The technology preview of Office Web Apps allows users to edit Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations and view (but not edit) Word documents.
(Credit: Microsoft)Microsoft plans on Thursday to start public testing for the first browser-based version of Office, although the technology preview is at least as notable for what it doesn't include as what it does offer.
The limited test of the so-called Office Web Apps includes versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but not the OneNote note-taking application. And while Excel and PowerPoint offer the ability to edit and create documents, the current Web-based version of Word can only be used to view documents, essentially the same capability it already offers as part of its current Office Live Workspace product.
Microsoft said the Web versions of OneNote and Word share "the same editing surface," and that the technology is still being worked on.
"We made the hard decision to turn off editing in the Word Web App at Tech Preview, in order for people to have the best experience at this early stage," Microsoft said.
Microsoft plans to offer the Web Apps preview first to users of Windows Live SkyDrive, giving them 25GB worth of storage.
The Office Web Apps are scheduled to be launched along with Office 2010--the next version of Office, with both browser-based and desktop programs due out in the first half of next year. The Office Web Apps will be made available to consumers as a free, ad-supported part of Windows Live, while businesses will be able to offer them to workers via their own SharePoint servers or through the Microsoft Online subscription service.
Microsoft said it will have editing abilities for Word and a version of OneNote by the time the Office Web Apps launch in final form. The current technology preview will be made available to tens of thousands of users, with a broader beta planned for later this fall. However, Microsoft would not commit to offering editing abilities for Word by the beta release.
Once finished, the browser-based versions will all offer editing, though not all of the capabilities of their desktop counterparts. Excel and OneNote will feature live co-authoring abilities, while all the Office Web Apps will work only while a user is connected to the Internet.
Microsoft also takes a different approach when it comes to sharing documents than do its rivals. While Google Apps lets users share a document directly, Office Web Apps enables sharing at the folder level--meaning that to share a document, a user must save it into a folder on Windows Live SkyDrive and then share that folder.
Forrester analyst Sheri McLeish said that the Office Web Apps do appear to be more complicated than rivals such as Google Docs or Zoho Office.
"Google and Zoho are very easy to get started on today, requiring just a step to register before being able to work on a document or spreadsheet," McLeish said. "Microsoft's Office Web Apps do not seem to match that level of ease to get started."
On the plus side, McLeish noted that Office offers a depth not found in its online rivals.
"Once you are in the Web Apps the experience is very much the same as the desktop suite," McLeish said. "And for enterprises, deployment choices to host the Web Apps themselves on-premise is a big differentiator from Google and Zoho."
As for the current release, Microsoft noted that it is still in pre-beta form and has a number of known issues.
"It's still going to be rough around the edges," said Ural Cebeci, a senior product manager in Microsoft's Office unit.
The Office Web Apps are being certified to work in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, and may also work in Google's Chrome--although Microsoft isn't guaranteeing Chrome compatibility.
Microsoft had previously indicated on several occasions that the Safari compatibility meant that users would be able to edit documents on their iPhone, but Cebeci said that iPhone users will only be able to view documents--capability similar to that offered on other smartphones.
Those attending Microsoft's TechEd event will not only get to hear about Office 2010, they will also be among the first to get to try it out.
Microsoft said Monday that it will launch an invitation-only Technical Preview Program of the new Office in July, and said that those at this week's Microsoft conference in Los Angeles will be among the first to get to kick the tires on the new version of Microsoft's flagship software.
Microsoft first talked about the browser-based abilities of Office 2010 (then code-named Office 14) at a developer conference last October. Click image for full gallery.
(Credit: Microsoft)Whereas Office 2007 introduced new file formats and a major overhaul of the user interface, Office 2010 is a more modest change to the desktop programs. However, in conjunction with the release, Microsoft is also releasing browser-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, known as Office Web Applications. It will also be the first version of Office to come in a 64-bit version, as well as the traditional 32-bit variety.
Microsoft had previously said that a test version would come sometime in the third quarter. Microsoft said it will scale the test version to users beyond those at TechEd, but did not give a time frame.
The final version of Office 2010 is due out next year.
To run the desktop versions of Office 2010, Microsoft said that users will need either Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. Hardware that is capable of running Office 2007 should also support Office 2010, Microsoft said.
In addition to announcing the timing of the Office technical preview, Microsoft is also using the first day of the TechEd event to announce more details on the next versions of SQL Server and Windows Server and to confirm that it will release Windows 7 in time to be on PCs this holiday season.
In an interview Monday, Microsoft senior vice president Chris Capossela said that, at least initially, the browser based versions of Excel, Word and PowerPoint won't have an offline mode.
"In the first generation we are certainly looking at having them be connected," he said. "For offline usage of course the Office suite is incredibly powerful." (See YouTube video below for his full comments on the matter. Apologies in advance for the bad sound quality.)
Google has been working to add an offline ability to Google Docs, while Zoho was even earlier to add the ability to work within a browser while offline.
Capossela's comments came following the launch of Microsoft Online, the company's hosted versions of Exchange and Sharepoint.
Microsoft confirmed at last month's Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles that it was bringing to market browser-based versions of its Office applications. The company has said that a technology preview version should be available still this year.
A Microsoft blog reiterated this week that the Web-based version of Office won't be tied to either Windows or Internet Explorer.
In a blog posting on its Channel 10 site, a Microsoft blogger noted that, owing to support of Firefox and Safari, the forthcoming Office Web Applications will run on Linux and the iPhone.
The blogger, Microsoft's Sarah Perez, also noted that Microsoft won't be mandating use of Silverlight, its rival to Adobe's Flash.
"Silverlight is not required," Perez said in the Q-and-A posting. "Using Silverlight will enhance the user experience, resulting in sharper images and improved rendering. Also, the Office Live Workspace has integrated Silverlight technology into the multi-file upload function for a better experience."
Microsoft has said a technical preview of the Web-based Office apps will come later this year. Microsoft hasn't explicitly said there will be a free version, though executives have said the apps will be part of Office Live, which comes in both free and subscription flavors. Perez takes that to mean--as do I--that there will be both free and paid options.
On the corporate side, Microsoft has said the Office Web Applications will be tied to SharePoint.
The forthcoming Web-based version of Microsoft Word, like online versions of Excel and PowerPoint, won't be limited to the PC, Microsoft says.
(Credit: Microsoft)
- prev
- 1
- next
