Web Worker Daily

To coincide with the release of the desktop Office 2010 beta, Microsoft is finally embracing the web office with today’s release of Microsoft Office 2010 Web Apps beta, a web version of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote that augments or even replaces the desktop version of Microsoft Office.

With Google and Zoho adding new features and winning customers from the venerable Microsoft Office suite, putting Office on the web is a move that is long overdue. It has the potential to offer users a better way to collaborate with their employers, clients and project teams. Read the rest of this entry »

As of today, Microsoft Office 2010 has officially left Technical Preview and is now in public beta, meaning that anybody can download it and take it for a spin. I was able to get an early look at the beta and want to relay some of the changes you can expect in this upcoming release. Microsoft is really stepping up its game with this release, and even though there are scattered reports of performance issues, I am not seeing them on my Vista test machine.

We covered the release of the Office 2010 Technical Preview and the Office Web Apps Technical Preview. This beta smooths out some rough edges in the Technical Preview releases and adds some new features: Read the rest of this entry »

My recent post “5 Web Office Considerations: Beyond the Buzz” garnered some thought-provoking comments, which got me pondering on the proper place for the web office suite (whether it is ThinkFree, Zoho or Google Apps) in today’s world.

As a technical writer by trade, I have fairly strong opinions as to how a web office suite can fit into the workflow of a team publishing moderately complex documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. I do believe that a web office suite and Microsoft Office don’t have to be “natural enemies in the wild” and can coexist to offer web workers, their employers, and their clients the best possible document authoring, publishing and collaborative working solution.

This post is going to dive into some things web workers should consider in a mixed Microsoft Office/web office environment, and in environments where multiple web office suites are used. Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft collaboration software is the typical corporate tool of choice, which, by extension, means that the Windows version of Microsoft Office was the office productivity suite of choice. However, a recent update to Microsoft Office 2008 for the Mac now enables Mac users to access both Microsoft SharePoint sites and Office Live Workspace.

While many may consider SharePoint to be not exactly “Mac friendly” just yet, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Read the rest of this entry »

Many users have a love/hate relationship with Microsoft Outlook — it’s the standard email and calendaring application in many organizations, yet it often doesn’t enable them to work as productively as they’d like, spawning a veritable cottage industry of add-ins.

The Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview shows that Outlook 2010 will include a number of productivity-boosting enhancements that should appeal to a wide cross-section of users, from the novice to the seasoned pro. Here are my top five productivity enhancements in Outlook 2010.

Backstage View. Personally, I think the addition of the Backstage View in Office 2010 applications sets a new level of application accessibility and usability, especially in Outlook 2010. Clicking on the Office button gives you access to Outlook settings and account information, including account settings, automatic replies to email, mailbox cleanup, and rules. Bringing all this information into one interface should be a boon to productivity, since users will no longer have to hunt around for management features in various Outlook menus. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, the Web was abuzz with news of the Microsoft Office Web Apps launching to a limited number of users. I’ve been following developments in the web office applications sector for a while now and have been waiting to see how Microsoft would do an online version of Office, so spent yesterday putting the Technical Preview through its paces.

It’s important to note that this first release is a Technical Preview (only the Excel Web App and PowerPoint Web Apps have close to full functionality). However, what I have seen shows a lot of potential for Office Web Apps, even with the present limitations. This post looks at how this beta stacks up against the Office 2010 Technical Preview (the desktop suite), Google Apps and Zoho Business.
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When the Office 2010 Technical Preview was announced, Microsoft said that it also would be making web app versions of the Office suite available. My early excitement was tempered somewhat when I realized that the web apps would not be released simultaneously with the Office 2010 Technical Preview and I’d have to wait to try them out. Well, starting today, Microsoft will start gradually rolling out Office Web Apps Technical Preview (beta) invitations to selected customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Most web workers have have stories of struggling to send large files around to their geographically-dispersed project team with the inevitable choking of network bandwidth. Even while online collaboration tools like SharePoint are used in many organizations, it’s almost impossible to escape emailing large Microsoft Office documents to co-workers and clients.

Recently, Balesio introduced FILEminimizer Office, a shareware Outlook add-in promising a staggering — and, frankly, hard to believe — “up to 98 percent” file compression solution, including embedded objects and pictures, with no need for unzipping software or proprietary tools. While many web workers may still use the venerable WinZip to compress files before emailing them, or use web apps like YouSendIt and DropBox to host their files, FILEmininimizer Office might offer an easy to use, integrated solution. But does it achieve that lofty claim of 98 percent compression? Read the rest of this entry »