14 DAY TRIAL // With the latest development milestone of the next-generation Office System, there’s no longer a gap between the availability of the testing build for the client-side productivity suite and the Cloud-based version of the main components of Office 2010. On November 19th, 2009, the release of Office 2010 Beta Build 14.0.4536.1000 coincided with that of Office Web Apps Beta. Early adopters that have followed the evolution of Office 2007’s successor closely already know that this wasn’t the case with the launch of the previous testing releases for Office 2010 and Office Web Apps.
In fact, this time around, Microsoft offered testers access to Office Web Apps Beta, even before the public download links for Build 14.0.4536.1000 went live. According to the Redmond company, the first Beta Build of Office Web Apps went live on November 17th, 2009 on the Microsoft Download Center, a couple of days ahead of Office 2010 Beta. The Technical Preview of Office 2010 preceded that of Office Web Apps by almost two months, but it looks like Microsoft managed to catch up.
“In September, we announced the Tech Preview of the Office Web Apps on Windows Live. As you may know, the Office Web Apps on Windows Live are free online companions to applications like Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint that let you access, edit and share Microsoft Office documents from virtually anywhere,” a member of Windows Live revealed.
Users that have already tested Office Web Apps have done so in Windows Live SkyDrive, or via Office directly. Functionality for the Office 2010 components in the Cloud is limited in comparison with their client-side counterparts, and users are only allowed to create, edit, store, and share documents, for the most part.
Office Web Apps come in two flavors, addressing different audiences. Microsoft is delivering a free, but ad-supported variant for home users. But, in addition, it is also making available a version for companies that are looking for an equivalent to Google Docs and Spreadsheets.
“Microsoft Office Web Apps are new web-based tools that extend the Microsoft Office 2010 experience to your browser. Office Web Apps enable you to view, do light editing, and share your Office documents from virtually anywhere. With these online companions to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote you’ll always have the tools you need, wherever you are,” Microsoft revealed. “Business customers licensed for Microsoft Office 2010 through a Volume Licensing program can run Office Web Apps on-premises on a server running Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. For consumers, Office Web Apps are available on Windows Live as a free, ad-supported service.”
According to Microsoft, Office Web Apps can be accessed and used from not only Windows, but also Mac OS X and Linux, using the following browsers: IE7 and IE8 on Windows, Safari 4 and greater on Mac OS X and Firefox 3.5 and greater on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Office Web Apps Beta is available for download here.