Microsoft Office Served Up On the Web
Don't think Microsoft has been sitting back letting the free software revolution go unnoticed. With Google, IBM, OpenOffice.org and now Adobe all offering free alternatives to Microsoft's Office productivity software, the company has been toiling away on cheaper ways of offering Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.One such initiative starts today ... kind of. Today, you can sign up to be part of the online trial for Office Live Workspace, a free online tool for viewing, sharing and storing Office Documents over the Web. You'll notice we left out 'editing.' That's because, unlike it's competitors, Microsoft still wants your cashola for the right to create and edit documents in its proprietary file formats, all which have long been the industry standards in their respective categories. While Google's word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation software and e-mail client exist wholly online (for now), Microsoft's strategy is to use Office Live Workspace to compliment its flagship desktop software.
Unfortunately that strategy -- as well as some other omissions -- leaves a lot to be desired. According to Microsoft, though, there will be features built into Office Live Workspace in the future, such as the integration of Hotmail and Messenger, which would give users the ability to share and discuss docs easily (something you can already do with Google). Even the ability to create and edit documents isn't totally out of the question. According to CNET, "Executives [have] stressed over and over that Microsoft is committed to being the leader in productivity software and that includes online editing."
But, Office Live Workspace isn't the only trick up Microsoft's sleeve to keep you hooked on its product. The company is reportedly planning an ad-supported version of its lower-end Microsoft Works software suite and is also experimenting with time-limited versions Office that work kind of like pre-paid cell phones. Just last week, Microsoft doubled its student discount on Office.
We can't fault Microsoft too much for not wanting to jump headfirst into the free software game – after all, a lot of money has been made over the years from Office's lock on the market. But, with Google happy to give it all away for free in a bid for market share, and IBM's newly-free Lotus software reporting 100,000 downloads in its first week of availability, this is the first real competition Microsoft has faced in decades in the office productivity sector.
Does anyone else have 'Winds of Change' by the Scorpions stuck in their head?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
princesc98 @ Oct 1st 2007 6:54PM
Although this is an interesting announcement, it sounds like file storage with just minor collaboration capabilities. I’ll check it out, but I’ve been using eXpresso for real time collaboration of Excel spreadsheets online. It has a lot of cool features including the ability to compare two spreadsheets side by side and a very detailed audit trail. Check it out at www.expressocorp.com.