Sometimes I feel like Microsoft keeps the Mac BU around just so it can mock and ridicule it. The unit never seems to get to join in the fun when it comes time to release a new iteration of Office. Not, at least, until well after its PC counterparts. The official line is that the development cycle for both products is always around two to three years, so the schedule dictates when new releases become available — which explains why we won’t be seeing Office 2010 until 2011. Regardless of cycles, Office for Mac is badly in need of an upgrade — right now.

I have Office 2008, but I can count the number of times I use it in one month on one finger. Whenever possible, I use Google Docs or Bean (an excellent freeware multiformat text editor for Mac) for any Word doc editing I may need to do, which is almost none now that I’ve left school and the corporate world behind. Even though a lot of people still depend on the format, as the number of Mac users grows, I suspect Office will continue to lose ground, especially if Microsoft continues to offer such seriously unpleasant Mac-specific software.

Sometimes I swear Office 2008 was just a ploy to get me to install Windows on a Boot Camp partition and run Office 2007. I find command and menu placement to be completely unintuitive and just plain awkward on the Mac version. Google Docs in an SSB seems like a natively designed OS X app by comparison.

Of course, a big part of the announcement of Office 2010 was the revelation of a suite of online apps, which theoretically should be accessible from any browser on any platform (unless MS pulls a classic IE-only block, which I don’t think it would for fear of inciting riots). So, Mac users will be able to join in on the fun, right? Not quite. The web portion of Office 2010, from what I gather from Microsoft’s press releases about the software, will complement and work together with the old-fashioned installed media portion. I think it’ll end up looking much more like iWork.com and iWork than Zoho Writer or Google Docs.

Microsoft, if you want to be a software company, be one. Clearly you think it makes business sense to develop for Mac, or the Mac BU wouldn’t exist (unless my conspiracy theories above are correct). If that’s the case, treat it as you would any other software, and build excitement by launching cross-platform products of consistent quality, all at once.

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5 – Last.fm [Free]

This one is sure to provoke cries of “What about Pandora?”, “Pandora FTW”, etc. The sad fact is that Pandora doesn’t work here in Canada. The site now only supports U.S. users, so we’re out of luck. But we still have Last.fm, and despite the fact that some claim its recommendation engine isn’t nearly as effective, it works well enough that I can plug it in and forget it for an entire day of work, and still be guaranteed a short list of artists to look up, too.

4 – Movies [Free]

Ever since its acquisition by Flixster, this app quickly rose to prominence as my absolute favorite movie app, beating out both OneTap Movies and Showtimes. Movies isn’t buggy, works quickly, recognizes and supports online purchasing at Canadian theatres, and best of all, displays Rotten Tomatoes ratings ever since a recent update. I was concerned this feature would never make it into a Flixster owned app, but they’ve added it, perhaps aware that their own ratings are largely meaningless.

3 – Beejive IM [$12.99]

I still feel a little bruised from having paid $15 for something that really should, at this point, be natively offered in any smartphone. IM is a major means of communication, and a device that claims to be the ultimate communicator should support it, regardless of which protocol I want to use. Still, if I consider how often I use it, and how many headaches I’m saved because it stays logged in and doesn’t have any of the horrible bugs that plague Mobile Chat, it was well worth the hefty price tag. Plus it’s on sale for $12.99 right now.

2 – Remember The Milk [Free (with Pro RTM Account)]

It was a while before I decided to go with the renewable RTM Pro subscription over the Things software purchase. The deciding factor: since RTM is web-based, I can access it anywhere without the app, even if my iPhone is out of juice or, heaven forbid, lost. Plus I like RTM’s interface, fields, look and feel, and I can use it on Windows machines, since that still occasionally happens.

1 – Tweetie [$2.99]

Up until recently, this spot would’ve been split between two separate apps, and this would’ve been a top six instead of a top five. I used to use Twitterific for basic Twitter functionality, and Summizer for Twitter search and trend mapping. That was before our own Olly Farshi took an in-depth look at all the Twitter clients available for the iPhone and I realized that I could have my cake and eat it too with Tweetie. Before they updated their GUI with the “Simple” theme, I used it, but I didn’t altogether enjoy it. Now, though, I’m pleased as punch.

So there you have it, my Top 5 for the year. As you might’ve noticed, no games appeared on this list. That’s because any game I’ve ever played has been a temporary distraction, at best. Even the most addictive puzzle game only catches my attention for a few weeks. No, the real killer apps for the iPhone in my book are the ones that make my job easier, or help me enjoy my pastimes more fully.

What about you? What apps make your year-end cut?

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The lists appear as part of the iTunes Store 2008 year-in-review mini-site, which also features the most popular movies, songs, TV shows, and podcasts. Of course, the items on each list differ according to which region you’re in. The list discussed here is that found in the U.S. version.

Topping the paid list is Koi Pond, which is no surprise, considering that it looked for a while as though it were going to claim a permanent place atop the popular paid apps chart. Also making the cut are launch racers and other games like Moto Chaser, Crash Bandicoot, Cro-Mag Rally, Enigmo and Super Monkey Ball. In fact, Recorder is the sole utility app on the list, suggesting that when it comes to the iPhone and iPod touch, amusement is the primary driving force behind purchases.

By contrast, the list of top free apps contains only two real games, and one game-like time waster (Lightsaber Unleashed). The ever popular Pandora tops the chart, and a number of useful, though very different apps also appear, like Facebook, Remote, and Shazam.

The difference between the two lists is telling. It suggests that people are much more likely to spend money on games than on apps with functional value, but that consumers are glad to grab more useful apps when they’re offered for free. Another possibility is that consumers attach more perceived value to paid games, since, thanks to the console market, a clear precedent of paying for quality development in that area is well established.

The list is well worth a look. Factors like time available in the App Store seem to have had an effect, but latecomers like Line Rider iRide prove that isn’t the only thing at play. Also, the success of some apps like MobileChat raise questions about hype vs. ratings as driving downloads. Check it out and see how your download history matches up.

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