project: the ability to install and run select versions Windows NT on a handful of PowerPC Macs, including:
- iMac G3 (tray-loading)
- Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White) “Yosemite”
- Macintosh PowerBook G3 Bronze Keyboard “Lombard”
- Power Macintosh G4 PCI “Yikes!”
A couple of videos showing the process have surfaced: