I wanted to try out the Microsoft Office online as I think this is the first time Micorsoft is giving a try out facility for its office products online. Microsoft is so much succumbed to its propreitary theory that when you try out the office online demo in your Firefox browser, you are shown the message that, the demo can only be viewed only in Internet Explorer 6.0 or later version.
In order to use Microsoft Office Live, you will need to have Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later running on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Microsoft Windows Server 2003. You can download the latest version of Internet Explorer from the Internet Explorer downloads page.
Keen on seeing the demo I closed down Firefox and opened it in Internet Explorer and I was shocked to see what was in front of my eyes. Just see the image and you will know what I am pointing out at. The office online was built on a Java applet! I never had expected to see a Java applet on Microsoft’s site.
Building it in Flash is understandable, since it also relies on the same propreitary theory like Microsoft but having built the Office Online on a Java applet one would expect it to run independent of the browser type, but making it exclusive only to Internet Explorer is one weird strategy that Microsoft has incorporated.
Bookmark / Share this post:
January 21, 2007 at 12:53 am
I think that is the Citrix client. I don’t think they have a flash or WPF/e version.
January 21, 2007 at 10:13 am
Definitively it is a citrix client. But none the less it is very interesting how they used remote desktop tech to show the demo on-line.
January 21, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Whatever they have done, their offlice Live will still beat all of their competitor’s. I can bet on this. They are giants and they know how to succeed.