The recent release of Microsoft Office 2010 isn’t the only news on the productivity suite scene. Last week, Microsoft launched Office Web Apps, bringing near desktop-quality versions of Word, Excel PowerPoint and OneNote to your browser.
The best part about Office Web Apps is that it’s FREE.
An alternative to Google Docs and Zoho
Office Web Apps offers superior support for advanced document formatting than Google Docs or Zoho. In fact, you can open nearly any document in Office Web Apps and expect it to look just like you would expect in the desktop version. Also, Microsoft provides integration with SkyDrive, meaning you have 25GB to store files, making Google’s 1GB offering look paltry.
So should you save be ready to quit the desktop version of Office in favor of the free web-based one? The short answer is not quite yet. There are still a few key differences between the two versions. First, while Web Apps can open most documents without a hitch, editing is a different story. For sophisticated formatting and graphics, Web Apps is limiting. Second, as with any cloud application, you are at mercy of the provider, in this case, Microsoft. If their servers are compromised there is little you can do but hope your data is safe.
Despite the web version’s shortcomings compared to it’s big brother, Microsoft is taking a big step in the right direction by making an otherwise expensive software suite more accessible to everyone. It’s tough to argue with free.
For more details on Office Web Apps, check out Lifehacker’s writeup comparing it with Google Docs.
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