MS Planning Free Web-Based Business Software 132
nieske writes "In response to Google Apps for Your Domain, Microsoft is also planning to release free web-based business software. The software will be ad-supported, but a paid, ad-free version will also be available.
From the article: 'Revenue from software licenses for Office and the Windows operating system accounts for a bulk of Microsoft revenues. The challenge for Microsoft will be to make sure a free or, possibly, a subscription-supported version of Works won't hurt sales of its dominant Office software, which accounted for a quarter of the company's $44 billion in sales last year.' Would you choose an ad-supported online version of Microsoft Office over other free options like OpenOffice or Google Apps for Your Domain?"
Spin Alert! /. Title is Misleading (Score:5, Informative)
Maybe they'll decide to work on this. Maybe they'll decide the market is too crowded already. Right now, it's all up in the air -- I have found no sources claiming they are already planning it.
Re:Spin Alert! /. Title is Misleading (Score:4, Insightful)
Like it or not, Microsoft is the 800lb. Gorilla in the room and when they speak, people do listen.
This could merely be an effort to take attention away from the alternatives, while Office2007 is still under construction, then after Office launches, Microsoft can declare the idea impractical.
Even if they do something in this area, they are not leading, inventing or innovating and it will no doubt be crippled in some way so as not to damage the cash-cow that Office has become.
I always remind people that Microsoft is a marketing company, NOT a technology company. They DO NOT innovate. They are extremely greedy and will do whatever they can to keep the cash coming in.
I'm betting this is just a bit of "me too" fluff to keep the press folks distracted.
Publicity (Score:2)
Even bad publicity is good publicity. If they want to divert attention away from alternatives they need to produce something or shut up. Just speaking about Google being a competitor temps more people to check out what Google has to offer.
Microsoft knows this. So I doubt it's just a diversion.
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and lets not forget window.
odds that anything like this will work under any browser not based on ie near 0.
odds that anything like this will work under any OS not released by MS exactly 0.
Odds that somebody will make a special browser/OS change so that it will work, almost a sure thing.
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Re:Spin Alert! /. Title is Misleading (Score:4, Insightful)
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No market is too crowded for Microsoft.
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Something to consider is that Microsoft currently provides an, uhm, alternative to developing web applications called ClickOnce. Basically, ClickOnce allows a .Net WinForms application to be run directly off of the internet. Essentially, assuming your computer supports .Net, all you have to do is click on a hyperlink and the application runs.
Another thing to consider is that Office already has significant web intergration. Sharepoint allows documents to be stored on a web server. It behaves in a manner
I clicked on google.com/a (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder how many other people that didn't know about google's services, or just haven't gotten around to signing up WILL sign up because this M$ article reminded them to do so.
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Such as? I did some searches and didn't find anything interesting.
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I don't want my business documents held forever on a server anyone can access.
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You mean local net access? wouldnt regular email be useless then too?
it is such a huge improvement to have your data accessible from anywhere, just using a browser, then having to be chained to one device.
net access is about as reliable as telephone or electric at this point, and you are singing the whines of 5 years ago.
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My point is, Web software IS going to one da
Oh wonderful.... (Score:5, Insightful)
a) it only works with Internet Explorer
b) documents saved with it will never load on anything but Microsoft products
c) shortcuts to it will be placed in highly visible locations in all future versions of Windows
d) it can only be accessed from PC's running licensed copies of Windows
etc. etc. etc.
I'll stick with Google.
Re:Oh wonderful.... (Score:5, Funny)
e) Everything you create with it will be DRMed to within an inch of its life. (You will be able to use your document again, but only if you call Microsoft first and ask if its OK).
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f: Media infested with its DRM will not work with next generation MS software. Like Zune [slashdot.org]
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Anyway, I think MS would be lucky to come up with a web based suite that could compete with Works. Forget about competing with Office. That isn't even possible unless they go extra h
Hey! It looks like you're using a Web-based app (Score:2)
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e) it will serve graphic based ads, not text based ones - vis a vis hotmail...
No thank you.
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Yes. I would choose MS over the others. (Score:3, Insightful)
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Re:and long term... (Score:5, Funny)
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Most of us that used excel had live quote feeds in our spreadsheets. "what is the current cost of this investment strategy that I pitched to a client a week ago?" and watching synthetic positions were frequent uses.
An in house customized version of google spreadsheets could be able to satisfy both users. the quote feeds are already causing the spreadsheet to be depe
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Have you looked at all at OpenOffice? I thought we did some pretty wierd stuff here that OO wouldn't be able to support, but as it happens, every file opened perfectly in OO and was just as useable..
Re:Yes. I would choose MS over the others. (Score:4, Insightful)
You'd imagine that, wouldn't you? (Score:3, Interesting)
However, I think you'll find that on slashdot the replies will divide into:
1 -- Check out OO.o. It does what Excel does.
2 -- LOLz0rZ u use Ex-Hell!!!1! U shld get a real db like MySQL!!1!!
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That's easy to forget, and sleep better. (Score:2)
it's easy to forget what a complicated and powerful environment Excel is; even understanding what people _need_ to do in it (over what OO.o does) is hard, I guess.
As someone who's used Lotus, Excel 4 and up, Quatropro, OO, Kspread and Gnumeric, you would have a hard time explaining exactly what Excel has to offer that other software does not. A spreadsheet is something you make for simple, repetitive calculations and quick graphs. When you need to perform "complicated" analysis, you are always better o
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Next, please.
you are always better off using a specialized (Score:1)
Always?
What if the end user can produce what (s)he needs using excel to scrape some data off the web, integrate it with private data, crunch some numbers, finally put his/her results into the appropriate corporate database under their name.
Sometimes the code they produce is amazingly bad, that's an HR issue. Sometimes you find real financial engineering going on, VBA references to linear problem DLLs etc etc etc (for reference if you are currently IT/progamming and are REAL good at math you can get a B
No problem here. (Score:2)
The user would be better off learning perl or having an IT guy just make them a perl plugin for gnumeric. Perl is one of several languages gnumeric can use to manipulate data. A M$ specific language is something to avoid.
Did'nt have ass scratching time res
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Come on, twit. Take the broader view. Do you really think anybody is truly reducing the complexity of modern software? Or are we all just pushing it around, hiding it in different corners and under different rugs? And if there was a silver bullet out there, wouldn't we all be using it by now?
You can keep thumping your copy of The Cathedral and The Bazzar as if it were a Bible all you like. But until you
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Brilliant, classic slashdot and a great argument for outsourcing
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I'm not doubting you, but for the sake of the discussion (as well as my own curiosity), do you have any examples of what Excel does that OOo doesn't?
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Also Excel 2007 will support larger worksheets (65k columns x 1M rows) than OpenOffice did. OOo didn't even support 65k rows (the current limit of Excel 2003) until version 2.0.
Blah blah databases are better blah blah open source blah blah.
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1 -- scriptability. Via VBA, obviously, but also via any other scripting system that can work with COM.
2 -- embeddability. I can embed my application in Excel, and vice versa.
These things enable Excel to be used as a highly flexible front-end to other applications, or as a monitor for real time data, or as a node in a distributed data streaming system. The applications that many
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L0LllERskateKopterS!!!! MySQhelL! !1 U 6ould get a REAL dB like PostgreSQL, Oracle, U shl2 own A SErvER CLUSTER!
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I think a lot of folks buy Office "bundled" (Score:2)
I know my dad, who is not an extremely savvy computer buyer, always pays for bundled Office, even if he still has the CDs for an older version. Basica
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Because they got MSOffice free/cheap through work or a friend. My current valid/legal copy of MSOffice2003 Pro was $20. If I actually had to pay the $300 or whatever, not a chance. But for $20, why not.
Yes, I use OO.o at home too. But I imagine most people wouldn't go through the bother if MSOffice were basically free as well.
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Five letters: RDBMS.
I use MySQL. I hear PostGres is nice. There are many others which are free.
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My company's work is not tied into one vendor, it was more expensive at the start but today our work belongs to us. Now it costs us less.
You should be asking why Excel limits you so, and not how someone will save you the bundle that it costs you to keep u
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I work for a fortune 500. Our financial analysts use Excel to do things and they can do their little VBA stuff if they know it. However, if the excel spreadsheet starts to become complicated, a project is usually opened to let a real programmer like me, create a real program. All the important financial data stays in a real database and then depending on how complicated the interface/calculatio
Free works fo the home... (Score:1)
MS Office vs Open Office? (Score:1)
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Nein!
Non!
No!
Ok I'm done... I like OOo.
This Would Fail (Score:1, Insightful)
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The same individuals that mine the MS Office site for free templates, tutorials, clip art, etc? The same individuals that have been using MS Office for the last ten years?
Will it run on Linux? (Score:2)
If he still may, patents and all considered.
Will it even run on MS Office? (Score:2)
Given that, I believe that you'll likely still have to buy MS Office if you want to open a .doc made in Word, and vice-versa.
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Silly Question (Score:5, Funny)
Of course we wouldn't. But then again, this is slashdot you're trying to troll.
If data are stored at server (Score:3, Insightful)
Functionability. (Score:3, Interesting)
Your secrets are double super safe... (Score:5, Funny)
[Steve B] Oh look, this guy is working on a patent for a new chair.
[Bill G] Muhahahahahahahahahhaha...
[Steve B] Yes Bill, now we'll have all their secrets, stop that.
[Bill G] Muhahahahahahahahahhaha...
a useless story (Score:2)
OK, I read TFA, and there's nothing here worth seeing.
What's missing is the key ingredient: either give me the details of what they're actually planning to do, or tell me the value proposition of what they are mulling over. This article gives you neither. The crux of this story is that Microsoft is thinking of releasing Works as a free or subscription model. The idea of paying regularly for a web-based version of Microsoft's crippled Office stepchild, which many PC companies give away with $299 desktops
FUD campaign (Score:3, Insightful)
Wrong question (Score:1)
Submitter hosed the story with a false choice (Score:3, Informative)
They're not even considering this!
They're considering a version of Works, which, as anyone who has used it knows, is a middle-school level of Office, at best.
If they actually do this, they'll look like hopeless noobs to anyone who compares their offering to Google's.
The most important question... (Score:2)
In beta now (Score:4, Interesting)
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Google's Office Web Appliance (Score:4, Insightful)
Google strategy probably is use the feedback from their public betas, and free services, to devellop an WebAppliance that can be easly deployed at a business network, such as their nice Search appliance.
I can see they releasing a document management system integrated with Google desktop, corporate Gmail,Search and their online office suite. Kind of a wiki were you can post webpages, documents an sheets that can be collaboratively edited online... everything nicely packaged on a 1U blue box
Also, somewhere, someone is already thinking about an OpenOffice plugin, or KDE KioSlave, or Gnome GFSplugin, that will make it possible edit these online documents directly from Write/Calc, KWrite/KSpread and Abiword/Gnumeric... And this will be the killer feature that will make MSOffice obsolete.
Mark my words... Microsoft couldn't take Google out of the search business, but Google has a good chance of taking the corporate office business crown from Microsoft.
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I've been saying this since Google Spreadsheet was mentioned on Slashdot a few months ago.
I would rather see it on an Intranet/VPN than on Google/MS Servers. I'm sure there are plenty of companies who would like this as well.
Even better, go the last step, make it so a company can tie Google Calendar, Writely (Google Word Processor now?), Spreadsheet, Gmail for domains, etc into a nice Web-Based CRM Interface.
Support the Office document formats, OpenDoc, HTML, and PDF.
Companies want teams! They wa
Why wait for Google? (Score:2)
You can set up a system like that in a couple of days.
Works != Office (even without being web-based!) (Score:1)
Of course this won't affect MS business software license revenue. Without PowerPoint, the macro support, and or even full document interoperability with real MS Office documents, the desktop version Microsoft Works isn't even a replacement for Office, let alone a web-based version of Works.
creeping featuritis (Score:2)
For corporate customers? Are you kidding? (Score:2)
Ad supported? I can see it now... (Score:3, Funny)
At least it will answer the longstanding question:
K23: =Revenue
K24: VISIT CLASSMATES.COM !
K25: =Profit!
File format issues (Score:2)
Assuming the files were identical to Office files, this would be a nice option. I could work "online" on the documents, and then if I was traveling or otherwise disconnected from the net, I could pull the files down and work on them on my laptop, then push them back up when I regained connectivity. Of course the files would have to be *identically* formatted. If I had
Old saying in the computer business (Score:2)
I wish google had a pay option. (Score:2)
Hopefully I just need to wait for it to come out of beta.
How old does news get before it's news again? (Score:1)
I don't get Online Office Apps (Score:2)
Some things just shouldn't be run across a network. File storage? Fine (local network). Email? Fine. The apps themselves, over the Internet, even? No way. I don't have that level of trust in the network, it's just not as reliable as the software on my local disk (especially when factors like, say... Comcast* are involved). I wouldn't even use OpenOfficeOnline if there were such a thing.
To sum up, quoting the Verizon guy: "It's the network."
* Comcastic == teh suck.
Simple answer to a stupid question (Score:2)
No
Long Answer:
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Why in the world would someone use something from Microsoft over the web when even their compiled, local versions have a horrible reputation?
I think that the main reason people pay of MS products now is that there is SOME support for it. I'm sure the web version will be "here's the help file; now, go away".
I think Microsoft will embrace a subscription mode (Score:1)
Quick (Score:3, Funny)
But are they still planning... (Score:2)
Google vs. Microsoft bias (Score:1)
Why? (Score:2)
No. Thanks for asking. Unless someone can explain to me why OpenOffice doesn't cut it.
people (Score:1)
"Microsoft" & "Free" (Score:1)
newsflash: MS planning to copy Google AGAIN! (Score:1)
The most obvious problem (Score:2)
Hell No (Score:1)
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Bah. It's a pretty broad spread at this point.
I hate MS and Linux; but it kills me that more
As long as MS is an active force against Google, they're more good than bad in my mind.
Correction (Score:2)
As long as MS and Google are active forces against each other, it's all good in my mind.