desktop applications

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it plans to finally allow the crown jewels of its applications -- the Microsoft Office suite -- to be delivered through Web browsers.

The announcement was made at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Microsoft Business Division, said Office Web will allow users to employ lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote to create, edit and collaborate with Office documents through a Web browser.

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it plans to finally allow the crown jewels of its applications -- the Microsoft Office suite -- to be delivered through Web browsers.

The announcement was made at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Microsoft Business Division, said Office Web will allow users to employ lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote to create, edit and collaborate with Office documents through a Web browser.

The Mono project has just released Version 2.0 of its open-source implementation of Microsoft's .NET framework. Mono is both a runtime environment for applications and a kit for developers writing applications with C, as well as other Common Language Infrastructure languages developed by the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA).

Though Mono's early use was mostly on Linux desktop applications, over time it has evolved into a cross-platform environment for software developers, noted Miguel de Icaza, cofounder of the GNOME project.

Yahoo officially announced its geo-social network, Fire Eagle, late Tuesday. The system has been in private beta since March with selected developers, and already hosts a raft of third-party applications.

Fire Eagle allows users to store their location data on the Web for access by any network service. For example, wireless users can upload their location and share it with family, friends or colleagues. It could make short work of finding someone in a crowded venue.

Yahoo calls Fire Eagle a "geo-aware" platform.

News that Google and Salesforce.com are forging closer ties reignited speculation that the two companies are destined for deeper collaboration -- if not a merger.

On Apr. 14, software maker Salesforce.com said it would begin distributing Google Apps, Web-based programs designed to help companies be more productive. Salesforce.com will also weave the Google technology into its own customer relationship management applications to make it a snap to jump from, say, a Google Spreadsheet program to a Salesforce customer-tracking application.

Business User Appeal