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According to [APC magazine][1], Microsoft's Office For Mac 2008 has moved from alpha to private beta. There's still no word on when the public betas will arrive, but APC has a few screenshots of the new user interface design.
Although the Mac version of Office will not use the Ribbon interface found in the new Office 2207 for Windows, the interface design in Office For Mac is clearly striving for the same goals -- exposing previous hidden tools and making complex tasks simpler.
Unlike the Window's version of Office, which largely dispensed with toolbars in favor of the single Ribbon design, the Mac UI retains the traditional menus and toolbars. However, the design principles behind Ribbon -- making tools more visual and less dialog box based -- have made their way to the Mac version.
Judging by the screenshots APC has posted, the Mac Office UI will have a modern black sheen look similar to some of the apps in Apple's recent iLife suite.
All of the Office 2008 for Mac applications sport what APC calls, "elegant visuals such as 3D effects, mirroring, glass effects, glows and shadows." Clearly Microsoft is trying to use the UI visual "wow," if you will, to distance itself from competitors like NeoOffice.
Unfortunately the APC article doesn't mention much in the way of new features, other than the UI changes and MyDay, an Entourage appointments like app that keeps track of your daily tasks. The only other notable feature mentioned is integration with iPhoto in Word's Publishing Layout View.
When I [spoke to the Mac Office team][2] several months ago they refused to give any sort of time table for the first public betas, but judging from these screenshots, Office For Mac 2008 appears to be progressing nicely and I wouldn't be surprised if the public betas dropped by the end of summer.
[1]: http://apcmag.com/5780/office_2008_for_mac_hits_beta_shows_slick_ui_and_draws_on_escher "Office For Mac 2008 private beta"
[2]: http://www.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2007/01/72476 "MS Office for Mac on the Way"
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