Well, Microsoft dropped the bomb about killing VPC, but what about the rest of its Mac products? The MacBU has finally embraced Xcode and will be able to produce Universal Binaries. Not being ones to brag, the Microsoft spokesperson said:
Tens of millions of lines of code have been 100 percent transitioned to Xcode on the road to a Universal version of Office for Mac.
That’s a lot of code. Microsoft Messenger will have a 6.0 version despite my suspicion that it was dead. Still absent are audio and video chat. Yawn. Remote Desktop Connection will be updated.
Just so VirtualPC won’t feel lonely, Visual Basic scripting is getting gonged. AppleScript and Automator will get the love instead, so it’s not all bad.
Oh, your suspicion of Messenger being dead is correct, they just haven't gotten rid of the corpse yet. They continue to dress it up with new clothes and makeup. Eventually people will realize it's starting to stink a little and the makeovers aren't making it any better.
Visual Basic scripting is getting gonged. AppleScript and Automator will get the love instead, so it's not all bad.
Actually it is (in my opinion). What happens to all the Excel files I have now that use Visual Basic macros? What happens when a Windows user sends me an Office document that contains Visual Basic? Is Mac Office going to automatically convert any Visual Basic it finds to AppleScript and Automator? I really doubt it. I can solve the first problem by just not upgrading, but it means cross-platform Office compatibility is no more.