microsoft-office posts

Microsoft gets to keep selling Word... for now

by Brad Linder Sep 3rd 2009

After receiving a court order to stop selling Microsoft Word due to patent-infringing technology, Microsoft warned that the consequences could be dire if the injunction wasn't stayed. And by dire, I mean, Microsoft might have had to pull Word for a few months while writing new code to get around the problem.

Fortunately (for Microsoft at least, and anyone looking to pick up a copy of Office or Word in the next few months), it won't come to that. Today an appeals court stayed the injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas last month.

That doesn't mean that Microsoft is in the clear. It just means that the company can continue selling its software while the appeals process continues. If Microsoft ultimately loses the case, it's possible the company could still have to pull Word from the market indefinitely. But I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft has a team of monkeys banging away at typewriters to come up with a less patent-infringing version of Word as we speak. That's how software is made, right?

Tags: injunction, iwi, lawsuit, microsoft-office, microsoft-word, patent, xml

Filed under: Windows Mobile, Symbian, Office, Microsoft, Mobile

Microsoft, Nokia announce Office Mobile coming to Nokia phones

by Brad Linder Aug 12th 2009

Microsoft has been making a mobile version of Office for years. But it's only been available on devices running mobile versions of Windows (what we now call Windows Mobile or Windows Phone, and what was once called PocketPC). Today, Microsoft and Nokia announced a deal that will bring Office Mobile to Nokia smartphones.

This is the first time Office Mobile will be available on handsets that don't run Windows Mobile. The two companies have announced plans to work together on a range of mobile solutions. One of the key points is that is that Nokia's Symbian powered smartphones will be able to run mobile versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Users will be able to "view, edit, create, and share" Office documents from their mobile phones.

Nokia is also working on improved Exchange ActiveSync support, and expects to roll out support for other features including mobile access to intranet portals build on Microsoft SharePoint Server.

Tags: microsoft, microsoft-office, nokia, office-mobile

Filed under: News, Office, Microsoft

Microsoft gets a taste Texas justice: judge slams Word with banhammer

by Lee Mathews Aug 12th 2009

At high noon, Microsoft and US District Court Judge Leonard Davis met on a dusty stretch of Texas road. The wind whistled past, carrying the occasional tumbleweed. A Walmart bag danced in the updraft. As the clock struck high noon, not a sound could be heard except for the jangling of spurs as each combatant shot a steely glance at the other.

Right arm at the ready, fingers flexing. Suddenly, Microsoft reached for its holster, grabbing at the Word 2010 Technical Preview. They didn't count on the lightning-fast reflexes of Judge Davis. With his first gavel he knocked the software back ten paces. Microsoft reeled, and turned to retrieve the case. A second gavel to the knee left Microsoft quivering in the dirt.

"Now listen hear, you slippery rattlesnake," he said, "XML patents is sacred 'round these parts, and we don't take kindly to people violatin' 'em." He tipped up the brim of his hat to reveal his stern brow and continued "I'm givin' you sixty days to come up with $290 million in gold bullion. And I don't want you bringin' that trash around here until you can abide by the laws of the great US of A."

Microsoft looked up with chagrin. "We are disappointed by the court's ruling," they said, breaking character rather suddenly. "We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid. We will appeal the verdict." Well, of course there will be appeals - which means Microsoft will likely never have to stop selling or testing Word in the United States.

Who will win in the end? Unfortunately, that will be decided by lawyers in fancy suits, not gunslingers.

[via Seattle PI]

Tags: court-rulings, cowboys, gunfight, louis-lamour, microsoft-office, texas-justice, word

Filed under: Office, Microsoft, Browsers

Microsoft Office web apps won't officially support Chrome, Opera browsers

by Brad Linder Aug 11th 2009

Microsoft plans to launch stripped down, web-based versions of its Office applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint soon. When the company first unveiled the upcoming web apps, Microsoft announced that they would work with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Now, in an official blog posting, Microsoft has stated that those three browsers will be the only ones officially supported by the Office Web Apps.

In other words, if you use Google Chrome, Opera, or another web browser, you may be out of luck. It's worth pointing out that Microsoft hasn't said that other browsers won't work. It's just that the company isn't going to take the time to support additional browsers.

According to the blog post, the Office Web apps will be designed to work without any plugins installed, but Microsoft recommends installing Silverlight, which will help the web apps load faster and perform better. The text will also be easier to read, and PowerPoint animations will be smoother with Silverlight installed.

[via InfoWorld]

Tags: google-chrome, microsoft-office, office, office-web-apps, opera

Filed under: Office, Microsoft, Web

Microsoft acquires Office.com domain

by Brad Linder Aug 6th 2009

Microsoft has already announced plans to launch an online version of Office that will compete with Google Docs, Zoho Office, and other online office applications. And now we have a pretty good idea of where it will be hosted. Microsoft acquired the Office.com internet domain this week.

Up until recently, the domain belonged to ContactOffice. It looks like ContactOffice began transferring its service to a new web site in June, so the acquisition has probably been in the works for a little while, but the transfer officially went through on August 4th.

Single-word domain names like Office.com don't come cheap. But the move was probably a smart one on Microsoft's part. The company's current homepage for MS Office is office.microsoft.com, which isn't quite as easy to remember.

Tags: microsoft-office, office, office.com

Filed under: Windows, Office, Productivity, Freeware, web 2.0, Windows x64

Add Twitter support to Microsoft Outlook 2003, 2007, 2010 with TwInbox

by Lee Mathews Jul 14th 2009

One thing that surprised me about Outlook 2010 (apart from that whole HTML rendering fiasco) was the lack of any social features - like Twitter, for example.

TwInbox began life as OutTwit a couple years back, and it's steadily improved over that time. The current version is a 490kb add-in that works in Outlook 2003, 2007, and even the 2010 Technical Preview (if you hadn't guessed from the screenshot).

The usual Twitter client features are included. Highlight a message and you can retweet,or send a reply or direct message to the sender. URLs can be automatically shortened using TinyURL, and TwInbox can even handle uploading pictures and other file attachments. Searches are also supported, allowing you to receive updates for certain keywords from users you aren't following.

Perhaps best of all, tweets behave just like any email messages once they have arrived. That means, of course, they are fully searchable and you can also utilize Outlook's and use the rules wizard to organize, filter, and prioritize your stream. Want to share a tweet with co-workers? Highlight and forward it as you would with a standard email.

If your company uses Twitter for customer relations and happens to run Outlook as well, TwInbox is a great way to centralize communications.

Apart from all the practical applications there are for TwInbox, it's also a fabulous way to discreetly tweet from your cubicle at work. Not that any of you have neighbors with wandering eyes...

[via Cybernet]

Tags: add-ins, desktop-twitter-client, extensions, microsoft-office, outlook, twitter

Filed under: Windows, Office, Microsoft, Mobile, Web

Office 2010 introduced, now with web applications

by Brad Linder Jul 13th 2009

Microsoft is officially introducing Office 2010 today at the company's Worldwide Partners Conference. But there's already a good deal of information about the latest version of Microsoft's office suite floating around the web, thanks to TechCrunch, istartedsomething, and a Google Cached version of the Office 2010 page that went online a little early.

Update: It looks like the Microsoft Office 2010 technical preview page is now live, and Microsoft will start rolling the preview out to a limited set of beta testers.

So here's what we know:

Web apps

For the first time, Office will include online versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. What's more, they're free. Sure, these web apps won't offer all the bells and whistles that you get with the full desktop versions, but Microsoft finally has an answer to Google Docs, Zoho Docs, and other online office suites. The company's previous strategy had essentially to give desktop Office users some online storage and collaboration tools. But nothing fights free like free.

The web apps work with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.

Tags: microosft-office-2010, microsoft-office, web-office

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Office, Productivity

OffiSync mixes Microsoft Office and Google Docs

by Jay Hathaway May 16th 2009

If you often transfer files back and forth between Microsoft Office apps on your desktop and Google Docs online, OffiSync might be exactly what you need. It pulls Google Docs functionality into Office, letting you save, manage and browse your Google Docs as if they were in a directory on your hard drive. You can also share docs and add collaborators, and send email and notifications, all while you're writing up that next draft in Word.

The first version of OffiSync is apparently close to launching, and you can sign up for the beta right now. It's initially going to roll for Windows XP (SP2), Vista and Windows 7, but a version for Office Mac is also in the works. The idea is pretty interesting, and it looks like OffiSync could be an extremely useful product if it ends up working as advertised.

Tags: google-docs, microsoft-office, offisync

Filed under: Office, Productivity, Microsoft, Beta

Microsoft Office 14 screenshots leaked

by Lee Mathews Jan 15th 2009

Someone get a mop, the leaks are everywhere.

Several screenshots of Microsoft Office 14 - which is currently in alpha testing- have been leaked by Russian site Wzor. Beta versions are scheduled to appear sometime in May with the full release slated for the end of 2009.

The screenshots show a bevy of applications, including Access, Excel, Groove, InfoPath, InterConnect, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, SharePoint Designer, Vizio, and Word. Server components were also released to some customers for alpha testing last week.

It looks as though the UI will remain similar to Office 2007's. As for the changes under the hood, the rest of us will have to wait. At least for a little while.

Tags: microsoft-office, office-14

Filed under: Office, Web services, Microsoft, web 2.0, Web

Microsoft to launch web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint

by Brad Linder Oct 28th 2008

It looks like Microsoft is finally prepared to launch its answer to Google Docs, Zoho Office, and ThinkFree Office. About a year after launching Office Live Workspace, which is really just a service for people to store and share documents created using desktop apps, Microsoft has announced plans to go ahead with true web-based versions of MS Office applications including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

The Office Web applications will reportedly be stripped down versions of the desktop apps. And it looks like Microsoft will offer at least two tiers of service, with an ad-supported version and a subscription based option for business customers.

The next version of Microsoft Office for the desktop will include the ability to synchronize documents over the web for access on the go. So Microsoft clearly expects customers to continue paying for the offline version of Office. Somehow I suspect the company will also set aside at least a few special features that are only available in the desktop version.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Tags: excel, microsoft-office, ms-office, office-web, powerpoint, word

Filed under: Windows, Office, Microsoft, Commercial

Microsoft Equipt (subscription based Office) to go on sale this week

by Brad Linder Jul 14th 2008

Can't justify spending hundreds of dollars for Microsoft Office? Starting this week, Microsoft will be offering Equipt for $69.99... per year. Equipt is an office suite which features the applications from Microsoft Office Home and Student, Microsoft OneCare, and comes bundled with several (already free) Windows Live services.

When you consider the fact that Microsoft puts out a new version of Office every few years for $300 or more, Equipt might seem like a bargain. But when you factor in the fact that you can pick up a copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student for just over $100, things might start to look a bit different.

Still, your $70 gets you working versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and other programs. You also get free upgrades. And as much as we love free alternatives like OpenOffice.org, we have yet to find one that's 100% compatible with Microsoft Office. Nothing screams unprofessional like opening a document a boss or colleague sends you and completely messing up the formatting.

At launch Equipt will be available only at Circuit City stores. Microsoft is expected to announce more distributors soon.

Tags: equipt, microsoft, microsoft-equipt, microsoft-office, office, subscription

Filed under: Fun, Games, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Office, Adobe, Microsoft, Freeware, Time-Wasters

Excit - fun Excel-themed Time Waster

by Jason Clarke Nov 19th 2007

Imagine you were using Excel, and it was actually fun!

Yes, it's difficult, but try.

While it might be hard to imagine, the makers of Excit have accomplished the task of making Excel fun. It's not really Excel, but an Excel-themed online Flash game, but even still it's remarkable. Excit is described as an "MIS Spreadsheet game", implying that there are a number of such games. For this Time Waster we're going to focus on Excit.

The goal of the game is to exit the level you're on. Get it? Excel / exit? It's a clever play on the two words... oh, you get it already. Okay.

Each level consists of a number of walls arranged in different patterns with a clearly marked exit cell, as well as other objects that your cursor can interact with. Control in the game is dead-simple: you can move your cursor up, down, left or right with the arrow keys, but choose wisely, because your cursor is going to continue in that direction until it hits an object that stops it, or continues off the screen. If it goes off the screen, you start the level over. Luckily, there is no concept of lives in this game, so you can continue with a trial and error approach until you succeed, or go crazy from frustration.

The first few levels are fairly easy, but soon enough the challenge level ramps up enough to get your brain thinking ahead by a a few moves. Each time you complete a level, you are given a password so that if you want to come back to the game at a later time, you can jump right to the level you were at.

With some concentrated effort, it should be possible to complete Excit during a lunch hour and have time left over to scarf down a sandwich. It's definitely a great little brain teasing Time Waster.

Tags: Excel, Excit, Flash, Flash-game, Microsoft, Microsoft-Office, MS-Excel, Office, Time-Waster

Filed under: OS Updates, Web services, Google, Microsoft

First peek at Microsoft Office Live Workspace

by Brad Linder Oct 18th 2007

Microsoft has released a few screenshots of its upcoming Office Live Workspace. And we have to say, it looks about as much like desktop software as any web-based app we've seen. Which is a good thing, since it's meant to work with the desktop version of Microsoft Office.

But while Office Live Workspace certainly looks a lot prettier than Google Docs & Spreadsheets, the two services might be addressing different markets. That's because Google Docs is a standalone suite of Office applications allowing you to create text/HTML documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can also import and export files compatible with Microsoft Office.

Office Live Workspace, on the other hand, is a way to share and collaborate on files created using Microsoft's commercial desktop application. Look, we're not saying Microsoft has to give everything away for free just because Google's doing it. If you've got superior applications, go ahead and charge a premium. But we'd like see Microsoft offer the ability to create and edit documents online without first purchasing MS Office. We might even consider paying a small subscription fee for access to such a service.

Tags: docs-and-spreadsheets, google-docs, microsoft-office, office-live-workspace

Filed under: Internet, Office, Microsoft

Microsoft Office Live Workspace: This is Microsoft's online office strategy?

by Brad Linder Oct 1st 2007

As we've pointed out time and again, online office suites like Google Docs and Zoho are not complete Microsoft Office replacements. They don't have all the features, but they also don't have the high price. And for many users, not only are online office suites cheaper (as in free), but they offer up a few extra useful features like the ability to share documents with anyone over the internet.

We've been expecting Microsoft to respond with an online office suite of its own, perhaps built on MS Works. But now that Microsoft has announced its online office strategy, we have to say we're a bit underwhelmed.

Office Live Workspace is a free web-based feature that lets Microsoft Office users share their documents online. In other words, you'll need to pay for Microsoft Office and use it to create documents on your desktop, but you can share them online. With Google Docs, you can hop onto any web browser to pull up all your documents and/or create new text, HTML, spreadsheet, or presentation documents. Office Live Workspace just lets you access files you've already created. In other words, it's more of a Scribd/Docstoc competitor than a Zoho/ThinkFree competitor.

If you want to sign up for the Office Live Workspace beta, Microsoft is accepting applications. The beta itself probably won't start for another month.

Tags: microsoft-office, ms-office, office-live, office-live-workspace

Filed under: Office, Microsoft

Microsoft releases Office 2003 SP3

by Brad Linder Sep 19th 2007

Microsoft has released Service Pack 3 for Office 2003. If you haven't upgraded to Office 2007, there may be a few bug fixes and features in here for you. But beware, the update also shuts off a handful of features.

For example, you won't be able to open PowerPoint files created before the release of PowerPoint 97. The reasoning is that these files are less secure, but if you happen to have any old files lying around on your desktop, you might want to convert them before upgrading Office 2003.

Service Pack 3 includes a whole slew of security updates, and fixes some compatibility issues with Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007. The Service Pack includes previously released updates including Service Packs 1 and 2.

Tags: microsoft-office, office2003, office2003-sp3, service-pack-3, service-pack3, sp3

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