EveryJoe » Webtop Apps

Microsoft’s Stranglehold on Office Suites

Colleen Coplick — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:16:36 +0000

Despite what I said yesterday about only 1% of users actually using Google Docs, it seems that this isn’t really a deterrent to other pundits thinking that perhaps Microsoft has something to worry about.

The fact that Microsoft has been talking about releasing the next version of Office for oh so long, it’s not like we don’t have options anymore. We used to need Office in order to be productive, but not so much anymore with suites like Open Office, Zoho, and Google Docs available.

Now, I love Google Docs, and I have to admit, I’m not using it nearly as much as I should be considering how much I adore it. I suspect it’s that ‘old habits die hard’ axiom.

Don Reisinger has introduced me to a new suite that I wasn’t aware of yet – ThinkFree Office Online. It sounds fantastic, and I actually can’t wait to check it out. What impressed me about ThinkFree Office Online is the praise Don heaped on it:

ThinkFree Online offers all the “must-have” features available in Microsoft Office like a rich toolbar, a ruler bar, and an interface that offers simplicity and delivers the same feel as Word, Excel, or Powerpoint. Creating a document is simple and working with spreadsheets is a treat thanks to the tens of thousands of rows it provides, along with just about any formula that comes to mind. [source]

I’m thinking at this point, it might be time to switch. I’m pretty sure Microsoft Office has something to be concerned about with all the online, open source and free options out there. Maybe Google Docs has something to worry about in ThinkFree as well….

Post from: EveryJoe

Microsoft’s Stranglehold on Office Suites

Office online – you’re gonna have to chill

Colleen Coplick — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:43:39 +0000

If you’re waiting to get your hands on office online, you’re going to have to just keep on waiting. Turns out that less than 1,000 Microsoft employees are currently using office online as part of a test that’s slated to go through till February, at least. Consumers will get the opportunity to check the Office online out sometime in 2009, when however, remains to be seen.

Not much has been said about when Office Online will be ready, or, for that matter, even when consumers will actually be able to start playing with it. Ideally, consumers will get a peek at office online when Office 14 finally comes out, but who knows when that will be.

End result? If you’re waiting for Office Online, you should probably not hold your breath.

Post from: EveryJoe

Office online – you’re gonna have to chill

Web-based version of office to work on all OS

Colleen Coplick — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:30:45 +0000

Microsoft has confirmed that they will be releasing web based versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint that will run on any browser, including Firefox and Safari. This new service will allow for creating, editing, collaborating, and sharing documents using the web.

Microsoft won’t say when the new version of Office, known as Office 14, will arrive, but Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop said that a technology preview of the browser-based products will come later this year and that a beta version will be released in 2009.

There’s a full Q&A with Microsoft Blogger, Sarah Perez here, including a discussion about whether the products will be free (unsure, but the indication is there will be an ad supported free version and a paid subscription version) and if a specific operating system will be required (not as long as you’re running a supported browser). Sarah answers all of the questions she came across most frequently misunderstood comments and questions here.

Edited to Add: The first release of the online versions of the products won’t have an offline option, so you’ll have to be connected to be able to use the online versions, for now at least.

Post from: EveryJoe

Web-based version of office to work on all OS

Google Docs Updates: Built-In Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Table of Contents

Jerome Locson — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:41:14 +0000

Here are new features and updates with Google Docs, just in time for the back to school season:

Built-In Dictionary

Encyclopedia

Table of Contents

To read more about this updates, please click the links below:

[ via Google Docs Blog ]

Post from: EveryJoe

Google Docs Updates: Built-In Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Table of Contents

Introducing GMDesk

Jerome Locson — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:35:45 +0000

If you’re a fan of Google web applications, then this might be a help for you. GMDesk is a tool that allows you manage all you Google apps like you have a stand-alone application for all. You do not need to open all those application separately but have it with GMDesk run for you in just one environment.

Fire up GMDesk, and just alt-tab (on Windows or Linux) or Cmd-tab (on Mac) to shift between this application and the other ones you are running.

GMDesk offers an easy menu as well as keyboard shortcuts to switch between different Google services, and you can specify what default service you want the application to start with. It also supports Google Apps access as well.

By the way, GMDesk requires you to install Adobe AIR before you can install the application itself.

Post from: EveryJoe

Introducing GMDesk

Photosynth

Jerome Locson — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:39:02 +0000

Just checking over MSDN blog, I stumbled with this new cool app called Photosynth… not Photosynch. This is yet another application born from Microsoft Live Labs. This tool allows you to store and organize photos and render them in a 3-D environment. Cool eh?

To download, click here and just follow the simple steps. The application will install two programs: a browser plug-in for you to be able to view synths and the Photosynth application itself for you to create and manage synths. To view some example of synths, please visit http://photosynth.net/explore.aspx

Post from: EveryJoe

Photosynth

Google Docs Instant Form

Jerome Locson — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:04:25 +0000

Yet another improvements from Google Docs, making users feel more comfortable and productive. Now, Google Docs created a new menu called ‘Form’, allowing them have instant access in form creation without opening spreadsheet instead a direct menu access.

Adding fields or questions to your form is now easy with a dropdown box. It gives you the option to add text, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, lists, and scaling.

[ via Google Docs Blog ]

Post from: EveryJoe

Google Docs Instant Form

Alfresco Labs 3 with Microsoft Office SharePoint Support

Jerome Locson — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:05:12 +0000

Alfresco is an Open Source Alternative for Enterprise Content Management (ECM). And with its latest version, Alfresco Labs 3 has 4 major components:

Microsoft Office SharePoint Protocol Support
Alfresco Surf Platform
Alfresco Share
Alfresco Repository API

This new Alfresco Labs 3 will help you build collaborative websites and dynamic web applications. You can see more details at http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Alfresco_Labs_3.

John Newton cited in his blog, “We believe that the Enterprise Content Management market is evolving from specialized software for information intensive activities to become a major component of business and infrastructure for knowledge workers. Although over 90% of the Fortune 1000 have at least one type of ECM system, less than 10% of the employees in most of these companies use ECM, despite the huge increase in regulatory compliance and information explosion. Microsoft SharePoint, through its hooks to Microsoft Office, has made significant inroads into this yawning gap in the ECM market, and growing at 35% per annum as a result. We believe that open source has an even greater opportunity to reach into this portion of the market through its ubiquitous internet reach. With Alfresco Labs 3, our opportunity is to provide an alternative to, provide interoperability with, and be complementary to Microsoft SharePoint.”

For screenshots please visit his blog at http://newton.typepad.com/content/2008/07/introducing-alf.html

Post from: EveryJoe

Alfresco Labs 3 with Microsoft Office SharePoint Support

Using Google Docs for Reading RSS Feeds

Jerome Locson — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:24:15 +0000

Here’s a video tutorial on how to use Google Docs for Feeds:

Post from: EveryJoe

Using Google Docs for Reading RSS Feeds

Open IT Online

Jerome Locson — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:24:30 +0000

When you’re using Firefox browser, you will encounter windows once you download something from the web. It allows you to choose from Save As only or Open with some default application installed in your PC.

With this new Firefox Add-ons developed by Denis Remondini, you will be able to open documents or files online, without the need of installing any software to read the files.

Open IT Online allows you to open your documents and images online without the need of any software to be installed. It handles:
- Documents (*.doc, *.rtf, *.odt, *.sxw)
- Spreadsheets (*.xls, *.csv, *.ods, *.sxc)
- Presentations (*.ppt, *.pps, *.odp, *.sxi)
- Images (*.jpg, *.gif, *.png)

When Firefox encounters one of the file types supported by Open IT Online, it shows the “Open With” dialog: if you have installed Open IT Online, you will get, among the others, an option to open the file online. Choosing this option, you will also have the possibility to choose which online service you want to use to open the file.

[ via Open IT Online ]

Post from: EveryJoe

Open IT Online