We knew Microsoft Office Web applications were coming today with the announcement of Office 2010 via several leaks, but the big M just made it official. You’ll soon be able to jump onto the likes of Microsoft Word via your browser and hotdesk to your heart’s content, so read on for what you need to know.
Steve Ballmer and his cahoots have confirmed that Microsoft Office 2010 will be announced at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference tonight. You’ll now be able to collaborate within Word, PowerPoint and OneNote, but the big news is Microsoft Office Web, letting you save and work on your documents anywhere with net access.
Microsoft Office Web apps comprise Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote and promise to “preserve the look and feel of a document regardless of device”. You’ll be able to access Microsoft Office Web for free through Windows Live, and even on a mobile, though some functions may require Office Mobile 2010.
Sounds good, no? There’s just one snag. Redmond may be handing over the code for Microsoft Office 2010 for desktops today to developers, but the Office Web apps are still off limits alas. We reckon Microsoft could be saving them for office.com, whose ownership changes on August 1. Is that when we’ll be seeing a public beta? We hope so, as Google Docs has been out for donkey’s years: Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do on the cloud.
Out TBC | £TBC | Microsoft
