Microsoft is taking shots at Google by offering a free web-based version of its Microsoft Office software.
The online software, Office 2010, are lightweight versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. This is in an effort to compete against Google’s free online Docs suite that they launched several years ago.
It’s been a game of tit for tat lately between these two corporate giants as last week, Google took a shot at Microsoft by announcing plans for a new free operating system. This is after Microsoft’s June introduction of their new search engine, Bing.
Microsoft says that the new online Office suite will be offered to 400 million Windows Live users without any cost. Later this year, Microsoft will be releasing its web-apps to thousands of testers prior to the official Office 2010 release. The proper public beta will be released at the end of 2009 and the final version should make it to PC makers within the first half of 2010.
This is Microsoft’s long awaited conversion into web based computing. Bing was a good first step and an online-based version of Office will be a giant second step. However, it is important to note that Microsoft’s move is in response to the rivalry that exists between them and Google, the other major tech giant.
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Is it any surprise. MS will never be content with the revenue they are making and always want to crush someone else. I’ve never understood this mentality, what’s wrong with live and let live?
Not that I support one corporation or another and I understand Microsoft makes a lot of money, but this really is about competing. If Microsoft did not do this, they would fall behind Google and over time would lose market share, not just in the area of document management, but slowly in other areas as well.