Most of the attention on Redmond this year is focused on the upcoming Windows 8 operating system. But, the next generation of Microsoft Office is also currently under development–ostensibly to be launched along side Windows 8 this fall–and Office 2013 has the potential to be the real hero among the two.
Microsoft has made a number of major changes to the latest version of Windows—not the least of which are the touchscreen optimized Metro interface, and adding ARM-based tablets as an option. But, as the de facto productivity suite for businesses, Microsoft Office is the standard bearer of the Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Office 2013 has the power to drive adoption of Windows 8 by taking advantage of the unique capabilities of the new OS.
I have not personally had a chance to play with the Office 2013 beta yet, but I have had the opportunity to live vicariously through Paul Thurrott, a respected authority on Microsoft and technology in general. After reading Paul’s feedback on Office 2013, it seems to me there are certain aspects that users and IT admins will appreciate. Read more »
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Microsoft Access 2013, Microsoft Excel 2013, Microsoft office 2013, Microsoft Office 2013 Release Date, Microsoft Outlook 2013, Microsoft PowerPoint 2013, Microsoft Visio 2013, Microsoft Word 2013, Office, Office 15, Windows 8
Although Microsoft’s
Office productivity suite has been linked to the computer desktop, its latest incarnation is showing flashes of Metro, the tablet-oriented interface of the upcoming operating system
Windows 8.
Microsoft guru Paul Thurrott, who runs a Windows-oriented website, disclosed this after obtaining a copy of Office 15′s Technical Preview.
“I don’t want to drill too deep into Office 15 until Microsoft officially unveils the product and provides a more feature-complete version in the beta. But even at this early stage, you can see where Microsoft intends for this product to sit, visually, between the new Metro style and the traditional desktop. Regardless of which type of system you’ll be using, however, the applications in this suite should look right at home,” Thurrott said.
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A glimpse at the upcoming Office product on Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows reveals a new suite that tries to mimic the feel of Metro but runs as a traditional desktop program.
Microsoft Office 15 will come built for the desktop but offer a huge touch of the Metro flair, according to a description posted by Supersite for Windows author Paul Thurrott, who obtained a copy of an early preview version.
Accord to Thurrott, the technical preview of Office 2013 kicks off like the current version, letting you choose which applications to install. Read more »
Although the Microsoft Office 2013 Technical Preview is a desktop app at heart, it’s got Metro running through its veins.
That’s the main takeaway from Paul Thurrott’s extensive overview of the Microsoft Office 15 Technical Preview. The preview is in private beta, with its users bound to a non-disclosure agreement, but Thurrott managed to get a copy of the software and posted lots of screenshots.
To be clear, the version of Office 15 that Thurrott examined is a desktop app. It runs in a window on the desktop and has traditional desktop icons when viewed through Windows 8′s Metro Start screen. Read more »
Windows 8 on ARM, dubbed WOA by Microsoft, could offer a big “Whoa!” moment for workers wanting to run Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and other Office apps on a touchscreen tablet.
To some workers, a touchscreen tablet with Office apps from Microsoft can’t arrive soon enough. Reportedly, it will arrive late this year.
“A lot of business users could quickly become tablet users to get to Office apps,” said Brian Reed, the vice president of products at BoxTone, a mobile device software management company. “The big [apps] that matter are spreadsheets [with Excel] and PowerPoint. Nice presentations are hard to do with third-party apps now on iPads and Android tablets.” Read more »
With the release of Windows 8 nearing Microsoft has also been busy to launch its next gen version of Office, codenamed Office 2013, which is set to receive interface tweaks to make it more touch friendly on Windows 8, including a radial menu system, but won’t be rebuilt as full “Metro style” apps using the new WinRT programming model.
According to sources, who say that the core Office applications will be flatter, feature more white space, and use fewer lines in an effort to focus on content, but that the look will literally be window dressing — Office 2013 apps will still be traditional Windows apps underneath. In addition to this, there is also news of the ARM version which will also be desktop applications, running in a restricted Windows 8 ARM desktop mode designed for power efficiency. Read more »
Microsoft on Wednesday declared that Office 365 is the “first and only major cloud productivity service to comply with leading EU and U.S. standards for data protection and security.”
There are, of course, not many “major cloud productivity services.” In fact, you’d be hard pressed to come up with “major” contenders beyond Microsoft and Google. There are certainly major companies like IBM and Cisco that offer cloud productivity options, but they aren’t really challenging Microsoft Office head-on like Google Apps. Thus Microsoft’s dismissal of browser-based apps can be read as a critique of Google, the company that would have you believe Microsoft’s hybrid approach, with local and cloud apps, is archaic and inefficient. Read more »
Microsoft are thought to be working on a version of Microsoft Office for the Apple iPad.
According to the latest rumours the new version will be a lite-version that could work in combination with the “Office 365″ cloud-based suite to keep down the file-size and cost.
The predicted cost of the Office application for the iPad is just $10, which seems like a great price but it does make us wonder just what features are included. Read more »
Microsoft this week released major updates to its Office 365 online productivity suite and SkyDrive cloud storage services, including feature upgrades, improved sharing and mobile access, as well as opening them out to a wider market.
In the case of Office 365, Microsoft has given 22 new markets access to the online productivity suite, including Argentina, South Africa, Taiwan and Turkey. Other changes include Sharepoint support for IE9 and Chrome, support for Mac OS X Lion (including Lync for Mac), a new Office Web App Preview for Outlook Web Access, a password reset tool for admins, and importantly, support for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango devices. Read more »
Lots of great alternatives to Microsoft’s deluxe Office suite have emerged over the past few years, but if you find yourself only occasionally in need of a tool to edit Word or Excel files, the hefty $159 price tag for the full home and student edition can be a bit hard to justify. Google Docs or even Microsoft’s own online versions of office can help in a pinch, but nothing quite matches the native experience you get from running the desktop app. If the above scenario describes you, click here to download a copy of Office 2010 Starter Edition for absolutely free. 
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