Microsoft is making available a of the highly anticipated Office 2016 for Mac. For many Mac users such as myself this is great news, as the current Office 2011 version is really feeling dated and ready for a refresh. Sees a redesigned interface that is optimised for retina based interfaces, and also introduces new collaboration and Cloud integration functionality with tie-ins to and OneDrive. In the top right hand corner of the Office applications is a smiley face which provides you with the ability to give feedback on what you like and what you don’t. Skype. This is a nice, easy to use feature – hopefully there is someone at the end taking note of all the feedback.

Many of the features that Office for Windows users have enjoyed sometime (eg: more functions in Excel, better user interface and ribbon bar) have finally found their way into this version of Office for Mac. I particulatly like the new and improved method of collaborating and sharing a document with your colleagues, allowing for threaded comments and the ability for users with access to the document to make changes to the styles. In an age where remote and collabertive working is on the increase this functionality will no doubt prove useful.

What’s New Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac VL 15.28.0 Make Your Messages Accessible (Outlook): ・Find and fix accessibility issues while composing messages or invitations by using the Accessibility Checker.

The good news is that Microsoft have made this preview version of Office 2016 for Mac free to download and use, though you should be aware that it is time limited, and you will have to update your preview version semi-regualrly until it is finally released, sometime in the second half of 2015. At that point you will have to purchase a copy, or subscribe to one of. I personally will be purchasing the Home plan (up to 5 computers) as this seems to offer decent bang for buck, and comes with 5 user x 1TBs worth of Cloud storage, and 60 minutes per month of Skype credit. I’m quite onboard now with the subscription method of consuming software, as I also subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud software, I like the idea of always having access to the latest versions of the application(s) without costly upgrade paths.

Try it out and let us know what you think in the comments below. Was it worth the wait?

Preview download link.

I recently bought a new 5K iMac and am setting up apps. I was limping along on Microsoft Office 2008 and decided to buy Office 2016 for the new machine. I'm immediately turned off by the fact that I had to create a Microsoft account to install the software (using a key card bought from Amazon). Furthermore, Office keeps trying to get me to use OneDrive online storage.

I don't need any of my documents online, I have no need for them there and don't like it from a security standpoint. My question is: can I safely DELETE my Microsoft account now that I have the apps downloaded and installed? Or is the Microsoft account required to 1) keep using the apps and 2) keep receiving updates? I do not want anything to do with my online Microsoft account, I just want to use Word/Excel and save files locally.