Maybe a web-based MS Office is what live.com will turn into, or what Google is slowly putting together. Probably both. Smaller ajax-obsessed development firms are getting in on the act as well. Here’s (count ’em) three Excel replacements. I haven’t tried any of them as the thought of signing up for yet another web-based service is… well, not very appealing. Especially for something I already have in Excel. But Office is pricey, so I can see why Google wants in on the action. More room for AdSense! I will say that I appreciate the way Google has (pretty much) one login for all their tools; they’re close to succeeding where Microsoft’s passport service failed.
Is Microsoft worried about the competition? Probably not…and maybe they shouldn’t be. Open Office didn’t exactly put them out of business. I guess that’s the point. MS Office is the standard and may never be replaced*. Web-based software is great… but not for everything. Ask a lawyer to use Writely instead of Word… it ain’t happening.
*Not saying this like its a good thing.