Yes that title was fantastically lame, get over it. Here at BGR, we fully embrace anything and everything that takes us one step closer to never having to use any Microsoft Office application ever again. That’s right, we said it. In recent history of course, this means embracing the advent of online office suites. At the forefront of the online office suite movement is Google, of course. It wasn’t the first but Google’s suite including documents, spreadsheets and presentations has most certainly been the most widely adopted. Other contenders gaining ground include Zoho and ThinkFree, but none have come anywhere close to displacing the giant. Will Adobe’s offering come any closer? Probably not, but we can dream can’t we? First things first. The UI is pure unadulterated hotness. Based on Flash / Flex, the overall look and feel is awesome, transitions and animations are smooth and it’s very fast on a capable computer. There are a few elements missing though, so let’s have a quick run through:
- Buzzword – A sleek and capable word processor that allows easy collaboration and utilizes an excellent WYSIWYG interface.
- ConnectNow – A very well-constructed web conferencing / whiteboard app that allows real-time interaction; currently limited to three participants.
- Share – A feature-rich and versatile file sharing app; direct shot at offerings such as box.net.
- CreatePDF – Free basic PDF converter limited to five conversions.
- MyFiles – Online personal file storage with a great visual UI and 5 GB of free space.
So a few key elements are missing of course – can you say spreadsheets? This is an early release though and we’ll continue to play with it to see how it develops. The Adobe office suite tools are also accessible using an on-PC app built with Adobe AIR. Do yourself a favor and check it all out.
[Via RWW]
