As it turns out, the rumors were true; Microsoft does plan on releasing its Office 2010 software suite in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, says ArsTechnica, who received confirmation from a Microsoft spokesperson via an email exchange.
"Yes, Office will have two separate 32-bit and 64-bit versions," the spokesperson wrote. "Office 2010 will be the first to do this."
While the benefits of running Office natively in a 64-bit environment might not be particularly exciting, making the popular software suite available as such could help expedite 64-bit adoption among other vendors. Love it or hate it, this also means a certain debt of gratitude is owed to Vista, the first mainstream Windows OS to really push 64-bit onto the masses.
Appropriately enough, look for Office 2010 to be released sometime next year.
Image Credit: Microsoft
Links:
[1] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/paul_lilly
[2] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/windows_7_spills_beans_office_14s_64bit_support
[3] http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/04/confirmed-office-2010-will-come-in-32-bit-and-64-bit.ars
[4] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/office_14_won%E2%80%99t_launch_until_2010_%E2%80%93_but_will_it_delay_windows_7
[5] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/microsoft_may_ship_a_free_version_office_14_will_still_work_windows_xp
[6] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/64bit
[7] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/microsoft
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[11] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/software
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