Office 2008 for Mac feels need for speed with new service pack

Microsoft is releasing the second service pack update to Office 2008 for Mac, the company said Monday. 

The free update, which is expected to be available later on Monday from Microsoft's website, is designed to improve speed and stability as well as add new features for connecting to SharePoint servers and to Microsoft's Office Live Workspaces. 

"With SP2 we are not only delivering on top customer requests midcycle, but also taking a first step in bringing Microsoft software plus services to Mac users," senior product manager Mike Tedesco said in a statement. "This connection unlocks the door for Mac users to Microsoft services for easier collaboration and file sharing with colleagues, customers and classmates." 

With the update, Mac Office users will be able to save documents to Office Live Workspace. The site also is expanding its Mac browser support to include Safari 4, in addition to Firefox. 

Microsoft declined to offer any details on the next major release of Office for the Mac, but a representative said that the company is "on track with the next release and that is based on the standard two to three year release cycle". 

Office 2008 was released in January of last year.