Software » Office Apps

Free online productivity apps available now

I'm looking forward to Microsoft's browser-based edition of Office. While the company isn't leading the trend to cloud-based apps, it's certainly in the middle of the movement. Microsoft's suite will be released next year, but you can save money by accessing online office-style apps right now. In-browser productivity suites are typically free. Plus, I like them for lightweight systems, such as netbooks, where Microsoft's desktop suite feels too bloated for even typing.

By Zack Stern | 15 July, 2009 09:01

Tags: google docs, Office 2010, productivity, web apps, zoho

Six timesaving tips for Word 2007

Microsoft's Word has always been an impressively powerful piece of software, with dozens, if not hundreds, of features most people never knew existed. The new "Ribbon" interface in Word 2007 attempts to make some of those features easier to find and use, but there are still a lot of really handy features that you may not even know to look for.

By Logan Kugler | 02 March, 2009 09:40

Tags: microsoft word 2007

MS 2009 to-do list includes services, virtualization

It has been a year of transition for Microsoft in 2008, with the biggest being co-founder and company icon Bill Gates stepping aside and Ray Ozzie assuming the role of chief software architect. On the technology side, Microsoft's services push dominated its agenda. Microsoft introduced Azure, its cloud operating system, and released online versions of Exchange and SharePoint, two of its most popular infrastructure servers. "Exchange Online could be a sleeper product," says Peter O'Kelly, principal analyst with O'Kelly Consulting. In addition, the company revealed it was developing for the first time Web-based online versions of popular Office applications. It's all a setup for what will define Microsoft's 2009. Here is a look at five key issues and a handful of honorable mentions that will be in the spotlight over the next 12 months.

By John Fontana | 22 December, 2008 08:26

Tags: microsoft azure, microsoft office

Microsoft Office Alternatives: 10 Rockin' Word Processors

Microsoft Office may be the dominant suite for office productivity software, but it sure isn't the only option. We show you 10 word processing alternatives that just might be better suited for your business.

Microsoft Word turns 25

If you've been using Microsoft Word for the past quarter of a century, it can seem like Word has always been the top dog of the word-processing world--and for years, it's been incorporated into Microsoft's Office suite. Today, Microsoft's domination is so complete that, from the public's point of view, there is almost no "word-processor market." (Does anyone remember Lotus Manuscript?)

By Benj Edwards | 27 October, 2008 08:14

Tags: microsoft word

16 e-mail and instant messaging boosters

The Internet was built on a very simple idea: People should be able to communicate more easily with one another, using their computers. So it should be no surprise that communication -- particularly in the form of e-mail and instant messaging -- is still at the heart of why most people go online.

By Preston Gralla | 17 October, 2008 10:54

Tags: email

Washington uses Google Apps to power new intranet

When it came time for Washington, D.C., to create a new intranet for city employees, spending US$4 million on a site based on proprietary portal software just didn't seem like a good idea to CTO Vivek Kundra. But using Google Apps did, he said in an interview Tuesday.

By Elizabeth Montalbano | 15 October, 2008 07:38

Tags: Google, google apps

Fifteen great Microsoft Office optimization tools

What's the most popular application software in the world? Most likely, Microsoft Office. You use it, your colleagues use it, your relatives use it, and just about everyone you know uses it.

Securing the enterprise beyond the perimeter

Trying to secure laptops, cell phones, PDAs, and other mobile devices today is "terrifying," says Christopher Paidhrin, IT security and HIPAA compliance officer at Southwest Washington Medical Center. "End-point security is scarily immature."

15 cool new technologies at DEMOfall 08

On stage at DEMO: A computer algorithm that uncovers media bias, and new ways to watch television, create music, manage money, and spy on IT workers.

Running on AIR: Great office apps you can get now

The release of Adobe's AIR runtime platform was supposed to inspire the development of sophisticated business applications to take advantage of its media-rich capabilities.

By Howard Wen | 09 September, 2008 08:52

Tags: adobe AIR

Google App Engine: Getting Data Out Ain't Simple. Yet.

Developers who adopt the Google App Engine for their cloud computing platform today may fear data lock-in, since the only way to import or export data is using a Python-based API. Google is working on a tool to improve data exchange to improve data portability.

By Esther Schindler | 05 September, 2008 11:28

Tags: google apps

How to get paid for your PDF files

Adobe's PDF (Portable Document Format) is one of the most popular ways to distribute printed information electronically.

Who provides what in the cloud

The news that US telecommunications provider AT&T has joined the rapidly growing ranks of cloud computing providers reinforces the argument that the latest IT outsourcing model is well on its way to becoming a classic disruptive technology.

By John Edwards | 28 August, 2008 09:33

Tags: cloud computing

Taking advantage of multicore PCs

Call it the great multicore discord: a parade of major hardware and software vendors promising desktop applications powered by multicore chips yet all marching out of step, leaving confused software developers in the dust -- but times are changing.

Online office apps get real

Web-based office suites are coming into their own at last. For quite a while, Web-based suites -- which offered word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and other tools associated with desktop office suites -- were extolled not because they did these things well, but because they could do them at all. But the three major competitors, Google Docs, ThinkFree, and Zoho, have all made major improvements in recent months. They're becoming both broader, with more applications, and deeper, with more features and functionality in existing apps.

Office killers pack some heat

There are few pieces of software that users touch more often than office productivity suites. The market monster is, of course, Microsoft Office, with the lion's share of all licenses for office productivity tools. But two trends -- open source and cloud computing -- are offering a new generation of Office alternatives that businesses may want to consider.

Can you really live without Microsoft Office?

Open source and cloud computing alternatives can replace Office in some circumstances

Is Ballmer the right man for Microsoft -- for another 10 years?

As the dynamic duo steering Microsoft together for the past 28 years, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have been a near-unstoppable team, combining Gates's technical vision and will to power with Ballmer's salesmanship and rousing, if polarizing, personality.

Gates' historical legacy may focus more on philanthropy than on Microsoft

With the impending retirement of Bill Gates from Microsoft comes an obvious question: How will history view him? As a founder of the world's most influential software vendor and one of the biggest creators of wealth ever? Or as a monopolist and digital robber baron?