Parts of Computer Hardware

Motherboard
The motherboard is the body or mainframe of the computer, through which all other
components interface. It is the central circuit board making up a complex electronic system. A
motherboard provides the electrical connections by which the other components of the system
communicate. The mother board includes many components such as: central processing unit (CPU),
random access memory (RAM), firmware, and internal and external buses.

MOTHERBOARD

Central Processing Unit

The Central Processing Unit (CPU; sometimes just called processor) is a machine that can
execute computer programs. It is sometimes referred to as the brain of the computer.

CPU DIAGRAM

There are four steps that nearly all CPUs use in their operation: fetch, decode, execute, and writeback.
The first step, fetch, involves retrieving an instruction from program memory. In the decode step, the
instruction is broken up into parts that have significance to other portions of the CPU. During the execute
step various portions of the CPU, such as the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and the floating point
unit (FPU) are connected so they can perform the desired operation. The final step, writeback, simply
writes back the results of the execute step to some form of memory.

Random Access Memory

Random access memory (RAM) is fast-access memory that is cleared when the computer is power-down.
RAM attaches directly to the motherboard, and is used to store programs that are currently running. RAM
is a set of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be accessed in any order (why it is called
random). There are many different types of RAM. Distinctions between these different types include:
writable vs. read-only, static vs. dynamic, volatile vs. non-volatile, etc.

RAM

Firmware
Firmware is loaded from the Read only memory (ROM) run from the Basic Input-Output System (BIOS).
It is a computer program that is embedded in a hardware device, for example a microcontroller. As it
name suggests, firmware is somewhere between hardware and software. Like software, it is a computer
program which is executed by a microprocessor or a microcontroller. But it is also tightly linked to a
piece of hardware, and has little meaning outside of it. Most devices attached to modern systems are
special-purpose computers in their own right, running their own software. Some of these devices store
that software (firmware) in a ROM within the device itself

Power Supply
The power supply as its name might suggest is the device that supplies power to all the components in the
computer. Its case holds a transformer, voltage control, and (usually) a cooling fan. The power supply
converts about 100-120 volts of AC power to low-voltage DC power for the internal components to use.
The most common computer power supplies are built to conform with the ATX form factor. This enables
different power supplies to be interchangable with different components inside the computer. ATX power
supplies also are designed to turn on and off using a signal from the motherboard, and provide support for
modern functions such as standby mode.

Removable Media Devices

If your putting something in your computer and taking it out is most likely a form of removable media.
There are many different removable media devices. The most popular are probably CD and DVD drives

which almost every computer these days has at least one of. There are some new disc drives such as Bluray which can hold a much larger amount of information then normal CDs or DVDs. One type of
removable media which is becoming less popular is floppy disk.

CD
CDs are the most common type of removable media. They are inexpensive but also have short life-span.
There are a few different kinds of CDs. CD-ROM which stands for Compact Disc read-only memory are
popularly used to distribute computer software although any type of data can be stored on them. CD-R is
another variation which can only be written to once but can be read many times. CD-RW (rewritable) can
be written to more than once as well as read more than once. Some other types of CDs which are not as
popular include Super Audio CD (SACD), Video Compact Discs (VCD), Super Video Compact Discs
(SVCD), PhotoCD, PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced CD.

CD-ROM Drive

There are two types of devices in a computer that use CDs: CD-ROM drive and a CD writer. The CDROM drive used for reading a CD. The CD writer drive can read and write a CD. CD writers are much
more popular are new computers than a CD-ROM drive. Both kinds of CD drives are called optical disc
drives because the use a laser light or electromagnetic waves to read or write data to or from a CD.

DVD
DVDs (digital versatile discs) are another popular optical disc storage media format. The main uses for
DVDs are video and data storage. Most DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs. Just like
CDs there are many different variations. DVD-ROM has data which can only be read and not written.
DVD-R and DVD+R can be written once and then function as a DVD-ROM. DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, or
DVD+RW hold data that can be erased and re-written multiple times. DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs
respectively refer to properly formatted and structured video and audio content. The devices that use
DVDs are very similar to the devices that use CDs. There is a DVD-ROM drive as well as a DVD writer
that work the same way as a CD-ROM drive and CD writer. There is also a DVD-RAM drive that reads
and writes to the DVD-RAM variation of DVD.

DVD

Blu-ray
Blu-ray is a newer optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are high-definition video and data
storage. The disc has the same dimensions as a CD or DVD. The term Blu-ray comes from the blue
laser used to read and write to the disc. The Blu-ray discs can store much more data then CDs or DVDs. A
dual layer Blu-ray disc can store up to 50GB, almost six times thecapacity of a dual layer DVD (WOW!).
Blu-ray discs have similar devices used to read them and write to them as CDs have. A BD-ROM drive
can only read a Blu-ray disc and a BD writer can read and write a Blu-ray disc.

Floppy Disk
A floppy disk is a type of data storage that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible(floppy) magnetic
storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. Floppy disks are read and written by a
floppy disk drive. Floppy disks are a dying and being replaced by the optical and flash drives. Many new
computers do not come with floppy drives anymore but there are a lot of older ones with floppy drives
lying around. While floppy disks are very cheap the amount of storage on them compared to the amount
of storage for the price of flash drives makes floppy disks unreasonable to use.

Floppy Disk

Internal Storage
Internal storage is hardware that keeps data inside the computer for later use and remains persistent even
when the computer has no power. There are a few different types of internal storage. Hard disks are the
most popular type of internal storage. Solid-state drives have grown in popularity slowly. A disk array
controller is popular when you need more storage then a single har disk can hold.

Hard Disk Drive

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile storage device which stores digitally encoded data on rapidly
rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. Just about every new computer comes with a hard disk these
days unless it comes with a new solid-state drive. Typical desktop hard disk drives store between 120 and
400GB, rotate at 7,200 rpm, and have a madia transfer rate of 1 Gbit/s or higher. Hard disk drives are
accessed over one of a number of bus types, including parallel ATA(also called IDE), Serial ATA (SATA),
SCSI, Serial Attached SCSI, and Fibre Channel.

Hard Drive

Solid-State Drive
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. An
SSD emulates a hard disk drive, thus easily replacing it in any application. SSDs have begun to appear in
laptops because they can be smaller than HDDs. SSDs are currently more expensive per unit of capacity
than HDDs which is why they have not caught on so quickly.

Disk Array Controller

A disk array controller is a device which manage the physical disk drives and presents them to the
computer as logical units. It almost always implements hardware RAID. RAID (Redundant Array of
Independent Drives) is a technology that employs the simultaneous use of two or more hard disk drives to
achieve greater levels of performance, reliability, and/or larger data volume sizes. A disk array controller
also provides additional disk cache.

TWO TYPES OF SOFTWARE

1.System software- System software is the programms that are developed by the programmers to
perform system tasks which are done with hardware. So system software is responsible for operating
hardware to do various tasks. For example the CPU is hardware when you press the switch to ON the
computer, it directly give the instruction to the software to ON the computer system. System software
further divided in two categories. That are as follows-

a. Operating system- Operating system is the main software or programme that tells the
hardware what to do and how to do. Without operating system computer has nothing to do. It
instructs hardware to do specific functions and utilization of hardware working. It controls
the functioning of hardwares by instructing them. Various computer used various operating
systems. The example of operating systems are Windows, linux and DOS etc.

b. language translator-As human being computer has its own machine language that is
understanble to it. So we need a software that can do it very well. Language translator convert
the language in to machine language that is understanble to computer. Language translator are
of different types such as interpreter, compiler and utility software. Interpreter convert each
line into machine language and human readable language one at a time. GWBASIC is an
example of interpreter and each computer language has its own interpreter. Compiler converts
whole document in to machine language and human readable language. Utility software are
those that you can purchase to perform various tasks in computer such as Anti-virus and scan
disks are the example of utility software.

2. Application software- Application software is used by the user to write a document as we write in
MS word and create drawings by using the paint section etc. Application software is very fast and
provide efficient way to do various tasks. Application software further divided as user needs such as-

a. General purpose- General purpose software that are commonly used by us to fulfill our common
and general requirements. For example MS excess, MS word, Adobe photoshop and Notpad etc.

These are generally provided us by spending some money. It is package contains various apps
that are used to fulfill our needs.

b. Special purpose-Software used to serve special purpose for example banking software used only
for banking purpose. It can fulfill needs of bank to maintain transactions and records of their
customers.

Computer System Software

The system software of a computer is a program that runs on top of hardware components in a
computer. Without the system software, it is extremely difficult to make use of the computer. One of the
basic functions of the system software is to save information from the computer memory to an external
device and to recognize text from external devices, such as the keyboard, onto the monitor. There are
different kinds of system software programs that make the computer a fascinating and complex device.
Device drivers
The device drivers are installed to make external hardware, such as the printer and mouse, to perform
their tasks. What a device driver does is to change the general instructions of the already installed
operating system software to more specific ones that will be understood by the external devices.
Operating systems usually come with device drivers for external computer hardware but if the hardware
to be added is not recognized on the operating system, then a new device driver must be installed before
it can be used. Device drivers are downloadable and easy to install.

Device drivers
Types of device drivers
Motherboard drivers

The operating system

The operating system is the most important program of the computer. It helps both the hardware and
software components of the computer to perform their functions. The functions of the operating system
include file management, provision of indicators for information management, controlling the computer
memory, interpreting input from the external devices and executing output operations. The types of
operating systems are the multiuser, multiprocessing, multitasking, multithreading and real-time
operating system.

Operating system overview

Examples of OS
Overview of functions of an operating system

Servers
A server is the computer software installed on a dedicated computer to connect other computers or
electronic devices so that their performance can be easily controlled. They are used in large
organizations to reduce the stress of carrying files about and sharing information. They are also used to
provide information to computer users outside the organization through the internet. Some of the types
of servers are web servers, print servers, database servers and enterprise servers.

What is a print server?

Database servers

Web server security guidelines

The enterprise server

Utilities
Utilities are computer software used to get the best of the computer. Utilities are operated by trained
professionals because of the high level of skills required. Some examples of utilities are the disk storage
utilities, disk defragmenters, disk checkers, disk cleaners, hex editors, anti-virus, data compression,
system profiler and screensavers. The disk defragmenters are used to identify files that are stored in the
computer hard disk and increase the efficiency of the computer files by sorting and separating the
correct ones from the incorrect/broken files. The system profiler is used to find details about any
installed software or attached hardware on the computer. Hex editors are tools used to modify files
while the anti-virus is used to scan computers to detect the presence of virus in order to eliminate them.

What are utility programs?

Disk defragmenter

Hex editor definition

Window systems
The window system is software that makes it possible for computer users to make use of symbols and
pointing devices. Thus, it supports the installation of graphics hardware. With the Windows System, it
is also possible for the computer operator to work with more than one program at the same time.
Examples of window systems include: Sun View, Xfast, Xynth, Qtopia, MicroXwin, Wayland, GM,
OPIE, X window system, Y window system and MicroWindows.

The X window system

Understanding the X window system

OPIE: One Time Response In Everything

The Y-window system

Password protection
Microsoft Office has security feature which allows users to encrypt Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
documents with user provided password. User password can contain up to 255 characters and
uses AES 128-bit advanced encryption by default.[44] Password could be used to restrict modification of
the entire document, worksheet or presentation. Due to lack of document encryption most passwords
could be cracked using a third-party cracking software.[45]

Compatibility
Microsoft supports Office for the Windows and OS X platforms, as well as mobile versions for
Windows Phone, Android and iOS platforms. Beginning with Mac Office 4.2, the OS X and Windows
versions of Office share the same file format, and are interoperable. Visual Basic for Applications
support was dropped in Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac,[46] then reintroduced in Office for Mac 2011.[47]
Microsoft tried in the mid-1990s to port Office to RISC processors such
as NEC/MIPS and IBM/PowerPC, but they met problems such as memory access being hampered
by data structure alignment requirements. Microsoft Word 97 and Excel 97 however did ship for
the DEC Alpha platform. Difficulties in porting Office may have been a factor in
discontinuing Windows NT on non-Intel platforms.[48]
Stuart Cohen, CEO of Open Source Development Labs, conjectured in 2006 that Microsoft would
eventually release a Linux port of Office,[49] which occurred viaMicrosoft Office Mobile for Android
phones (OS 4.0 or later) in 2013 and tablets (OS 4.4 or later) in 2015. Office is also available for iOS,
another Unix-like platform. Office for Windows Phone and the older Windows Mobile are
distinguished from Windows NT versions.

Licensing
Microsoft Office is licensed through retail, volume licensing and software as a service channels.
Volume licensing includes OEM licenses for bundling Microsoft Office with personal computers
and Microsoft Software Assurance. The software as a service channel is called Microsoft Office
365 which was started on 28 June 2011.

In addition to supporting retail sales and site-wide installations, Microsoft offers a "Home Use
Program" (HUP) permitting employees of a participating organization access to home-use Microsoft
Office products.[68]
Post-secondary students may obtain the University edition of Microsoft Office 365 subscription.
(Despite the name, college students are also eligible.) It is limited to one user and two devices, plus the
subscription price is valid for four years instead of just one. Apart from this, the University edition is
identical in features to the Home Premium version. This marks the first time Microsoft does not offer
physical or permanent software at academic pricing, in contrast to the University versions of Office
2010 and Office 2011. In addition, students eligible for DreamSpark program may receive select
standalone Microsoft Office apps free of charge.

Support
On 15 October 2012, Microsoft announced their Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy.[69] Versions earlier
than Office 2007 are no longer supported. For current and future versions of Office, mainstream
support will end five years after release, or two years after the next release, (whichever time is later),
and extended support will end five years after that.

Discontinued applications and features

Microsoft Binder Incorporates several documents into one file and was originally designed as a
container system for storing related documents in a single file. The complexity of use and learning
curve led to little usage, and it was discontinued after Office XP.

Microsoft FrontPage a WYSIWYG HTML editor and website administration tool for
Windows. It was branded as part of the Microsoft Office suite from 1997 to 2003. FrontPage was
discontinued in December 2006 and replaced by Microsoft SharePoint Designer and Microsoft
Expression Web.

Microsoft InfoPath Windows application for designing and distributing rich XML-based
forms. Last version was included in Office 2013.[70]

Microsoft Mail Mail client (in old versions of Office, later replaced by Microsoft Schedule
Plus and subsequently Microsoft Outlook).

Microsoft Office Accounting

Microsoft Office Document Image Writer a virtual printer that takes documents from
Microsoft Office or any other application and prints them, or stores them in an image file as TIFF
or Microsoft Document Imaging Format format. It was discontinued with Office 2010.[71]

Microsoft Office Document Imaging an application that supports editing scanned documents.
Discontinued with Office 2010.[71]

Microsoft Office Document Scanning a scanning and OCR application. Discontinued with
Office 2010.[71]

Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 A graphics program that was first released as part of the Office
2000 Premium Edition. A later version for Windows XP compatibility was released, known as
PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2. Microsoft discontinued the program in 2001.

Microsoft Photo Editor Photo-editing/raster-graphics software in older Office versions up to

Office XP. It was supplemented by Microsoft PhotoDraw in Office 2000 Premium edition.

Microsoft Schedule Plus Released with Office 95. It featured a planner, to-do list, and contact
information. Its functions were incorporated into Microsoft Outlook.

Microsoft Virtual PC Included with Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2004 for Mac.
Microsoft discontinued support for Virtual PC on the Mac in 2006 owing to new Macs possessing
the same Intel architecture as Windows PCs.[72] It emulated a standard PC and its hardware.

Microsoft Vizact 2000 A program that "activated" documents using HTML, adding effects
such as animation. It allows users to create dynamic documents for the Web. Development has
ended due to unpopularity.

Microsoft Data Analyzer 2002 A business intelligence program for graphical visualization of
data and its analysis.

Office Assistant, included since Office 97 (Windows) and Office 98 (Mac) as a part
of Microsoft Agent technology, is a system that uses animated characters to offer contextsensitive suggestions to users and access to the help system. The Assistant is often dubbed "Clippy"
or "Clippit", due to its default to a paper clipcharacter, coded as CLIPPIT.ACS. The latest versions
that include the Office Assistant were Office 2003 (Windows) and Office 2004 (Mac).

Microsoft SharePoint Workspace (formerly known as Microsoft Office Groove) a

proprietary peer-to-peer document collaboration software designed for teams with members who
are regularly offline or who do not share the same network security clearance.

Microsoft Office InterConnect business-relationship database available only in Japan

Microsoft Office Picture Manager basic photo management software
to Google's Picasa or Adobe's Photoshop Elements), replaced Microsoft Photo Editor
Microsoft Entourage

(similar

Discontinued server applications

Microsoft Office Forms Server Lets users use any browser to access and fill InfoPath forms.
Office Forms Server is a standalone server installation of InfoPath Forms Services.

Microsoft Office Groove Server Centrally managing all deployments of Microsoft Office
Groove in the enterprise

Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server Allows creation of a project portfolio, including
workflows, hosted centrally

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server Allows customers to monitor, analyze, and plan
their business

Discontinued web services

Office Live

Office Live Small Business Web hosting services and online collaboration tools for small
businesses
Office Live Workspace Online storage and collaboration service for documents, superseded
by Office Online
Office Live Meeting Web conferencing service

Criticism
Microsoft Office has been criticized in the past for using proprietary file formats rather than open
standards, which forces users who share data into adopting the same software platform. [73] However, on
February 15, 2008, Microsoft made the entire documentation for the binary Office formats freely
available under the Open Specification Promise.[74] Also, Office Open XML, the document format for
the latest versions of Office for Windows and Mac, has been standardized under bothEcma
International and ISO. Ecma International has published the Office Open XML specification free of
copyrights and Microsoft has granted patent rights to the formats technology under the Open
Specification Promise[75] and has made available free downloadable converters for previous versions of
Microsoft Office including Office 2003, Office XP, Office 2000 and Office 2004 for the Mac. Thirdparty implementations of Office Open XML exist on the Mac platform (iWork 08)
andLinux (OpenOffice.org 2.3 - Novell Edition only).
Microsoft Office for Mac has for long been criticized for its lack of support
of Unicode and BiDi languages, notably Arabic and Hebrew. This has not changed in the 2008 version,
however it has become available in the 2016 version.[76][77]

Version history

Windows versions

Microsoft Office 4.0, inside Windows 3.1

Microsoft Office for Windows

Microsoft Office for Windows[78] started in October 1990 as a bundle of three applications designed for
Microsoft Windows 3.0: Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1, Microsoft Excel for Windows 2.0, and
Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 2.0.[79]
Microsoft Office for Windows 1.5 updated the suite with Microsoft Excel 3.0.[80]
Version 1.6[81] added Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 2.1 to the bundle.[82]
Microsoft Office 3.0
Microsoft Office 3.0,[83] also called Microsoft Office 92, was released on 30 August 1992
and[84] contained Word 2.0, Excel 4.0, PowerPoint 3.0 and Mail 3.0. It was the first version of Office
also released on CD-ROM.[85] In 1993, The Microsoft Office Professional[86] was released, which
added Microsoft Access 1.1.[87]
Microsoft Office 4.x
Microsoft Office 4.0 was released containing Word 6.0, Excel 4.0a, PowerPoint 3.0 and Mail in 1993.
[88]
Word's version number jumped from 2.0 to 6.0 so that it would have the same version number as the
MS-DOS and Macintosh versions (Excel and PowerPoint were already numbered the same as the
Macintosh versions).
Microsoft Office 4.2 for Windows NT was released in 1994 for i386, Alpha, [89] MIPS and
PowerPC[90] architectures, containing Word 6.0 and Excel 5.0 (both 32-bit,[91] PowerPoint 4.0 (16-bit),
and Microsoft Office Manager 4.2 (the precursor to the Office Shortcut Bar)).
Microsoft Office 95

Microsoft Office logo, introduced in Office 95 and used in Office 97, 2000 and XP

Microsoft Office 95 was released on 24 August 1995. Again, the version numbers were altered to create
parity across the suiteevery program was called version 7.0 meaning all but Word missed out
versions. It was designed as a fully 32-bit version to match Windows 95. Office 95 was available in two
versions, Office 95 Standard and Office 95 Professional. The standard version consisted of Word 7.0,
Excel 7.0, PowerPoint 7.0, and Schedule+ 7.0. The professional edition contained all of the items in the
standard version plus Microsoft Access7.0. If the professional version was purchased in CDROM form, it also included Bookshelf.
Microsoft Office 97
Microsoft Office 97 (Office 8.0), included hundreds of new features and improvements, and introduced
command bars, a paradigm in which menus and toolbars were made more similar in capability and
visual design. Office 97 also featured Natural Language Systems and grammar checking. Office 97 was
the first version of Office to include the Office Assistant.
Microsoft Office 2000
Microsoft Office 2000 (Office 9.0) introduced adaptive menus, where little-used options were hidden
from the user. It also introduced a new security feature, built around digital signatures, to diminish the
threat of macro viruses. Office 2000 automatically trusts macros (written in VBA 6) that were digitally
signed from authors who have been previously designated as trusted.
Microsoft Office XP

Microsoft Office XP logo

Microsoft Office XP (Office 10.0 or Office 2002) was released in conjunction with Windows XP, and
was a major upgrade with numerous enhancements and changes over Office 2000. Office XP
introduced the Safe Mode feature, which allows applications such as Outlook to boot when it might
otherwise fail. Safe Mode enables Office to detect and either repair or bypass the source of the problem,
such as a corrupted registry or a faulty add-in. Smart tag is a technology introduced with Office XP.
Some smart tags operate based on user activity, such as helping with typing errors. These smart tags are
supplied with the products, and are not programmable. For developers, though, there is the ability to
create custom smart tags. In Office XP, custom smart tags could work only in Word and Excel.
Microsoft Office XP includes integrated voice command and text dictation capabilities, as well
as handwriting recognition. It was the first version to require Product Activation as an anti-piracy
measure, which attracted widespread controversy.[92]

Microsoft Office 2003

Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 logo

Microsoft Office 2003 (Office 11.0) was released in 2003. It featured a new logo. Two new applications
made their debut in Office 2003: Microsoft InfoPath and OneNote. It is the first version to use
Windows XP-style icons. Outlook 2003 provides improved functionality in many areas,
including Kerberos authentication, RPC over HTTP, Cached Exchange Mode, and an improved junk
mail filter.
Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Office 2007 (Office 12.0) was released in 2007. Office 2007's new features include a
new graphical user interfacecalled the Fluent User Interface,[93] replacing the menus and toolbars that
have been the cornerstone of Office since its inception with a tabbed toolbar, known as the Ribbon;
new XML-based file formats called Office Open XML; and the inclusion of Groove, a collaborative
software application.[94]
Microsoft Office 2010

Microsoft Office 2010 logo

Microsoft Office 2010 (Office 14.0, because Microsoft skipped 13.0[95]) was finalized on 15 April 2010
and made available to consumers on 15 June 2010.[96][97] The main features of Office 2010 include the
backstage file menu, new collaboration tools, a customizable ribbon, protected view and a navigation
panel. This is the first version to ship in 32-bit and 64-bitvariants. Microsoft Office 2010 featured a new
logo, which resembled the 2007 logo, except in gold, and with a modification in shape.[98]
Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for Office 2010 on 28 June 2011.[99]
Microsoft Office 2013

Microsoft Office 2013 logo

A technical preview of Office 2013 (Build 15.0.3612.1010) was released on 30 January 2012, and a
Customer Preview version was made available to consumers on 16 July 2012. [100] It sports a revamped
application interface; the interface is based on Metro, the interface of Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Microsoft Outlook has received the most pronounced changes so far; for example, the Metro interface
provides a new visualization for scheduled tasks. PowerPoint includes more templates and transition
effects, and OneNote includes a new splash screen.[101] On 16 May 2011, new images of Office 15 were
revealed, showing Excel with a tool for filtering data in a timeline, the ability to convert Roman
numerals to Arabic numerals, and the integration of advanced trigonometric functions. In Word, the
capability of inserting video and audio online as well as the broadcasting of documents on the Web
were implemented.[102] Microsoft has promised support for Office Open XML Strict starting with
version 15, a format Microsoft has submitted to the ISO for interoperability with other office suites, and
to aid adoption in the public sector.[103] This version can read and write ODF 1.2 (Windows only).[104]
On 24 October 2012, Office 2013 Professional Plus was released to manufacturing and was made
available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers for download. [105]On 15 November 2012, the 60-day trial
version was released for public download.[106]
Microsoft Office 2016
On 22 January 2015, the Microsoft Office blog announced that the next version of the suite for
Windows desktop, Office 2016, was in development. On 4 May 2015, a public preview of Microsoft
Office 2016 was released.[24][25][107] Office 2016 was released for OS X on 9 July 2015 [7] and for
Windows on 22 September 2015.[6]

Mac versions

Microsoft Office 98 for Mac Box

Prior to packaging its various office-type Mac OS software applications into Office, Microsoft released
Mac versions of Word1.0 in 1984, the first year of the Macintosh computer; Excel 1.0 in 1985;
and PowerPoint 1.0 in 1987.[108] Microsoft does not include its Access database application in Office for
Mac.
Microsoft has noted that some features are added to Office for Mac before they appear in Windows
versions, such as Office for Mac 2001's Office Project Gallery and PowerPoint Movie feature, which
allows users to save presentations as QuickTime movies. [109][110] However, Microsoft Office for Mac has
been long criticized for its lack of support of Unicode and for its lack of support for right-toleft languages, notably Arabic, Hebrew and Persian.[111][112]

Early Office for Mac releases (19891994)

Microsoft Office for Mac was introduced for Mac OS in 1989, before Office was released for Windows.
[113]
It included Word 4.0, Excel 2.2, PowerPoint 2.01, and Mail 1.37. [114] It was originally a limited-time
promotion but later became a regular product. With the release of Office on CD-ROM later that year,
Microsoft became the first major Mac publisher to put its applications on CD-ROM.[115]
Microsoft Office 1.5 for Mac was released in 1991 and included the updated Excel 3.0, the first
application to support ApplesSystem 7 operating system.[108]
Microsoft Office 3.0 for Mac was released in 1992. It included Word 5.0, Excel 4.0, PowerPoint 3.0
and Mail Client. Excel 4.0 was the first application to support the new AppleScript.[108]
Microsoft Office 4.2 for Mac was released in 1994. (Version 4.0 was skipped to synchronize version
numbers with Office for Windows.) Version 4.2 included Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0, and
Mail 3.2.[116] It was the first Office suite for the Power Macintosh.[108] Its user interface was identical to
Office 4.2 for Windows,[117]leading many customers to comment that it wasn't Mac-like enough. [109] The
final release for Mac 68K was Office 4.2.1, which updated Word to version 6.0.1, somewhat improving
its performance.
Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition
Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition was unveiled at MacWorld Expo/San Francisco in 1998. It
introduced the Internet Explorer 4.0 web browser and Outlook Express, an Internet email client and usenet newsgroup reader.[118] Office 98 was re-engineered by Microsoft's Macintosh
Business Unit to satisfy customers' desire for software they felt was more Mac-like. [109] It
included dragand-drop installation, self-repairing applications and Quick Thesaurus, before such
features were available in Office for Windows. It also was the first version to
support QuickTime movies.[109]
Microsoft Office 2001 and v. X

Microsoft Office v. X box art

Microsoft Office 2001 was launched in 2000 as the last Office suite for the classic Mac OS. It required
a PowerPC processor. This version introduced Entourage, an e-mail client that included information
management tools such as a calendar, an address book, task lists and notes.[110]

Microsoft Office v. X was released in 2001 and was the first version of Microsoft Office for Mac OS X.
[119]
Support for Office v. X ended on 9 January 2007 after the release of the final update,
10.1.9[120] Office v.X includes Word X, Excel X, PowerPoint X, Entourage X, MSN Messenger for
Mac and Windows Media Player 9 for Mac; it was the last version of Office for Mac to include Internet
Explorer for Mac.[121]
Office 2004
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac was released on 11 May 2004.[122] It includes Microsoft Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, Entourage and Virtual PC. It was notable for supporting Visual Basic Applications (VBA),
a feature omitted in its sequel, Office 2008. For this reason, Microsoft extended support for Office 2004
from 10 September 2009 to 10 January 2012. VBA functionality was reintroduced in Office 2011.
Office 2008

Microsoft Office 2008 Logo

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac was released on 15 January 2008. It was the first Office for Mac suite
that was a universal binary, running natively on both Intel and PowerPC-based Macs, and it supported
Office Open XML file formats first introduced in Office 2007 for Windows. [108] Five months after it was
released, Microsoft said that Office 2008 was "selling faster than any previous version of Office for
Mac in the past 19 years" and affirmed "its commitment to future products for the Mac."[123]
Office 2011
Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 was released on 26 October 2010,[47] and features an OS X version of
Outlook to replace the Entourage email client. This version of Outlook is intended to make the OS X
version of Office work better with Microsoft's Exchange server and with those using Office for
Windows.[124] Office 2011 includes a Mac-based Ribbon similar to Office for Windows.
OneNote and Outlook release (2014)
Microsoft OneNote for Mac was released on 17 March 2014. It marks the company's first release of the
note-taking software on the Mac. It is available as a free download to all users of the Mac App
Store in OS X Mavericks.[125]
Microsoft Outlook 2016 for Mac debuted on 31 October 2014. It requires a paid Office
365 subscription, meaning that traditional Office 2011 retail or volume licenses cannot activate this
version of Outlook. On that day, Microsoft confirmed that it would release the next version of Office
for Mac in late 2015.[126]

Despite dropping support for older versions of OS X and only keeping support for 64-bit-only versions
of OS X, these versions of OneNote and Outlook are 32-bit applications like their predecessors.
Office 2016
The first Preview version of Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac was released on 5 March 2015. [127] On 9
July 2015, Microsoft released the final version of Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac which includes Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. It was immediately made available for Office 365
subscribers with either a Home, Personal, Business, Business Premium, E3 or ProPlus subscription. A
non-Office 365 edition of Office 2016 was made available as a one-time purchase option on 22
September 2015.[6]