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NewsNext Microsoft Office Will Have Browser-Based Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Posted 10/28/08 at 02:16:53 PM by Alex Castle

In another bit of cloud-computing-related news out of Microsoft’s PDC, the Redmond giant has announced that the next generation Office suite will include browser based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. The apps won’t be fully-featured, but they will be competitive with Google’s online office offerings, according to Microsoft.

The online Office apps will be called “Office Web Applications,” and will be available in ad-supported and subscription-based flavors over Office Live. It looks like the apps will work with IE, Firefox, and Safari. Support for Google’s browser has yet to be confirmed.

It’s shaping up to be a big couple of days for cloud computing. We can expect to hear a lot more from Microsoft during the rest of the PDC about what this technology’s going to look like in the future.

What are you the most excited about? Hit the jump and let us know.

Comments: 5
TAGS: Software, Microsoft Office, cloud computing, browser-based, microsoft pdc

NewsOffice Live Workspace Due Out This Year

Posted 09/06/08 at 03:56:09 PM by Justin Kerr

ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley has apparently learned that Microsoft’s online alternative to Google Docs will emerge from beta before the end of this year. Office Live Workspace is a service that is geared to work as either a standalone product, or in tandem with Office 2003-2007. It has been suggested that the current public beta is fairly close to the final version, and the primary issue outstanding is language support. Microsoft wishes to expand the 11 languages it currently supports to 37 before it officially lifts the beta tag later this year. Spokesmen Kirk Gregersen from Microsoft has also reportedly commented on the surprising trends they have identified during the public beta. It was originally assumed that casual users such as students would use Live Workspace as a means to author and remotely access documents. Instead, the service is being used mostly as a single access point for collaborative efforts involving multiple users. Insiders have suggested that this only further demonstrates why desktop versions of Microsoft Office won’t be leaving us anytime soon.

For those who haven’t been following the development of Office Live Workspace, hit the jump to learn more about the services currently being offered.

Comments: 0
TAGS: windows, news, Google, Microsoft Office, Hotmail, Windows Live, Spaces, Office Live Workspace, google apps

NewsGoogle Apps Breaches 1 Million Business User Mark

Posted 09/04/08 at 09:34:22 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Google Apps might be a dwarf compared to its rival Microsoft Office but it is making steady progress. It has finally made a stride of some significance by making it to 1 million enterprise users. The company claims to be successfully wooing 3,000 businesses to Google Apps everyday. However, it is certain that a significant chunk of its users are using the free version; the Premium version carries an annual subscription fee of $50.

Google Apps’ contribution to Google’s annual income was a paltry $4 million in 2007, and not a whole lot should change in the foreseeable future. Not that Google would be banking on a miraculous turnaround, as its product currently doesn’t even deserve to feature in the same sentence as Microsoft Office – at least going by the economics of magnitude. Google seems to be aiming for a ponderous victory over Microsoft.

Comments: 0
TAGS: Software, Microsoft Office, business, enterprises, google apps, 1 million users

NewsWant Windows Live OneCare with a Side of Office? Get Equipt!

Posted 07/03/08 at 07:57:06 AM by Mark Edward Soper

CNet reports that the Microsoft Office subscription service previously code-named "Albany" will be sold at Circuit City as Microsoft Equipt. Equipt provides home users with access to a lot of software for a yearly subscription that's not much more than Windows Live OneCare.

To find out more about what you get for your money, join me after the break.