No Office 14 until 2010

Presenting today in a "Strategic Update Meeting" mainly intended for financial analysts, Microsoft has additionally revealed that Office 14, the next anticipated version of its productivity suite, will not ship this year. Rumors had suggested that the software would launch by the end of 2009, in keeping with an accelerated launch for Windows 7. A single release candidate for Windows 7 is scheduled for April 10th, which may foretell a summer ship date instead of one in late 2009 or early 2010. A simultaneous Office release could help spur corporate upgrades.

Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, has meanwhile admitted that the company is competing chiefly against Google in search and advertising, but that it has a "much smaller team" with which to do so. "We would like to pool Microsoft and Yahoo, not talking acquisition," says Ballmer. "But these two guys should figure out a way to get together. Maybe we'll be able to have that talk with new management at Yahoo as Carol [Bartz] comes on board."

Bartz has assumed control of Yahoo as the company's new CEO, replacing co-founder Jerry Yang. Yang became a target of Microsoft and other critics for resisting a Microsoft takeover attempt, which later became seen as a missed opportunity given a precipitous decline in Yahoo shares. Ballmer has previously suggested that a change in management could be advantageous to its search and advertising plans.

By Electronista Staff