Microsoft Office for Mac finally catches up with Office 2016 preview

IMAGE: MASHABLE, CHRIST

It's about time. Microsoft Office for Mac is getting its first major update in years.

The company rolled out on Thursday preview versions of the new Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote and Outlook for Mac — the first time the Office suite for Mac has had a new release since 2011.

Better yet, Microsoft said that from now on, Office for Mac will be updated as regularly as Windows.

"This will be the first time Office for Mac is updated on a regular basis like Office 365 is today," Jevon Fark, Microsoft's consumer marketing manager, said. "We're talking about new features, functionality, as long as you're an Office 365 subscriber."

Those who aren't subscribers will still be able to use the Office apps for free during the preview period, but will need an Office 365 subscription or perpetual license once they become generally available later this year.

With Office for Mac for 2016, Microsoft will finally bring the apps' features to the same level as the existing Windows and mobile apps. Word and Powerpoint, for example, will get the same real-time collaboration features that Windows users have had for some time. This means multiple people will be able to contribute to, and have conversations within, a single document in real-time.

The preview version of Word in Office for Mac 2016.

IMAGE: MICROSOFT

On the Excel side, Microsoft is adding new statistical functions for power users. For those accustomed to using Excel on Windows, it revamped the shortcut keys so the same shortcut keys in Windows will also work in Mac (existing Mac shortcuts will continue to work, as well.)

The new Presenter View in in Powerpoint.

IMAGE: MICROSOFT

Powerpoint users will also have access to the same Presenter View as Windows. The feature allows presenters to see the current slide, the upcoming slide, notes and a timer, while viewers only sees the current slide.

Microsoft said its Office preview versions are close to what the software will look like when it becomes generally available some time this summer. As with previous early releases, however, the company is asking for feedback during the preview period. Those who don't want to wait can check out the previews on Microsoft's website.

Updated March 5, 2015 at 11:20 a.m PT to clarify the Office apps will be free during the preview period, but will require an Office 365 subscription or perpetual license once they become generally available.

Google Search Gets a Cool, Useful Calculator

Before today, when you typed an equation into Google — say, "15 x 7" — the answer (105, if you must know) would appear in bold above you actual search results. Now Google has gone one step further, giving you your answer on a virtual calculator.

The blue-hued calculator appears above your results, as before, and has 34 buttons, including standard trigonometric functions, exponents and buttons for the transcendental numbers, pi and e.

Bonus: It also works on mobile. In our quick test, it appeared in both Safari and Chrome on iOS and of course on Android as  well. Although the scientific functions aren't visible in portrait mode, they appear when you flip your phone to landscape — a trick Google's borrowing from the iOS-standard calculator.

Punching buttons is a little unwieldy in the desktop browser, but it's natural as can be on a phone. Plus, on both versions, you can do calculations via voice search. The voice interface can even discern such phrasing as "cosine of 60 degrees."

It's not the first time Google has experimented with interactive calculators in its search tool. A Google Doodle late last year that celebrated the a robot whose chest featured a calculator, although it was very limited and somewhat unreliable.

It may be a minor addition to the Google search toolbox, but this calculator has the inner math nerds inside all of us here at Mashable excited. We think these fine fellows from Saturday Night 

Liveaccurately sum up our feelings — share yours in the comments.

Lost your Android device? Google 'Find my phone'

If you have an Android phone, finding it is now as easy as telling Chrome to "Find my phone."

Finding your lost phone just got easier — as long as it's an Android device.

Searching Google for the words "Find my phone" will call up the Android Device Manager tool that shows where your phone is on a map. From there, you can tell the phone to ring, lock, or have it wiped completely.

On Chrome, calling up the tool is as easy as speaking. Since Chrome accepts voice searches, all you need to do is say the words, "Find my phone," and the browser does the rest.



IMAGE: GOOGLE

The tool works perfectly on desktop, although to call it up on mobile you'll need to download the latest version of the Google app, according to a post on Google+; however, it didn't work for us.

To be clear, Android Device Manager isn't new, but the special search term is. While it's not compatible with the iPhone, users of Apple's platform can use either the Find my iPhone app or iCloud.com to search for their lost devices — just without the easy-peasy search term. But if you ask Siri, "Find My iPhone," she'll launch directly into the eponymous app.

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