Macintosh Business Unit
Encyclopedia
Macintosh Business Unit is an operating unit of Microsoft
that, as of 2009, is the largest software developer outside of Apple Inc. for the Mac OS
operating system
. Formed on January 7, 1997 (with release of Mac OS 7.6
), it was formerly situated within Microsoft's Specialized Devices and Applications Group inside the Entertainment and Devices Division., with it now being inside the Microsoft Office division.
in the 1990s, there have been fears that Microsoft might stop developing Macintosh versions of key products, notably Microsoft Office. Thus, Mac BU was established in 1997 with a five-year commitment by Microsoft to continue developing and supporting Macintosh software – a pledge most recently renewed on January 10, 2006 at the Macworld Conference & Expo
. Roz Ho served as the General Manager
(GM) from December 18, 2002 to June 8, 2007, at which point Craig Eisler became the GM.
, Microsoft Messenger
, and Remote Desktop Client
. Previously developed software by the Mac BU include Internet Explorer
(development ceased in 2003), Virtual PC
, and the MSN for Mac OS X
browser (cancelled May 31, 2005).
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
that, as of 2009, is the largest software developer outside of Apple Inc. for the Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. Formed on January 7, 1997 (with release of Mac OS 7.6
System 7
System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...
), it was formerly situated within Microsoft's Specialized Devices and Applications Group inside the Entertainment and Devices Division., with it now being inside the Microsoft Office division.
History
Prior to the Mac BU, Microsoft had developed Macintosh software – in fact, dating to 1984 when Microsoft released Word 1.0 for Macintosh. However, with the rise and dominance of WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in the 1990s, there have been fears that Microsoft might stop developing Macintosh versions of key products, notably Microsoft Office. Thus, Mac BU was established in 1997 with a five-year commitment by Microsoft to continue developing and supporting Macintosh software – a pledge most recently renewed on January 10, 2006 at the Macworld Conference & Expo
Macworld Conference & Expo
Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
. Roz Ho served as the General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
(GM) from December 18, 2002 to June 8, 2007, at which point Craig Eisler became the GM.
Software
Mac BU develops Macintosh versions of Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
, Microsoft Messenger
Microsoft Messenger for Mac
Microsoft Messenger for Mac is the official Mac OS X instant messaging client for use with Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service and is developed by the Macintosh Business Unit, a division of Microsoft. However, the feature list is limited in comparison to that of its counterpart Windows Live Messenger...
, and Remote Desktop Client
Remote Desktop Protocol
Remote Desktop Protocol is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to another computer. The protocol is an extension of the ITU-T T.128 application sharing protocol. Clients exist for most versions of Microsoft Windows , Linux, Unix, Mac OS...
. Previously developed software by the Mac BU include Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer for Mac
Internet Explorer for Mac was a proprietary web browser developed by Microsoft for the Macintosh platform. Initial versions were developed from the same code base as Internet Explorer for Windows...
(development ceased in 2003), Virtual PC
Microsoft Virtual PC
Windows Virtual PC is a virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006 Microsoft released the Windows-hosted version as a free product...
, and the MSN for Mac OS X
MSN for Mac OS X
MSN for Mac OS X, was a dial-up client interface to Microsoft's pay-for-access online services for Mac users. It was discontinued in March 2005. The software was, in some respects, comparable to the AOL dial-up client given its channelized interface, built-in chat and instant messaging...
browser (cancelled May 31, 2005).