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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.