Microsoft Challenges Google On Web Services
Bill Gates gave demonstrations of Windows Live and Office Live to journalists in San Francisco today, as the 30-year-old software company tries to show it isn't quite ready to be pushed aside by Google.
Back when Sun and Google were disappointing reporters and fans of all things anti-Microsoft with their collaboration press conference, Microsoft was working on making available the type of hosted services many expected to see from Google.
Instead of an online version of OpenOffice, Eric Schmidt and Scott McNealy exchanged trinkets. Today, Gates and Microsoft CTO Ray Ozzie unveiled two new web services, Windows Live and Office Live.
Anyone who has been experimenting with Start.com will see similarities in Windows Live. Attendees of PDC 2005 in September will note the use of Microsoft Gadgets, which debuted during the conference.
These gadgets provide various bits of functionality to Windows Live. Beta testers can sign up for a mail account that works through the Live beta, or access an existing Hotmail account.
The various features work well and show a few good programmers still dwell within the Redmond campus. Lots of Ajax usage deliver content within the Live beta without doing a full page refresh. As more users encounter Ajax-powered pages, they're going to come to expect to see more of them on sites everywhere.
Microsoft's real stake in the ongoing competition with Google will be Office Live. That service won't be available until early 2006, but Microsoft is taking applications for beta testers now.
It wouldn't be Microsoft, though, if the company didn't have huge aspirations for its project. Its Live services give it a connection to users on multiple fronts, as the Chief Software Architect noted in a release:
"These new offerings demonstrate how software is evolving through the power of services in ways that enable more dynamic and relevant experiences for people," Gates said. "Our goal is to make Windows, Office and Xbox further come alive for our customers at work, home and play."
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