Microsoft plays nice, ups Mac support staff
In what is reported to be the largest single staff increase in Microsoft history for its Mac products division, Microsoft has gone a Mac hiring spree. The Mac Business Unit at Microsoft has been around for eleven years now, and according to its General Manager, Craig Eisler the company is “launching our biggest hiring initiative since the inception of MacBU.”
What this means for Mac users is a slate of Microsoft products for the Mac that go far beyond Microsoft Office in scope and direction. With many Mac users jumping ship and abandoning Microsoft Office for Open Source and online solutions like Neo Office and Google Docs, this expansion of the unit comes at a good time. The faster Microsoft can generate interest in its declining Mac brand, the better it will be for the company.
Of course the fact that the company is also rumored to be back in talks with Yahoo (yes, again) coupled with this news makes me wonder where they see the company headed. Mac is a highly social and lifestyle based brand, and Yahoo holds the keys to a very social family of web properties.
Microsoft is not known for being social. Heck, it isn’t known for being user friendly – look at Internet Explorer and Vista. Could this be signaling a sea change in the companies attitude, or just more proprietary branding lip service?
I must admit, the most entertaining aspect of the announcement so far is the part of the job description promising Mac Business Unit staff a constant supply of free coffee, juice and milk. Not for nothing, but a constant flow of money would appeal more to me were I to work there.
The unit heads say that part of the impetus for the increase in staff is a planned release of a new Microsoft Office for Mac update every 2 to 3 years. That’s welcome news for people loyal to the product who have long wondered why Mac updates were so long in coming (people having trouble with DocX for so long come to mind).
The powers that be at Microsoft are being close lipped on products other than Microsoft Office for Mac. It goes without saying that there must be more than just the flagship application set in the pipeline to warrant this kind of staff increase. I’m sure Mac rumor junkies everywhere will be keeping an ear to the ground on this one in weeks to come.
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