Yesterday, I blogged about Sabeer Bhatia’s plan to launch something bigger than Hotmail. I had an inclination that to-be-launched product will be something like Zoho or Google Apps and voila, that’s what it is!
Sabeer Bhatia is getting complete Microsoft Office 2007 online.
Companies like Google Apps and Zoho are already revolutionizing this space, and with Sabeer Bhatia launching his online Office suite, It is finally nail in the coffin for Desktop Office 2007.
Its very simple now- If you are getting exactly the same application on Internet for free, why will anyone shell out $400 for a same desktop application?
Here are some of the highlights of Office live Documents:
- Access your documents on the web or on the desktop
- View and edit your documents from anywhere at any time in your browser in a rich user interface that provides the functionality and responsiveness that you expect in your familiar desktop applications.
- Use your existing desktop Office application (Microsoft Office currently and shortly Open Office) as a smart client that permits offline access to your document – the next time you go online, Live Documents automatically synchronizes all changes to ensure that there is a single version of the truth.
Here is the most interesting stuff:
Did you see the branding done for Live Documents ?
It is clearly a strategy for Microsoft buy-out. Using Live (the new avatar of Microsoft) name, the same icons and pushing it as Office online- without being affiliated to Microsoft.
Live Documents has every stamp of “Made by Microsoft”, although in reality it has been developed by bunch of engineers in Bangalore for Instacoll.
Here is a disclaimer on Instacoll site:
Statutory Disclaimer: While our products are built primarily around the Microsoft Office suite, Microsoft Corporation was not involved in any way in the development of these solutions and does not endorse them in any formal way.
(Note: That said, since Sabeer Bhatia is a co-founder, a very small part of the millions that he received from Microsoft for Hotmail.com funded our development efforts – so thank you Microsoft!).
Microsoft will buy out live documents within next couple of months ! Wanna bet ??
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Ya, the website suspiciously looks too similar to something by Microsoft. Also live.com is a microsoft search website. and to have a website that is named as something like live-documents.com looks suspicious …hehehe
anyway 3 cheers to Sabeer Bhatia. Hope he comes out with another blockbuster soon.
Philip…like I mentioned, Sabeer has created this purely targeting at take-over by Microsoft. He knows too very well about how Microsoft operates and acquisition is not very far…
Its not in public beta yet … i guess we shouldn’t read too much into it till sabeer opens it up lets people see what he’s got ….
Binny…I hope people see it before Microsoft gulps it down ;)
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/10/office-live-workspace-beta-finally-goes-live-still-needs-work/
Now what will live-documents do ?
Binny….but it is no more a fancy tinymce editor !
I don’t know why microsoft can’t just come up with decent products…they are always half baked..
The only product till date that I like of Microsoft is Live writer…It is probably the best !
hi
plz any one help me to provide guide for ms office2007. its very important. plz help me. ms excel is important for me.
Well I would like to see a fellow Indian, Sabeer, prosper when MS acquires Live-Documents. But I am not that sure if and when it will happen.
nearly 1.5 years later – I just tried it out – looks like shit – a flash app …you’ve gotta be kidding me…while MS has really released Office Live and there are non-flash html versions floating around. Disappointed!
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