The web has been abuzz the past few weeks with chatter about Microsoft’s announcement today at its Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans about the new version of Microsoft Office 2010. There’s even a mini-movie about its debut. Facing potential challenges from Google’s browser-based Apps products and its new Chrome OS, Microsoft has been touting its three screens strategy, which is the ability for products to synchronize across the phone, browser, and desktop, for some time now.
With the release of Office 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Visio 2010, we finally see the implementation of Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie’s mantra. We had the opportunity to see an in-depth demo of the new suite of products from Microsoft’s Group Product Manager for Office 2010, Chris Bryant. Here’s a complete breakdown of all the functionality that has been added, including screenshots:
The Move To The Browser
Most certainly a direct response to Google Apps, Microsoft is rolling out lightweight, FREE, Web browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. All based in the cloud, the web-based versions of these products have fewer features than their desktop cousins but still give users basic tools to edit and change documents.
PowerPoint 2010
PowerPoint has been upgraded not only with a new browser version, but also a slew of bells and whistles have been added to the desktop version. Users now have the capability of editing video and images within PowerPoint with a basic video editing tool (not so different from the capabilities of iMovie) and an image editing tool, which is like a basic, simple version of Adobe Photoshop. Microsoft has also added the ability for users to launch a WebEx-like live sharing feature with other users. So if you create a slideshow in PowerPoint, you can share it with other people in real-time (which can be run on top of Sharepoint).
Here’s what the video editing tools look like in PowerPoint:
To share a deck with other users, you send an email to individuals with a link. Once they click the link, they will see the slideshow within the browser. This feature can also be used on a mobile phone’s browser. You can also create a slideshow in the desktop version and then publish it to the web version to access it via the browser. The browser version of PowerPoint doesn’t include the video editing features, but most of the functionality of 2008 is included in the browser version.
Excel 2010
Excel spreadsheets can now run in the browser, and similar to PowerPoint, spreadsheets can be published to the browser via the desktop version. The browser version of Excel has limited features, but offers more in-depth functionality than Google Spreadsheets. Microsoft has added a particularly innovative feature called Sparklines, which gives a visual snapshot image of a data trend over time within a cell. You can also share Excel via the browser with other users and set special permissions on who can access the document.
Here’s what the web version of Excel looks like:
Word 2010
Bryant says that the number one piece of feedback from users producing documents on Microsoft Word is that they want to preserve the look and feel of a document created in the desktop version in the browser. Microsoft calls this “document fidelity” and created the browser version of MS Word accordingly. In the browser, documents retain the same look and feel as in the desktop. The browser version still has the “ribbon user interface,” where you can change fonts, size, formatting, styles etc.
An image of the web version of Word:
Microsoft has also updated the desktop version to have collaborative features so that multiple users can be editing a document at once. This collaboration is not available in the web version, unfortunately. Microsoft says that users don’t want this feature but this might be a move to protect the Office revenue model.
When two people are editing the same document (in the desktop version) at the same time, Word will notify each user when there are changes that need to be synced with their document. The copy/paste function of the desktop version has also received an upgrade, where you can see see a live preview for the paste function. The paste function also has an advanced option to create and insert screenshots. To make moving around a long document easier, Word now has a visual navigation pane and section header breakdown which makes it easy to jump around different sections of a document.
Outlook 2010
Outlook 2010 now has a ribbon user interface, like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The UI of email conversations has been upgraded to look almost like a message tree, allowing users a more visual view of sent and incoming emails. Search functionality has been improved as well, making it much easier to find content. Also, you can preview calendars in emails and choose to ignore selective email conversations.
Sharepoint 2010
Like Outlook, Sharepoint now gets a ribbon UI, making the document-hosting product more similar to Microsoft’s flagship products, like Word. You can tag authors of documents now and can share documents and files more easily.
Microsoft says that its browser versions have been tested on all major browsers aside from internet Explorer, including Firefox and Safari. Office 2010 is still being tested and reworked to function on Chrome. Microsoft also announced that it is streamlining the number of Office editions from eight to five. Office Web applications will be available in three ways: through Windows Live, where consumers will have access to Office Web applications at no cost; via on-premises versions; and via Microsoft Online Services, where customers will be able to purchase a subscription of MS Office. Microsoft says Office 2010 will be available in the first half of next year.
The key part of all of this news is the free, browser-based versions of Microsoft’s most popular Office products. Bryant says that Microsoft expects the browser products to be especially popular amongst student, but I think that the web-based applications will be hugely popular in the enterprise space as well, as long as there are security precautions taken to put documents in a secure part of the cloud.
But as more and more businesses are becoming comfortable with trusting cloud environments, Microsoft’s move to the browser could pay off in a big way, especially because it’s so easy to use both the desktop and browser versions of products interchangeably. The more successful Microsoft is in its browser strategy, the more they validate Google’s approach in the space, which will eventually put price pressure on Office.
It looks like Microsoft is being serious this time. The improvements looks great. I suppose having great competition in the marketplace does offer better value to customers. Nevertheless, this is interesting news
- Darren at AdExcel dot Com
Yeah. This means Office 10 is not dead. I have a ton of videos of Office 10 uploading now (the embargo was supposed to end at 6 a.m., not at 2 a.m., but oh well). Watch http://scobleizer.blip.tv for videos.
Cant wait for the videos, bookmarked the URL!
Thanks Scoble. Cool vids!
He has videos of Excel sparklines, pivot table slicers, cut and paste live preview, insert screenshots of other windows from the ribbon.
Thanks, I just finally finished all the uploads, and posted them here: http://scobleiz...tons-of-videos/
Office XP?
thanks for the videos man, they’re really nice too see whats really new. I know I will be using most of these new things on a regular basis.
It’s Office 14 or Office >20<10
Excellent videos and insight on your blog post, Robert. Wondering how Google are feeling at this point in time… should be a fun competition between them and Microsoft going forward.
Office 10? That was Office XP aka Office 2002.
Office 2010 (”twenty-ten” according to MSFT) is Office 14.
You can watch the keynote sessions from the Microsoft Partner Conference live and on demand here – http://bit.ly/8WEcL and see for yourselves!
This time they come out with some compelling features.. Its true that competition takes out the best from you…!!
If it only works on ie8, I am done with Microsoft.
If I cannot choose my browser to use their apps, I will say goodbye to Microsoft after 20 years of being a “MS fan boy”.
Are you really a MS fan boy? Wouldnt a real fan boy wait & see before rushing to judgement?
Image for Powerpoint and Excel are the same when I view it
i had hoped that was done on purpose as I joke.
First of all the PowerPoint and Excel images are the same.
Word and Powepoint look good but Outlook has quite a messy interface.
Cheers
But please improve IE first.
Stop using IE first.
I use IE8 by choice because it is a solit browser, I have no problems with it. I will use what works for me and not because someone else tells me to.
haha yes it is a “solit” browser
bahaha, hey – wasn’t that a movie “Solit And Green”?
What else have you tried for longer than a couple hours?
“Office Web applications will be available in three ways: through Windows Live, where consumers will have access to Office Web applications at no cost”
This is interesting, I suspect that we’lll be able to save documents to SkyDrive then. Cool.
As I just posted over on my blog, I think this could open the enterprise up to web applications. The key is that the web-based versions of the office applications look like they can be installed as part of Sharepoint, allowing enterprises to keep full control of their data. Other web applications vendors should, and will, follow suit.
so that’s more innovation out of msft, right?
that 3 screens aproach is awsome, I hope they include their entertainment devices into the mix very soon.
Anyone know of the life expectancy of InfoPath? I’m using it for a project at work, but lacks certain key features (like the abaility to export a form to any other format…).
The InfoPath MSDN team blog hasn’t been updated since Feb, and there isn’t really anything else about it out there in the wild…
@Paul Gordon
Infopath will live on, and will continue to evolve…
Infopath is XML based, isn’t that enough!?
Now this is interesting
from Paul Thurrot
“While I can’t yet comment on all the blogger silliness I’ve seen about tomorrow’s WPC announcements (let’s just say the most obvious Office-related predictions I’ve seen are dead wrong)”
Remember, it’s Microsoft…
Expect it to fail pretty much instantly and be riddled with bugs and endless problems.
And I wonder if the Microsoft web apps will say “Sorry you must be using Internet Explorer to view this website”.
Something will ALWAYS go wrong if Microsoft are involved so bleh
The trolls cometh…
“Henry Gale arrived on the Island in a balloon. At some point he died of a broken neck, and Ben took on his identity. Henry was buried in a grave near the balloon, although Ben claimed (in the guise of Henry) that his wife was buried there.”
http://lostpedi...wiki/Henry_Gale
Did you even read the part of supporting all the browsers (IE,FF, Chrome, Safari) in the article
Yeap, just like M$ has supported standards and other browsers in the past.
you’re not needed here, go away.
Kracklaw, you must be using your Solit Browser again.
Yes, it is very interesting kamilo. Either he was wrong, or there is something else coming today too.
The big questions is whether they’ve finally introduced manageable layers into Powerpoint and enabled multiple Windows in Excel. My guess is: NO
Do Start > Run… > excel for multiple Windows in Excel 2007.
are you serious? you don’t know how to launch multiple instances of excel? they’ve had this for years.
in win7 start up excel right click the excel icon on the task bar to access the jump list then click the “microsoft excel” button in the list to start a new instance.
in excel itself, you can click the file > new> blank to start a new instance
in excel itself office 2007, you can click the alt button on you keyboard then click F > N > “enter”
or you can do what Name* said above.
there’s multiple ways to do it. If i had to guess I would say that you’re just going by what someone else told you and that you really don’t know anything.
That sounds really interesting. MS seems to understand, why google won every battle in the past
Which battles you mean? which enterprise is using Google Docs?
Never heard of Google Apps?
http://www.reut...E5691F120090713
Scott, please clarify how this article confirms Google “won every battle in the past.”
You said “Microsoft has added a particularly innovative feature called Sparklines, which gives a visual snapshot image of a data trend over time within a cell.” – Microsoft is just catching up to features that should have been in Excel 2007.
The theory of sparklines (small, intense, simple datawords) along with many practical examples of recent sparkline developments can be found in a 5 year old book – Edward Tufte’s book Beautiful Evidence.
When it comes to business graphics and data visualization with Excel, Microsoft provides lagging technology not leading technology. The leading technology comes from a handful of outside developers.
It is good to see Microsoft trying to catchup.
@dmgerbino
– Edward Tufte, May 27, 2004
And Sparklines has been available in which currently shipping spreadsheet product?
Jonathan, Sparklines were available in Excel 2003 and Excel 2007 since 2006. Bonavista Systems created an Excel add-in to provide sparklines and other missing charting options in Excel with their microcharts product.
Here is a link to their November 14, 2006 website via the way back machine – http://web.arch....com/index.html
Additionally, Bissantz & Company also created an Excel add-in providing sparklines. This is a link to their June 13, 2006 sparkline page http://web.arch...s/deltalife.asp
The data visualization savvy analyst has been able to use third party tools to supplement Excel with missing chart types such as Edward Tufte’s sparklines and Stephen Few’s bullet charts.
Even the sparkline wiki goes back to at least 2006 – http://sparklin...wikispaces.com/
So when Grant says that sparklines hasn’t been anywhere, he is mistaken.
Here is another sparkline resource that is also open source:
A French Excel MVP created an add-in that adds sparklines and 14 other chart types to Excel – http://sparklin...l.blogspot.com/
And here is a video showing the creation of sparklines – http://www.xlcu...mc_youtube.html
I hope you all find these resources as rewarding as I have over the last 3 years.
This is the best sparkline link of them all:
http://www.edwa...&topic_id=1
So they’re catching up to amorphous software that doesn’t have these features yet? Or are they catching up to a book?
While MSFT didn’t invent sparklines, it’s not as if its a feature that’s been everywhere but Excel–in fact, it really hasn’t been anywhere… so are we going to have to begrudgingly admit MSFT is possibly innovating… nahhhhhhhh, that would require open mindedness.
“are they catching up to a book?” ahahhahahhhahha, nice one, I know that sent him spinning, he probably didnt’ even know what hit him.
Actually, sparklines are used in Google Analytics and the Alexa Toolbar, for example. And there are several addins that implement sparklines in Excel.
Microsoft is not catching up to a book. It is catching up to some basic information visualization principles. That’s nice. Now it just have to undo 90% of all the “innovations” added to Excel 2007.
The concept isn’t even now, you can do trendlines inside a cell with Excel 2007.
Not in native Excel 2007.
yeah right
I love how the writer says “the web has been abuzz” and then links to a techcrunch article to cite her points! Hahaha, you just can’t cite yourself as evidence to make a point like that.
you can. It’s called SEO.
Touché
Just like I elaborate in this detailed blog post which I am in the process of writing, (and sure to get listed on TechMeme), this is a Game Changer. A Paradigm Shift, if you will. Think of it as Green Computing in the Cloud.
I have seen the future and it is Microsoft Office 2010.
Ok, ok, back to work
yeah right dear
Wow. The “Online Office” market will now consolidate and we will see the extinction of half-baked offerings like Zoho.
My prediction: People will use Office 2010 for unimportant stuff only.
People will not be willing to pay much for it as
1) It’s unimportant stuff
2) Switching costs are close to zero (Google docs, Zoho, whateva)
I think you’re in a technology bubble. Most people in my engineering firm have not heard of these online tools. Nor do they care. They use MS Office and it works. They’re not looking for other tools.
The tools you mention are available now but the comparative usage to Office is essentially nil. Google Docs is FREE and it has done nothing to sales of MS office. 2007 was a massive seller – better than 2003 – even on the Mac. That despite all the prattle from the likes of techcrunch that google apps was going to eat MS lunch. Whatever the mindshare these apps have in the world of tech buffs like yourself the on-the-ground, real world numbers don’t back it up. They don’t come anywhere close. They just don’t.
More often than not google docs is used in addition to word rather than in place of, as Farhad’s far more lucid take (than TC’s) on the Chrome OS notes http://www.slat...com/id/2222564/.
So MS is responding to working on the web and it appears that they are doing it right – there will not be any compelling reason to use gapps for the average person. Of course TC still claims that this is a victory for google but as those pesky real-world use numbers prove – TC usually wrong.
I can give you a compelling reason right now. Google Spreadsheets lets me share and simultaneously edit a spreadsheet with multiple users, for free, in a couple clicks.
This article seems to state that MS is NOT allowing simultaneous editing (without the fat desktop app), which is exactly the kind of benefit the cloud is supposed to be providing.
Google spreadsheets is incredibly weak when it comes to features.
And if the features you need is simultaneous editing, you’re going to Google Docs. Thanks for making my point!
msft office is great …. i just wish some of that love went into the mac version…
the least pleasant part about using mac is office
I count NINE rows of toolbars and equivalents across the top of Word 2010 in the first screenshot.
That’ll work well on a phone or Netbook.
When this UI concept was designed – several years ago – Microsoft seem to missed the move to small portable devices. It’s obviously aimed at a desktop setup where you can afford an entire screen for MS Office. Please can we have some screenshots on a low-end Netbook?
it is collapsable, but the way to do it is to right click (not double click) the ribbon then select “minimize the ribbon”….it then gives you more screen real estate that office 03. when you click the any of the tabs like “home, insert” etc, the ribbon will show up again, but it doesn’t stay there unless you unselect “minimize the ribbon”
The ribbon should be collapsible by double-clicking a tab.
Thanks – that was useful. But while editing, surely you need to see the ribbon *and* your document at the same time?
Is the web version using some version of Silverlight? Or was this AJax? I heard they will eventually have both.
I heard something about it using silverlight which will increase document fidelity
If it’s requiring silverlight, then say goodbye to using it on a phone.
yeah…. they r goin to have both
I live on Onenote, wheres the screenshot.. And why is the PP pic shown twice>
……..sounds good…..I’m really excited about the FREE cloud based Office programs. Do you need to buy 2010 to use the “FREE” cloud Office programs? I hope not, cause Google Docs is free, and it is great for basic word processing.
Get Ready! office 2010 is great!
Has Techcrunch been bought by Microsoft to carry “advertorials” and astroturf?
“The web has been abuzz”? Rubbish.
actually TC was *bought* by google and apple (to carry “advertorials” and astroturf) long time ago. Now MSFT is trying to *catch up*
LOL
looking for spread sheets to work in browser.
Maybe that will finally demonstrate how crap Google Docs is?
+1
Except they still win in simultaneous editing, which is free and easy to do. No desktop app/sharpoint/$$$$ required.
no one can compete with ms in this field.
Wheres the screenshot for excel, the image is of powerpoint?!
“Through Windows Live, where consumers will have access to Office Web applications at no cost” This is more than enough~
Don’t know how much “less features” is with web version and whether “document fidelity” works totally well.
I like the feature navigation pane in Word and message tree in Outlook. But where is OneNote?!
“Collaboration is not available in the web version Word.” Hmm, interesting~
Hope they’ll get rid of the .docx format.
Why would they?
It’s a standard, after all…
can you please tell us all what is wrong with docx and why it would be good for them to get rid of it?
It’s a fine format, it’s just that they used a different (admittedly inferior) one for decades…so I would have recommended either that at first, they should have thought of a more compact format; or that they keep the one they’ve got as new formats (especially ones that don’t accomplish anything new except compression) tend to confuse people and cause compatibility problems. (Unless, of course, you use OpenOffice 3, which supports all MSO formats.)
OK, I’m still wondering whether that screen shot for Excel 2010 was a deliberate endeavor! I still haven’t caught the Office ‘07 bug and Office ‘10 is now here!
I will watch from a distance for now.
“Browser version”, is that “HTML version” or “Silverlight version”?
My expectation for MO 2010 is to be more user friendly
Really sharp knife screwed in google’s butt.. Rite in the crease
Good Job M$
lol
Right in the Solit?
First a guide to Silverlight, now one for Office. You guys are becoming company shills. Can you imagine the nytimes doing this?
Huh?
LOL very funny
when they released multiple articles on google and apple no one called them shills, but when they do it for msft you start calling them shills? are you serious?
Scoble’s got the best videos I’ve seen so far: http://www.vidd...izer/videos/26/
Looks like MS knows what they are doing. Excited for this new MS.
RIP Google Docs. If MS truly does give away the Web editions of MS office, then it’s game over for Google.
I notice its still got that ribon menu that slows a lot of us down.
Why? I really like Ribbon. For me it is most innovative user interface change that I had come across.
+1
++
+++
+3, ribbon is really nice, though most are used to the old interface
‘Innovative’ != ‘better’…for me at least (and a fair number of people I’ve helped out using newer versions of Office), the Ribbon adds an extra layer of complexity and unnecessary clicking and finding. I have organizational problems anyway, and the Ribbon combined with Vista/7’s pointless graphics would make me 100% unable to do anything. Another reason to use OpenOffice- the UI always makes sense. MS as usual tried to make things simpler and more organized and ended up making it the opposite.
Microsoft spent millions on R&D and testing of the ribbon and while some people can’t accept change most people find it easier to use once they use it a bit. Some of the best features in Word for instance are the hover options to change fonts images etc. Although that doesn’t rely on the ribbon all of it works together quite nicely. Most tasks with the ribbon can be done in much less steps than versions before.
On another note I have never used or wanted to use these types of apps online and know very few people using the Google apps. I happen to like running my apps locally and don’t need a Cloud to do it….
Seems to be great !
Why Office 2010 releasing next year?
because by then they don’t have to worry abt supporting IE6.
Why Office 2010 releasing next year?
because by then they don’t have to worry abt supporting IE6.
Demos and videos look great btw. all the best MS; with this competition web-community is to gain most!
Microsoft seems to be stepping up it’s game. This sound like an exciting product.
The real question is, will we see an near bugless release for a change?
But my big question(s) is… Will it require Silverlight? Will it essentially be cripple-ware unless you install Silverlight? Or will they actually step up and keep it Silverlight free?
I just can’t see Microsoft not using this as a hook to get more Silverlight installs. Oh look at our wonderful download numbers because people are just dying to get Silverlight. Not quite.
sigh….with silverlight they can do a lot more stuff than just using plain old javascript. plus, they’re going at it from a 3 screens aproach and silverlight is not out yet for the mobile so I think it will be silverlight independent (or at least some parts will)
@jaysunem : Well, who knows , microsoft might already have sneaked it in without your notice.
I had that surprise a couple of days back.
The features current version of Office is offering are enough for me, except Gmail like email sorting feature in Outlook 2007. If Miicrosoft adds that feature with iCal like Calendar, I will happily pay for the next version otherwise not till I am being forced to.
Outlook 2007 has got iCal support.
It does, and importing iCal feeds into Office is very easy, but synchronising is very slow compared to Google. You *really* don’t want to use Office 2007 if your feeds total 100+ items.
Microsoft seems to be on a roll. These Office web apps will certainly give Google docs a run for their money.
“… aside from internet Explorer” should probably be “… apart from Internet Explorer” (?)
And thanks for the videos, Scoble!
Sparklines/trendlines are not new to Excel 2010. Go back to 2007 and you’ll see the same feature.
I am super excited for this. Thanks!
I am not sure if this is just another marketing stunt like MS did for Bing, full of bell and whistles without significant substance.
For example, I did a search on “suresome.com” which suddenly became popular on twitter, site info can be found on all search engines (google, yahoo, aol, ask…) except on bing, what a crap!
http://www.bing...m=QBRE&qs=n
aol is not a search engine by its own. It is google supported.
LOL. Not sure what you did. But it found it fine for me. Perhaps you are just brainwashed.