Feature Article

Microsoft this week announced the introduction of its next gen of office application MS Office 2010. The technical preview released is rather intended for feedback of users and promotion purposes. A jazzy promo movie debuting the release is full of action-packed drama that seems to point squarely at the insane marketing dollars pumped into it by big daddy Bill Gates .The full version is due to be announced sometime in first half of 2010. MS Office 2010 places Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel on the web which means now you can access your office files directly from your browser. One can detect Microsoft’s eager desperation here as it gloves itself to counter Google Apps.
In the new version of Excel 2010, the disappearance of the menus hits you in the face and a toolbar called ribbon stares out at you from the corner.

The ribbon comes with customizable feature that enables you to add, remove individual commands, tabs and groups. The excel spreadsheets appear in a 64-bit version which makes working with large documents pretty much easier. Filtering data gets a new Slicer tool and Sparkline feature offers you a visual image within a cell of a data trend over time. Very innovative! You can also go ahead and share your Excel spreadsheet using the browser. Here’s another preview of the web version below:

The PowerPoint 2010 now comes packed with some new frills and whistles. A basic video editing tool makes it easy for users to edit images and videos within the PowerPoint. View the screenshot below:

A live sharing feature along lines of WebEx allows you to share your presentation with fellow workers and buddies.

The browser version of MS Word 2010 deserver plaudits for retaining the look and feel of its desktop counterpart. The document fidelity allows you to actually interact in the same manner like when it comes to changing fonts, formatting etc. The screenshot below testifies to it:

Interestingly the collaborative features like multiple users editing the same document that have been introduced in the Desktop version are sadly unavailable in the browser version. Navigating around a long document comes easy with a Visual Navigation pane.

MS Outlook 2010 has an upgraded user interface that now resembles a message tree helping users with a better view of incoming and sent mails:

Outlook search function has been improved. Previewing calendars in your mail is also possible. Already there are talks about requirements for accessing the Web Apps of Microsoft and we all remember that Google docs need the user to have a Google account. Microsoft setting aside all vague thoughts has to say this:

“Office Web applications will be available in three ways: through Windows Live, where more than 400 million consumers will have access to Office Web applications at no cost; on-premises for all Office volume licensing customers including more than 90 million Office annuity customers; and via Microsoft Online Services, where customers will be able to purchase a subscription as part of a hosted offering.”

As it is, it would be too early to evaluate the completeness or lack thereof of the pre-beta preview of Office 2010. However, it is more than certain that it boasts a few changes and upgrades across existing applications which is nothing radical. And the Web apps idea of Microsoft is more of nervous repositioning of its product in the wake of web-based office applications from Zoho, Google and Adobe already afloat in the marketplace.