Office Web apps: More Office, cooperative, other devices

Microsoft has a fully equipped, inclusive approach to productivity that spans platforms, devices, browser, online and offline experiences. After more than two decades delivering worldwide known and we are incredibly proud of the fact that more than 1 billion people around the world have selected trusted productivity tools, Office use.

When we launched the Office Web apps 2010, they were companions on the Office desktop experience, light that enables on-the-go content creation and validation. Then have we a number of investments in Office Web apps make it easier for the people cooperate, the documents and access to Office content from virtually any device.

As we think about how people communicate and we work today and how their needs in the future will develop, want to share our plans for some of the investments we make in the Office Web apps in the next year and beyond.

Our goal is to provide that people rely on to polished Office documents from beginning to end, to create all of the Web Office Web apps. Since we first launched Office Web apps, have advanced browser technologies and speeds and the development infrastructure is mature, make fast on the Web a better platform for the construction of Office and more innovations on the Web. With these improvements, we are better able to deliver a comprehensive productivity experience with the Office Web apps.

Our aim is to realize an Office experience on the Web, we invest in three areas: ease of use, wide cross-platform browser support, social and cooperation. You'll see that the introduction of a set of capabilities, collaboration in the cloud, giving us new real time implementation to facilitate experience and editing features of more devices.

We tend to see the consistent customer feedback, the next functions must have to consider the people for their Office experience. We have prioritized functions, which make it easier for work on the Internet, even things as simple as adding from search and replace in Word Web app to improve the overall experience of acceleration start times and thus simplifies file management. While we an Office experience on the desktop to deliver, Office Web apps offer yet another option for Office customers to be more productive. With these changes you get uncompromising productivity anytime, anywhere, that you want to work.

The Office Web apps also serve as our customers use an important connection point between the Office and the expanding array. We can use Office content access to and from your device of choice by cross-browser on the device, where Office support tools is not available or installed. The full power of the Office Web apps is available already for Windows 8 tablets and iPads and we are the same capabilities expand on Android tablets mobile chrome-browser support.

Today, we have the implementation functions in Office Web apps and the Office desktop applications, with multiple editors can work at the same time in a single document. Cooperation is very flexible, so that they work together at the same time if all of them are online, or even if you are working offline, while maintaining the rich formatting and design your document and to ensure that users on top of each other to edit does not.

Since the introduction of the first co-authoring in the Office Web apps, we have seen a growing demand for more fluid and dynamic collaboration capabilities when you work online. We were ll real-time presence in the Office Web apps, so all editors, the file automatically and edits of others see as they happen, without having to update. This is a subtle change, but to allow a big improvement of against richer collaboration.

We have started to deliver the PowerPoint Web application where user changes almost now see each other. You can see in action in the video below, or try it yourself with your presentations in SkyDrive or SharePoint online stored. In the next few months you will see PowerPoint web app has received even faster and real-time implementation support in other Office Web apps.

Improve through the construction of more Office Tools for the Web experience on our collaboration and commitment to broad browser support customers can easily to use Office on the Web on your desktop. While the entire process your feedback will help inform, how we prioritize future capabilities and improvements to the Office experience. Working with you is important, as we on our journey, to put Office into the cloud to begin next chapter. Share your thoughts in the comments here or via our customer feedback tool within the Office Web apps.

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Review: Daemon Tools USB lets you access and share your remote USB devices

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Daemon Tools made a name for themselves with simple, no-nonsense optical drive emulation software that allows your disk libraries to go from cake boxes filled with silver platters to immediately accessible disk images stored on your hard drive. While commercial upgrades have appeared over the years, the free version retained most of the handy features and became a staple power user's tool. The company's focus has barely shifted over the years, with variations on platform support and paid features as the only real changes since the first version of Daemon Tools rolled out. Their latest product, Daemon Tools USB ($7, 20-day free trial), is a modest attempt to move away from the emulation business with a utility that allows remote access to USB-connected devices as if they were plugged in locally.

Shareable USB devices appear in the Local tab.

The ambitions here are modest and comfortably met. By running a copy of the software on a host system, you gain access to USB-connected devices such as thumb drives, printers and hard disks on other systems also running Daemon Tools USB. You can specify passwords and configure custom port numbers and proxy servers, so security (if not particularly robust security) is provided.

The interface is a model of simplicity, but this is less of a compliment than a consequence of its singular purpose. Access speed is swift and reliable under most circumstances, although this is largely dictated by network bandwidth. Despite its simplicity, I still had trouble accessing a few devices, such as a SanDisk portable USB drive that refused to allow remote access, while others worked perfectly.

Preferences are sparse, but Daemon Tools USB does support proxies and custom port numbers.

The interface is a tabbed window that allows you to specify and configure local USB devices for sharing and to access remote devices you've added to your server list. Under most circumstances, simply sharing the same device over a network via the normal OS route would duplicate this functionality.

There are a few scenarios that Daemon Tools USB simplifies, however. Printers and webcams often require a direct USB connection for access to management software, for example. Daemons Tools USB is a good fit for these situations. Not too many people need to share devices under those circumstances, however.

Server lists provide access to your remotely connected devices.

This brings up the next problem: price. While $7 doesn't seem a lot of money, Daemon Tools USB doesn't do much. Sure, it's just the price of two cups of coffee at Starbucks, but I like coffee and enjoy it every day. I doubt I could say the same about a $7 investment in Daemon Tool USB. I'm sure there are people out there looking for the solution this software provides; I just haven't met them yet. That makes the price a bit of stretch, especially since no free modes of use exist beyond the 20-day initial trial.

If this software appeals to you, you likely already know about it, although that doesn't make the cost any less irksome. Workarounds exist for almost every usage scenario this utility covers. For the rest of us, it's the answer to a question no one asked.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

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Really want to do some winter cleaning? Switch to Outlook.com for the best email experience across all your devices

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

We were very surprised to see Gmail announce last week that they'll soon end support for Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), unless of course you're willing to pay Google for your email.  It means that many people currently using Gmail for free are facing a situation where they might have to degrade their mobile email experience by downgrading to an older protocol that doesn't sync your calendar or contacts, doesn't give you direct push of new email messages and doesn't have all the benefits of Exchange ActiveSync.

So if you want a better email, especially on your phone or tablet, it's time to join the millions who have already made the choice to upgrade to Outlook.com.

To learn more about how to get started with Outlook.com, check out the technical spec for Exchange ActiveSync in Exchange 2013 just follow these simple steps:

To learn more about setting up Outlook.com on your mobile device, see our simple instructions here.

  

For those still on the fence, a quick introduction to why EAS is so important for a seamless experience across devices could be helpful. There are many protocols for sending and receiving email.  POP and IMAP were designed decades ago, were considered state-of-the-art at the time, and are still used by millions of people.  Both were created before mobile phones really even existed.  To have a great email experience in 2012, a protocol needs to do more than just send and receive messages on a PC.  It needs to work really well on a variety of mobile devices, to sync not only email but also your calendar and contacts, to do this automatically, and in a way that preserves battery life.

Exchange ActiveSync was first introduced in 2002 as a way to help you have a great mobile email experience. Since then, it has continued to improve, with a number of optimizations specifically for mobile devices, including tablets:

Designed around Direct Push of information so a device can be updated in near real-time when an email is received - so you can get notified when there's new email instead of having to constantly check manually. Unlike IMAP or POP, EAS also syncs calendars and contacts.Setup is much easier because EAS supports AutoDiscover so you don't have to remember and type server names; instead, you simply type in an email address and password to set up a new device over-the-air.Built with bandwidth and battery life as key design considerations; for example, sync requests are bundled for all folder syncs in order to optimize the amount of battery required

You can read more about these innovations and a whole host of other nitty-gritty details in the history of Exchange ActiveSync.  It's because of these advanced consumer benefits that many devices choose to natively support Exchange ActiveSync-whether that's a Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, or even a number of Android devices.  You can see more detail in this chart of some of the other devices that support EAS. 

We hope you have a wonderful winter holiday. As you enter the New Year, we encourage you to seize the opportunity to upgrade your mail to a service that puts the consumer first and gives you a great mobile email experience. 

 --Dharmesh Mehta, Senior Director, Product Management

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Incorporating Tablets and Mobile Devices Into Your Creative Process

 

Before the announcement of our Adobe Touch Apps, we asked our Creative Suite Ambassador Group* how they use tablets or mobile devices during the creative process, and what they hope to see from tablets and mobile devices in the future. We wanted to share some responses below, and would love for you to weigh in by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.  Also, check out the video above of Creative Director Brian Yap talking about how he sees tablet apps enhancing his workflow.

“I use my phone to take pictures of things that are interesting, creative, or inspiring. This way I have an ever-changing source of inspiration in the form of a photo album. When I purchase an iPad I plan to use it to sketch out quick ideas and rough drafts when I’m on the go or away from my workspace.”

- Joe Weber

“I use my iPad mostly for research. I’ll search the web, and view content related to my project. I use my iPad… [to explore] how content is designed, and how well the interface and interactivity has been developed for the user.”

- Joseph Caserto

“I’ve recently displayed my portfolio on my iPad. Fabulous! When I teach I use the iPad to often draft class notes, research on the web [and] test out demonstration ideas.”

- Joy Makon

“I keep a portfolio of images of my work in my media folder on the BlackBerry so I can show potential clients my work or take them directly to a website I have designed.”

- Cathy Rudd

So, how do you use tablets and mobiles in the creative process? Which Adobe Touch Apps are you looking forward to exploring?

*Note: Our Creative Suite Ambassador Group is currently a closed community. We will evaluate future opportunities to open the group. For those interested in joining, please stay tuned for more updates on group openings.

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More buzz from BUILD – Developers get their devices!

I just got back from the Anaheim Convention Center where I got to see thousands of developers receiving their Samsung prototype PC with Windows 8 Developer Preview.

   

Christian Loredo, John Tobin, Johnny Gabbai where the first 3 people in line for their devices and got a special surprise: Steven Sinofsky stopped by personally to hand them their PCs. Not only that, but Steven also signed their boxes!

  

After the developers picked up their devices, they had an option of picking up a completely custom laptop sleeve made from recycled banners from past Microsoft events that are specifically designed and fitted for these PCs.

I have to say that it was absolutely incredible to see such excitement from everyone as they unboxed their devices.

Speaking of unboxing, Mike Angiulo, Corporate Vice President of Hardware & PC Ecosystem, stopped by Channel 9 earlier to do an unboxing of the device with Larry Larsen. Check out the unboxing video below:

I can’t wait to see the kinds of apps developers make for Windows 8!

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Revised - Adobe Flex and Connected devices for Customer Experience Management (TC)

Revised – Adobe Flex and Connected devices for Customer Experience Management (TC) « Joseph Lee function clearSearch() {document.search_form.s.value = "";} .recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 !important;}adobe.com      Joseph Lee / Revised – Adobe Flex and Connected devices for Customer Experience Management (TC)by Joseph Lee  

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