Microsoft upgrades mail software for Mac

SEATTLE: Microsoft said it would upgrade the e-mail and scheduling software it makes for Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh personal computer. With the upgradation, Entourage, its e-mail, calendar appointments and contacts program for the Macintosh, will now be able to store information on Microsoft's mail server, allowing multiple users to share scheduling and contact information.

Outlook, the e-mail and scheduling software that Microsoft makes for its Windows operating system, has long been able to store information on Exchange servers, its line of server software that stores, sends and receives e-mail and scheduling information.

Microsoft, which has a long history of rivalry and reconciliation with Apple, is the biggest seller of software for the Macintosh with its Office for "Mac OS X", Apple's operating system for the Macintosh. Office v. X for the Macintosh includes the Word document, Excel spreadsheet programs as well as Entourage.

© Reuters