In an expected and inevitable move, Microsoft has announced that the next version of Office will include Web-based versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote.
Not to be confused with Microsoft Live Office Workspaces, which lets users of the desktop Office suite collaborate online, Office Web Apps will be full lightweight versions of the products, allowing users to create, edit, save, and share docs on the Web. And, like obvious competitor Google Docs, Office Web Apps will be available for free.
Like Docs, which requires a Google account, it seems the only requirement to use Office Web Apps will be a Microsoft Windows Live account, with two other options as well:
“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.”
Unfortunately, there isn’t anything to try out yet – Microsoft says that the new version of Office and its accompanying Web version won’t be available until the first half of next year. For now, the company has launched a preview site and a series of videos, introduced below:
Read the views of online Certification Experts, which provide the real questions and correct answer and explanation for the students / professionals who are seeking or enhancing their level of expertise. more at certkingdom.com
May 18, 2011
Microsoft Bests Google, IBM In San Francisco's Cloud E-Mail Migration
In San Francisco, Walton said the city paid close attention to the Microsoft system's security and access controls and said the system could prevent a similar incident to the 2008 San Francisco network hijacking by then network administrator Terry Childs, who locked the city's network, preventing access to data and information.
And Walton noted that last week's BPOS cloud outages, which sparked lengthy delays in Microsoft Exchange Online e-mail delivery, helped influence San Francisco's move to the cloud-based e-mail service. He said that the city's ability to call Microsoft during the outage, which occurred during the pilot program, cemented that Microsoft was its top choice. He said when the city has had e-mail outages in the past it was often left hanging in the wind waiting for a response or an update.
"E-mail outages, unfortunately, are something that's happened to us before," Walton said, noting that e-mail outages aren't just a cloud issue. He said last week's BPOS outage only affected San Francisco's Exchange Online pilot users for about four hours.
Microsoft Vice President of State and Local Government at Microsoft, Gail Thomas-Flynn, added that not having to fret during an outage or other hiccup helps government agencies remain focused on serving their constituents and customers, instead of having to put out IT fires.
The San Francisco win is another feather in the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant's cloud cap as Microsoft continues to compete with chief cloud foe Google for cloud computing contracts, many of which are state and local government deals.
Microsoft and Google have also squared off over the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), a certification that shows a company's solutions have meet the security requirements necessary to be leveraged by government agencies. Microsoft last month accused Google Apps of lacking FISMA certification. Google quickly responded and pointed out that it was indeed certified under FISMA, and it was eventually revealed that Microsoft itself had not received full FISMA certification for its BPOS-Federal play, which Microsoft later obtained.
The question over FISMA came to light as part of a recent lawsuit in which Google accused the DOI of not opening the bidding processes for its cloud e-mail to competition and wording its proposal to heavily favor Microsoft. A judge has placed an injunction on Microsoft's DOI cloud deployment until the matter is sorted out further.
And Walton noted that last week's BPOS cloud outages, which sparked lengthy delays in Microsoft Exchange Online e-mail delivery, helped influence San Francisco's move to the cloud-based e-mail service. He said that the city's ability to call Microsoft during the outage, which occurred during the pilot program, cemented that Microsoft was its top choice. He said when the city has had e-mail outages in the past it was often left hanging in the wind waiting for a response or an update.
"E-mail outages, unfortunately, are something that's happened to us before," Walton said, noting that e-mail outages aren't just a cloud issue. He said last week's BPOS outage only affected San Francisco's Exchange Online pilot users for about four hours.
Microsoft Vice President of State and Local Government at Microsoft, Gail Thomas-Flynn, added that not having to fret during an outage or other hiccup helps government agencies remain focused on serving their constituents and customers, instead of having to put out IT fires.
The San Francisco win is another feather in the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant's cloud cap as Microsoft continues to compete with chief cloud foe Google for cloud computing contracts, many of which are state and local government deals.
Microsoft and Google have also squared off over the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), a certification that shows a company's solutions have meet the security requirements necessary to be leveraged by government agencies. Microsoft last month accused Google Apps of lacking FISMA certification. Google quickly responded and pointed out that it was indeed certified under FISMA, and it was eventually revealed that Microsoft itself had not received full FISMA certification for its BPOS-Federal play, which Microsoft later obtained.
The question over FISMA came to light as part of a recent lawsuit in which Google accused the DOI of not opening the bidding processes for its cloud e-mail to competition and wording its proposal to heavily favor Microsoft. A judge has placed an injunction on Microsoft's DOI cloud deployment until the matter is sorted out further.
May 17, 2011
Microsoft's open source love-in expands with CentOS Linux support
First, Microsoft submitted source code to the Linux kernel. Then, one of its executives claimed "We love open source." And just last night, Microsoft said it is now adding interoperability support for CentOS Linux so it can be run on Hyper-V, the virtualization platform that comes with Windows Server.
Microsoft's top 12 rivals
There's a healthy does of self-interest here, as Microsoft is trying to improve the viability of Hyper-V in an all-out war to topple VMware from its place at the top of the virtualization market, while also fending off open source competitors Xen and KVM. Plus, Linux is widely used in the Web server market. But you also might call supporting CentOS an indirect compliment paid to rival Red Hat, because CentOS is a version of Linux based on the Red Hat OS.
Bashing Microsoft 'like kicking a puppy,' says Linux Foundation chief
Microsoft marketing GM Sandy Gupta explains that Microsoft is targeting CentOS because it "is a popular Linux distribution for hosters," and therefore an important entry point for Microsoft to get its software into cloud networks.
"This development enables our Hosting partners to consolidate their mixed Windows + Linux infrastructure on Windows Server Hyper-V; reducing cost and complexity, while betting on an enterprise class virtualization platform," Gupta writes. Microsoft is set to share more details about Hyper-V's support for CentOS at this week's Open Source Business Conference.
Microsoft has a long, mostly contentious relationship with Linux and open source software users, often claiming that Linux software infringes on its patents. Linux-based Android is one of Microsoft's latest targets in enforcing patent claims. But if Linux and open source can be integrated with Microsoft software in a way that helps Microsoft sell more licenses, then Redmond officials become a little more forgiving, even supporting Linux servers (including Red Hat's) in its System Center management suite.
We'll keep a close eye on Microsoft's evolving stance toward open source software.
Microsoft's top 12 rivals
There's a healthy does of self-interest here, as Microsoft is trying to improve the viability of Hyper-V in an all-out war to topple VMware from its place at the top of the virtualization market, while also fending off open source competitors Xen and KVM. Plus, Linux is widely used in the Web server market. But you also might call supporting CentOS an indirect compliment paid to rival Red Hat, because CentOS is a version of Linux based on the Red Hat OS.
Bashing Microsoft 'like kicking a puppy,' says Linux Foundation chief
Microsoft marketing GM Sandy Gupta explains that Microsoft is targeting CentOS because it "is a popular Linux distribution for hosters," and therefore an important entry point for Microsoft to get its software into cloud networks.
"This development enables our Hosting partners to consolidate their mixed Windows + Linux infrastructure on Windows Server Hyper-V; reducing cost and complexity, while betting on an enterprise class virtualization platform," Gupta writes. Microsoft is set to share more details about Hyper-V's support for CentOS at this week's Open Source Business Conference.
Microsoft has a long, mostly contentious relationship with Linux and open source software users, often claiming that Linux software infringes on its patents. Linux-based Android is one of Microsoft's latest targets in enforcing patent claims. But if Linux and open source can be integrated with Microsoft software in a way that helps Microsoft sell more licenses, then Redmond officials become a little more forgiving, even supporting Linux servers (including Red Hat's) in its System Center management suite.
We'll keep a close eye on Microsoft's evolving stance toward open source software.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
