My dictionary defines comparison as the act of examining resemblances, and this post looks exactly at that sort of act. So what are we comparing? Are these apples or oranges, or something more similar — maybe oranges and lemons? Well, you can decide that later — for now let us look what everyone in the online world has to say about Microsoft’s Web Apps and Google Docs. This promises to be very interesting!
Ian Paul of PC World thinks that “the future may be the cloud, but it also may be Microsoft that ushers us into that realm of possibility and imagination” — he adds: “Forget about the half measures of Office Live Workspace; Microsoft’s new Web apps will let you create, edit, and save documents right online. Here’s a quick head-to-head between Google and Microsoft Web apps”. Read more on the PC World site…
Reuters gets a little religious when it comments that “Microsoft delivers its own haymaker … a cloud-based version of its Windows Office suite of word-processing, spreadsheet, and PowerPoint software” — read more here…
So does Google have something else coming up? Is their upcoming Chrome OS going to make things different? There are no answers available right now, but plenty of thoughts, questions, and opinions everywhere.
As for Microsoft, they themselves haven’t rolled out invitations to their Web Apps for now, but you’ll need a Hotmail (Live) account to access the online suite when it’s available. The company has posted this video on YouTube (embedded below).
OK, I saved the best for the end! Microsoft will let you use their web apps for free — that’s a great turn of direction for a company that has championed paid software. Jon Fortt thinks so too on the Fortune magazine site when he says: “Microsoft – the king of paid software – will announce today that it is going to give a version of Office away for free online” — read that post too…
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