Tag Archives | ZDNet

Office 15 is On the Way (and That’s All We Know)

Posted by Harry McCracken on January 30, 2012 at 12:57 pm

As ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports, Microsoft has announced that it’s begun a technical preview of Office 15, the next version of its suite. That means that work is progressing on the product, and it doesn’t seem unreasonable to guess that the company hopes to have it out this year. But the news doesn’t bring any official details whatsoever:

Microsoft officials are not commenting on the features in any part of Office 15; on the planned release-to-manufacturing (RTM) or general availability date; or on whether the technical preview will include a version of Office that will work on Windows 8 on ARM. (I asked about all of these.) Update: Also, for those asking, we also have no idea on platform-support specifics — such as whether this preview also encompasses the rumored Office for iPad; and whether it includes a separate non-touch-centric Office 15 update for those not using tablets/touch-enabled laptops.

I hope that Microsoft is working on an ambitious touch-centric version of Office for Windows 8. It would be odd if it wasn’t. But I’m not sure what the implications will be–is it even possible to create a touch version of Excel that will please a spreadsheet jockey?–and look forward to hearing what Microsoft has to say when it’s ready to talk.

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Windows 8: A Note of Skepticism

Posted by Harry McCracken on December 5, 2011 at 10:21 am

As ZDNet’s Mary-Jo Foley reports, IDC thinks that Windows 8 will be “largely irrelevant” to users of conventional PCs, at least in 2012. The company is probably talking about corporate users more than consumers, but it does raise an interesting question which nobody can answer yet: Are real people going to be excited by the prospect of using the simplified Metro interface with a keyboard and a mouse?

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The Nation’s Windows 8 Newspaper

Posted by Harry McCracken on August 26, 2011 at 9:41 am

Hey, a preview of USA Today’s Windows 8 app over at ZDNet:

So far, all we’ve seen of applications utilizing Windows 8’s new user interface is what Microsoft has publicly demonstrated. But now, just 2-and-a-half weeks away from Microsoft’s BUILD conference, I’ve managed to unearth a couple of portfolios showcasing the first Windows 8 apps to be seen in the wild by 3rd party, non-Microsoft entities — one of them, being from USA Today.

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Googmoto: The Optimist’s View

Posted by Harry McCracken on August 15, 2011 at 3:53 pm

ZDNet’s Larry Dignan has six reasons why Google buying Motorola makes sense. Here’s one of ’em:

And Android boxes in Nokia and RIM. With Motorola, which has some enterprise credibility and Android innovations, Google can enter the enterprise easier. As a result, RIM increasingly looks like the odd man out. Nokia is already under fire as it waits for Windows Phone 7 to gain traction. RIM is betting on QNX as an operating system. Google is indicating that the wireless market is a two-platform race. And those two horses are going to be Android and iOS.

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Good Grief!

Posted by Harry McCracken on February 2, 2009 at 8:09 am

ZDNetIt’s Monday morning, and I’m blushing: Over at ZDNet, Jason Hiner has posted a list of “The Ten Best Techies Worth Following on Twitter.” It includes eight folks who I follow, one who I didn’t know about (but will add to my list), and….me. At #1. I’m startled and honored. And I’ll try to rip off Jason’s idea soon by providing a list here of some of the tech Twitterers who I find consistently intelligent, interesting, and entertaining.

People who haven’t quite figured out Twitter yet sometimes ask me why I spend so much time on it, and the answer, of course, is because it’s fun. I Tweet mostly to amuse myself–but this is a fabulous egoboost. Thanks, Jason!

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