After releasing Office for Mac 2011 well over two years ago, Microsoft has now announced that it will be dropping support for its predecessor, Office for Mac 2008, on April 9th.
From Microsoft’s Office for Mac website:
Support for Office for Mac 2008 will end April 9th, 2013. View the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy for further details, such as the support dates for this product.
Once the deadline arrives, Microsoft will no longer release new updates for the software. They’re also removing previous updates for the suite from their support website 10 days later, on April 19th. It’s likely that Microsoft will release a final patch prior to dropping support for the software, to patch any lingering issues that may still exist.
Microsoft is encouraging users of Mac Office 2008 to try their new Office 365 subscription for $10 per month (or $100 per year), which includes full access to Office for Mac 2011. The subscription also entitles a user to upgrade to any new version of the suite released in the future as long as the subscription remains active.
Alternately, if you prefer to purchase Office for Mac 2011 outright, Amazon offers an Office 2011 for Home and Student Family Pack (3 users) for $199.99. Office 365 Home Premium provides a single household license that allows subscribers to install Office on up to five Macs or PCs. Home Premium launched on Jan. 29.
