One word comes to mind when looking at Microsoft's answer to Google Docs and the other up-and-coming online office suites (hint: it's not the word that Microsoft continues to splay across their advertisements).
Lame.
To spare Microsoft more misery, we've come up with a "what might have happened" story that will hopefully allow us to better understand why their new online workspace is so underwhelming.
Here's how it goes:
The heads at Microsoft decided that there was no way they could compete with such smart, useful offerings as Google Docs, and Zoho Office. They decided instead to continue to focus on the same workspace they've always dominated, the desktop-bound, offline workspace, and focus on the same rapidly deteriorating band of customers who fear anything online; who unplug their computers from their dial-up modem at night for fear someone is going to log in and steal their latest novella-in-progress.
How else can you explain that you cannot edit any of the documents you upload online? That every file loads as read-only until you download the file to your Office application and edit it as you always have? What do the words "sharing" and "collaboration" mean to Microsoft anyway?
So what does Microsoft Office Live Workspace Beta do besides giving you another Microsoft-spawned, headache-inducing name?
It's basically an online space to save, access, and "share" your documents and files. You can use the Office Live Add-in to open and save files to your Workspace directly from Microsoft Office XP, 2003, or 2007. Also included is the ability to synchronize Contact, Tasks, and Event lists with Outlook 2003 and 2007.
So, if you have Office (which you probably do), you can upload documents to your Workspace, and view them from other computers, and invite others to view them. They can comment on your work, but not edit it. You can't create new documents (unless the "notes" count, which you can't even download to your machine, those are stuck online), or spreadsheets, or PowerPoints, etc...
Like we said, lame.
If you wish to sign up for the beta, you'll need a Windows Live ID. At this time, Microsoft Office Live Workspace Beta works with Internet Explorer and Firefox only (so if you're a Mac user, you're limited to using Firefox).
[via ActiveWin.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-04-2008 @ 5:21PM
Ben said...
You throw a punch at Microsoft every chance you guys get. It really gets on my nerves. I can get that from Gizmodo or Engadget. I come here for information on downloads not for your ignorant opionions of a company providing a free service. Try to start being professionals instead of kids that think it is cool to make fun of Microsoft.
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3-04-2008 @ 5:46PM
vinkap said...
One should also keep in mind that it's unrealistic to compare it to the free offerings like Google Docs or Zoho, because both these companies do not have a desktop based office suite whose sales would get cannibalized by offering a full-blown office suite online for free.
MS Office happens to be the cash-cow for Microsoft and they won't slaughter it until they have milked it dry.
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3-04-2008 @ 5:47PM
Marlowe said...
ben's right... why all the hate? this isn't a life-altering innovation or anything, but it's a nifty cloud-based thing that will allow me to stop having to lug my work pc back & forth from home as i do now. whoever wrote this odd diatribe on a pretty innocuous & somewhat helpful product needs to take a deep breath.
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3-04-2008 @ 5:53PM
OldCat said...
To Ben:
If you come for information on downloads, just skip this kind of articles if you think they contain no information. Nobody forces you to read them. And if you think commanding others to "try to blah blah" not a display of arrogance, better think about it again. And please, no plural postfix 's' after an adjective.
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3-04-2008 @ 6:44PM
zatrix said...
Simon Kerbel, you're lame.
I'm with Ben. We don't need to know your bias when brining us "download news". Just go ahead and make a lengthy post bashing Microsoft, and just get it out of your system. None of us care if you hate Microsoft (probably jealous anyway) so you can keep your one sided opinion to yourself.
That or at least put up a site disclaimer which warns of childish behavior a head.
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3-04-2008 @ 8:17PM
Simon Kerbel said...
Hello guys, and thanks for all your comments!
A short response:
I don't have a thing against Microsoft, just a thing against things that suck. How many of you tried out the service before you posted? I've tried it extensively, and I honestly see no use for the software. Everything the software claims to do can be done with other means. Want to look at a document in two places? Upload it to box.net, or put it on a flash drive? Want to actually edit the file? Use google docs or whichever service you prefer.
Try it out before you rate the service, or the opinion.
Columns that actually have opinions are what separates blogs from the standard news. If you don't like it, we post the original link in the "via" section, and you can read the original bias-free report.
And while I appreciate your candor, I don't appreciate the personal attacks (although I admit, calling someone lame is not a very violent personal attack). It doesn't hurt Microsoft if I call one of their products lame. But it could hurt another person. So try to be respectful in the comments when referring to another human being.
Thanks!
Simon
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3-04-2008 @ 10:15PM
Franklin said...
Simon:
I don't see why you need to explain yourself, as I did not read outright "hate" for Microsoft -- mainly criticism about the company's approach toward the online office apps space.
On the other hand, I think it's a bit weird and tad suspicious there are so many adamant defenders of Microsoft here, who sound as if Microsoft should be above criticism here. These guys sound like paid shills, who are policing blogs during the release of this Office online beta.
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3-05-2008 @ 12:06AM
michael said...
Office Live Workspace is a BETA just in case you forgot. There's a good chances that these quirks about Workspace now can get resolved later. MS really puts the beta on beta, and their first betas aren't something most people want to deal with.
And why do you guys keep pushing up Google Docs all the time? Far more people use Office, so any news on neat downloadables involving Office would be nice. Google Docs still doesn't really have the power to be better than Office, so let it rest.
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3-05-2008 @ 12:43AM
Marlowe said...
actually simon, yes i have used it, which is precisely why i think your diatribe against the product is really odd.
it's not factually accurate to say you can "do the same thing" with other products as you can with this. sure, there is xdrive and plenty of other places you can store stuff. but, this integrates with office and lets you save, retrieve and use your files 'as if' you're using your c-drive. box.net doesn't let you do that, and google docs doesn't give me nearly the same functionality as office does.
like i said earlier, i don't think this is an earth shattering thing. but, it is in interesting new functionality that seems to integrate well with office and i'm still not sure why you have the hate on something that is innocuous at worst and kinda interesting at best.
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3-05-2008 @ 10:40AM
zatrix said...
@Simon Kerbel - Valid points. I did in fact try out the app before I commented. While I do agree that I was expecting full out online word processor, I also understand the lack there of (see vinkap's comment).
I'm glad you're not offended by my "lame" comment. I did not intend it to be insulting, simply an attention grabber. Which is probably why it is also popular to bash Microsoft products, because it gets people rilled up.
I can't say with all certainty but I have a inkling feeling that somebody would not find an abundance of commentary praising Microsoft's accomplishments on this blog. So while constructive criticism is useful, senseless Microsoft bashing is getting kinda old.
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3-05-2008 @ 1:30PM
praev said...
Hi Simon,
Please don't waste your valuable time defending yourself. You had an opinion on MS Live and wrote clear, valid reasons as to why you think MS's execution was poor.
When someone resorts to attacking you personally, instead of actually engaging in counterpoints to the actual article, clearly they're not worth paying attention to.
Some people apparently like wasting their time using sub-par products that can't compete with other similar and much more feature filled products, but I don't .
So thank you for saving my time from using this POS.
Thanks.
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3-05-2008 @ 3:06PM
James Churchman said...
personally - i like the fact that it has opinion. this is a blog and not a public news site. It is meant to share the opinions of well read professional internet "journalists/blogers etc.. call them what you like". I very much like (and only come to theses style of sites because of) the opinion. Otherwise its just a news site.
The comments then give the ability (like in this one) for the readers to say what there take is, sparking up conversation and allowing the other readers to take a balanced opinion based on the original blog and the comments.
(i will say however that i hugely disagree with the views of the blog its self, and that the comenters are pointign out that for a very large number off tec users, this is in fact an ideal solution. I hate google docs(well just the "word" bit - the spreadsheet is ideal for me), its far far to week and any file i produce is striped of complex features because its too basic (its not "bad" it just does not do what i want at all, it may be fire for other users though) - what i (an i think many others uses are looking for) is simply a central repository - every comp i ever go to has full MS Word, and i don't want some lame online editor just to be a central file store. The integration with the office apps is perfect and usb drives do not do because they do not allow sharing the file between multiple users - therefore this is perfect, i don't actually want editing (especially if it in any way reduces the file (eg i use mac office 2008 and all the complex templates do not transfer into google docs - the content and layout gets spread all over the place )
so thats just my opinion, and please make sure that the level of opinion continues, as does the level of opinion in the comments!!
love the site!!
james churchman
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