Posted on 05/09/2010 12:32:36 PM PDT by max americana
In the beginning, there was word processing. Then, simply, Word. Spreadsheets became Excel. Presentation software, if it was ever known by such a name, was simply PowerPoint. Long before Google's preeminence in search, Microsoft dominated business and personal software with a suite known as Office.
The company launches its latest version, Office 2010, on Wednesday in New York — and the stakes couldn't be higher. The lucrative franchise is threatened by a changing market spouting a four-letter word: free. The biggest threat comes from Google, specifically Google Docs, Web applications accessible from any computer. Because of Google, Microsoft has been forced to make a free ad-supported version called Office Web Apps. Google's software is unlikely to depose Office, especially among heavy business users who write reports, draw up corporate budgets and put together sales presentations. But Office 2010 does represent a slow tipping of the entire technology industry, from a PC world Microsoft long has dominated to a cloud-computing world, where software roams free on the computer, phone, tablet and television, and the old ways of making money are changing.
"We think it's actually an opportunity for us," said Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft Business Division, which makes Office. "We have an opportunity to draw in many, many people who today are not engaged in the Office experience, or have not paid for software along the way, or are on very old software."
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
My office has gone Google literally. As for open office I find that to be a memory hog.. I think it will go away..
An ad based word processor? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO! Yeah, I can't wait to download that.
I’m using OpenOffice. It’s a little slow (I think it’s written in Java) but meets my needs and I don’t have to be online to use it.
Anything you put on googledocs will be shared. Hopefully you don’t work in the medical or legal profession.
No.. I rather not say what company, but it is not for a medical or legal profession..
they know that the Office cash cow is ultimately going to be the victim of cloud computing on iPad and netbook type devices, so this is just trying to control the rate of descent.
Just wait til’ you finished your accts receivables for the day and a pop up ad for Tron 2010 shows up.
Google Docs is okay, but their spreadsheets lack functionality for things such as text-to-columns.
Microsoft is starting to run into problems. For years they had the desktop and used negative engineering to kill competing software and make their packages dominant.
They’ve had a tough, tough time in areas where they can’t use their monopoly status to leverage the marketplace.
Same thing here, our office manager began to implement Google Docs but I was more concerned about the privacy issue with Google.
Have to agree with Open Office, it’s sloooowww but if it meets the needs of others who like open source, more power to them.
That is my big complaint, plus no database.. But it does the work..
I still use M-soft Office quite a bit, but I like Google Docs, and use it more and more. And it is convenient having my data on the cloud, accessible anywhere from any device.
Begone, Evil Billy!
Indeed.. We use Google Mail.. 10 times better then exchange..
Cloud computing is the future..
Some things are going to be very interesting in the future.
Some things, like politics and civil wars and depression are going to be a bit too interesting.
/johnny
I use google docs some, and Corel’s Word Perfect myself. I’ve used open office but I like both Google Docs and Corel’s program better...
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