Ron Schenone

Is Microsoft Feeling The Heat From The Attacks On MS Office?

Posted by on Sep 22, 2007 | 9 Comments

Microsoft Office is a cash cow for he folks up at Redmond, WA., and they have had a corner on the market with little interference from outsiders. That was then and this is now. Seems like everyone is getting into the act and coming up with some rival products. These products were once confined mainly to those who used Linux with a sprinkling of Windows user here and there.

First it was Google who cut some type of a deal with Sun to begin offering Star Office for free. Google started offering this in their Google Pack of toys. Google also came out with their doc, spreadsheet and now presentation apps. also available for free for online use.

Now IBM has jumped into the fray offering Open Office under the rebranded Lotus name. IBM has sought shelter by taking advantage of Open Office which is free to all under the GPL – General Public License.

Now you have to wonder. Why is it that all of a sudden everyone wants to be a player in the Office suite of products? One can conclude it has to do with money. Microsoft makes countless billions with their Office products. But maybe it is something else. For IBM is could be that they still feel the sting of OS/2 that was warped off the planet when Microsoft dumped the project and left IBM holding the bag. For Google it could be that this is their way to stick a pin in the Microsoft voodoo doll they made and to see if it will bleed or not.

Or are there other reasons? What do you think?

Comments welcome.

[tags]microsoft, ibm, open source, online apps, [/tags]

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  • tom Barta

    MSFT doesn’t fell any pressure now, or they’d be selling Office at fire sale prices. I think we need to see more IT DOS-bred, Luddite dinosaurs hit retirement before Enterprise starts moving towards the 21st Century.

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  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Tom,
    Thanks for the comments.
    Ron

  • IvanOffalich

    From my personal experience, using M$ Orfice is like trying to pull teeth. I switched to Open Office a couple of years ago and haven’t looked back. M$’s products do all kinds of annoying automated things that are nowhere near what I needed to do. In fact most of the time, Orfice did the exact opposite of what I wanted to do. Hours of lost productivity. Although I’m not a fan of litigation, I would love to see a class-action suit where everyone in the country (or even the world) bills M$ for years of lost productivity time.

    I work at a college that I also attend. All the computers have Orfice on them. I’ve lost count of how many students have gotten lower grades on their papers due to these automated changes, or the terrible grammar suggestions the program gives. (I have yet to see it suggest a correct substitution.)

    Add to the mix the fact that Orfice is vulnerable to exploits, and it makes you wonder if all these alternative programs aren’t simply a result of people being fed up with Orfice and demanding an alternative.

    More than likely it’s about the money, as Ron mentioned.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello IvanOffalich,

    Thanks for the comments.

    Ron

  • Jeremy

    I can relate to Ivan, while I love the university I attend, I hate the fact that they shove microsoft office products down our throats. Hell one of our homework assignments was to upgrade our copy of MS Office…blech…

  • Uris

    I agree with Tom Barta. Ms is not feeling the heat. Many of these products are only focused in competing and mimicking Ms Office.

    Why not focus their attention in making their products great?We know Ms Office,give us more,not what’s already out,then I’ll consider them.

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