

Microsoft Office under fire - ideas101
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2495951.ece

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jimbokun
""We think the future is going to be software plus services," Darren Strange,
senior product manager for Microsoft Office, said. "There are some things
which thick client [Microsoft's favoured model, where PCs are linked to a
central server but can operate independently] is better at than [web-based
services] X offline use being a big one."

The need for off-line access to data is shrinking every day. Many people
simply can't do their job without a network connection.

"You also can't create the richness of an application like Word through a thin
client [where a user's PC is effectively a dumb terminal and the processing of
data is done elsewhere]".

Why not? Maybe not today, but next year, five years from now? Items get
checked off the "can't do that in a browser" list every day.

"Our smartest people are looking at mash-ups [where several online tools are
fused together to create new ones] and web 2.0-type applications [which focus
on online tools that allow users to collaborate and share information]".

They're just LOOKING INTO mash-ups and Web 2.0 applications now? Isn't the
industry looking for a Web 3.0 model already?

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hello_moto
I haven't seen anyone challenging a market where Microsoft practically own
except in the browser market (i.e. Firefox).

Journalist/blogger should write stuff about Microsoft when there is something
growing fast against it, not when some company purchase Zimbra.

Have Yahoo! ever done anything right integrating stuff they bought?

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ideas101
Google should tie-up with biggies like HP, IBM, Best buys etc. and give their
apps on CD for free - this will increase the awareness and potential, also
they should add a tool for automatic synchronization between docs on the hard
disk and google doc website, this way user can have a backup copy and they can
work off-line while they are on the go.

