Web Apps do Microsoft Office 2010 serão grátis

Depois do anúncio inicial, os futuros web apps do Microsoft Office
(algo parecido com o Google Docs) meio que caíram fora do radar. Ontem recebemos confirmação de que a suíte online será gratuita e que os
testes semi-privados do Office 2010 começariam no mesmo dia.

Com alternativas grátis ou baratas do Google, Zoho, Apple e Adobe, a
Microsoft realmente não teve muita escolha no tocante ao preço. Ou
seria grátis, ou seria um fracasso. E sem dúvida os web apps, que
incluem Word, PowerPoint, Excel e OneNote, serão de graça para qualquer
um que tiver uma Conta Live (e se você usa o MSN
como todo mundo, você já tem uma). A julgar pela solitária screenshot
acima, o objetivo é competir diretamente com o que as outras empresas oferecem em termos de funções — só esperamos que se diferencie por lidar melhor com formatação complexa.

Este anúncio veio junto com o de que a suíte normal, de desktop (mostrada acima) chegou ao estágio
de “Technical Preview”, e que será disponibilizada para testes, por
convite, para dezenas de milhares de usuários — quem não for convidado
sempre pode sucumbir ao lado Torrent da Força. [Microsoft]

Office 2010 Hits Major Milestone and Enters Technical Preview
Microsoft showcases new product capabilities and announces Office Web
applications will be available to nearly half a billion people at
launch.

NEW ORLEANS, La. – July 13, 2009 – Today, at its Worldwide Partner
Conference, Microsoft Corp. announced Office 2010, SharePoint Server
2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010 have reached the technical preview
engineering milestone. Starting today, tens of thousands of people will
be invited to test Office and Visio as part of the Technical Preview
program.
“Office 2010 is the premiere productivity solution across PCs, mobile
phones and browsers,” said Chris Capossela, senior vice president,
Microsoft Business Division. “From broadcast and video editing in
PowerPoint, new data visualization capabilities in Excel and
co-authoring in Word, we are delivering technology to help people work
smarter and faster from any location using any device.”
Office 2010 and related products will deliver innovative capabilities
and provide new levels of flexibility and choice that will help people:

? Work anywhere with Office Web applications?the lightweight, Web
browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote-that provide
access to documents from anywhere and preserve the look and feel of a
document regardless of device.

? Better Collaborate with co-authoring in Word, PowerPoint and
OneNote, and advanced email management and calendaring capabilities in
Outlook, including the option to “ignore” unwanted threads.

? Bring ideas to life with video and picture editing, broadcast
capability in PowerPoint, easy document preparation through the new
Microsoft Office Backstage view, and new Sparklines in Excel to
visualize data and spot trends more quickly;

Microsoft also announced that it is streamlining the number of
Office editions from eight to five and enhancing each edition with
additional applications and features. The company also announced that
Office Web applications will be available in three ways: through
Windows Live, where more than 400 million consumers will have access to
Office Web applications at no cost; on-premises for the more than 90
million Office annuity customers; and via Microsoft Online Services,
where customers will be able to purchase a subscription as part of a
hosted offering.
Partner Opportunities:
Microsoft also is preparing partners for the release of Office 2010 and
SharePoint Server 2010 through a number of new and refreshed readiness
tools and training programs. These include: the Ignite program for
SharePoint, Office and Exchange; Business Productivity Infrastructure
Optimization (BPIO) University; Masters and Architect Certification for
SharePoint; new Partner Business Productivity Online Services features
and distributor model; and, Exchange 2010 Readiness Webcast Series and
Demo Showcase. More information on these programs can be found at: http://partner.microsoft.com/businessproductivity

Availability:
All Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference attendees will receive
invitations to participate in the Technical Preview program. Microsoft
Office 2010 and related products will be available in the first half of
2010. More information about Office 2010 can be found at www.microsoft.com/Office2010.