Microsoft Rushes Out Office Web Apps Preview

CWmike writes "Today Microsoft launched a limited beta test of its Office Web Apps, the company's first public unveiling of its rival for Google's Web applications. Dubbed a 'technical preview' by Microsoft to denote that it's by invitation only, Office Web Apps will be available on the company's Windows Live site via a special 'Documents' tab. 'Tens of thousands have been invited to participate in the Technical Preview,' said a spokeswoman in a reply to questions. An analyst with Directions on Microsoft is quoted: 'This is earlier than I expected. I thought we wouldn't see this until the SharePoint conference at the end of October. Maybe the recent Google moves had some bearing on Microsoft's timing.' The reference was to Google's announcement Tuesday that it will offer online services next year, including Google Web Apps, that are specially designed for US government agencies."

Video from Channel 9

[gbrayut]

There was a video showing the features of Excel Web App, Powerpoint Web App, and Word Web App here on channel 9: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/dtzar/Office-Live-Applications-First-Look/ [msdn.com] They look a little slow and not as responsive as Google Docs, but they do have more feature. Interesting to see the final product.

Gobby

[Jeremy Visser]

And if you can't wait for Google Wave, there's always Gobby [0x539.de]. It's only a plain-text editor (basically multiplayer gedit), but the real-time stuff is really real-time -- it updates instantly. Have a look at their screenshots [0x539.de].

Re:Ultimately, this will change nothing

[shutdown -p now]

I too suspect this isn't going to be all that popular on the Net, but Office Web Apps will integrate with SharePoint 2010 on corporate networks - which is probably a far bigger deal, since SP is something already deployed widely in the enterprise specifically to host libraries of Office documents.

Re:Home server +ssh

[westyvw]

How about an entire php multiuser webbased OS [eyeos.org]?

I keep one going on my server, and it actually is very nice.

Not For Retail Or OEM Distribution...

[Xin Jing]

Resale is currently one advantage of the retail product manufacturer that is probably on the way out if MS has anything to do with it. Take any application that requires the activation key to be linked with a user name and a password, or explicitly forbids the resale of the software to a third party, and you have a product that can only be sold to one person.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limitations_on_exclusive_rights:_Computer_programs [wikipedia.org] "This one change by congress has resulted in the odd situation where software makers claim that purchasers do not own the software but rather only license it. The courts have split on whether or not the claim in the software agreement that a purchaser does not own the software is enforceable and thus require an additional license to use the software."

Further, "The law allows any copies that are created for the above purposes to be transferred when the software is sold, only along with the copy made to prepare them. Adaptations made can not be transferred without permission from the copyright holder."

Which is why any self-respecting software distributer wants to close that 'archival copy' loophole and require each instance of the software to perform an authentication with a unique CD Key.

A good example of the implementation is Valve and Steam. Here is a company that does digital downloads of the same retail product with the same limitation, they all have to authenticate each time the software is run.

Re:Yay I can rent my software!

[Colonel Korn]

I'm sure the annual rental fee will be so much cheaper (cough) than the $150 I spent to buy Office 97 (~$11.50 per year).

You were sure and you're correct! The annual fee is $0. The one time cost of purchase is $0. The biweekly upside down processing fee is $0.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Web_Apps#Office_Web_Applications [wikipedia.org]

Still, there's a less obvious cost associated with using web apps for your office documents. Do you really want Microsoft to have all your personal data? Does a company want MS to have its trade secrets? Does the government want to be dependent on MS to function? The same goes for Google.

Re:I hope their web app is better than that...

[Keeper]

...or you could just click on the formats link and download the mp4... but burning karma bitching about Silverlight sounds like more fun.

Re:Yay I can rent my software!

[BrokenHalo]

That's why I still prefer to use OpenOffice. Google Docs is useful for generating content, especially as a collaborative effort, but for word processing or spreadsheet work it blows. There are times when you have to unplug the outside world (especially in my case, since I'm easily distracted when I need to get work done) and having an office suite is seriously useful.

I expect someone will jump in here and say I should be using LaTex, and maybe I should. I have just never made time to master it.

Re:Yay I can rent my software!

[Dog-Cow]

No, you are just an ignorant asshole. What the GP complains about are, in fact, actual (usability) bugs with Office.

I'm not sure I agree with the style format complaint, but he does describe it accurately. Bullets and numbered lists do indeed behave as poorly as described.