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Microsoft Office 2010 will include slimmed-down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote that let people create and edit documents in a Web browser. The software giant has just unveiled a public beta of the new productivity suite, which adds connectivity to social networking, online collaboration features, and more. Read our full review.![Installing Office]()
Redmond just unveiled the public beta of Office 2010, meaning you can download a limited duration free copy of the software and try it out for yourself.![Jumplists in Windows 7]()
If you're running Windows 7, handy "jumplists" of recently accessed documents and commonly used functions make it easy to work with Microsoft Office.![Send a Smile]()
To gather as much feedback as possible from people testing the beta, Microsoft Office 2010 installs smile and frown icons in your toolbar. Like a feature? Click the smile icon, which takes a screen capture and "sends a smile" to Microsoft.![Share Files Online]()
Microsoft claims you'll be able to create, edit, and simultaneously work on documents without even having a copy of Office installed on your computer. Web versions of the Excel and PowerPoint tools already exist; to use them, save a file from one of the Office 2010 apps directly to SkyDrive, Microsoft's online file storage space. Then visit the file from any browser, anywhere you go, and click the edit button to bring up editing options.![Social Network Connector]()
A new Social Connector feature links Outlook to the world of social networking. It lets you sync contact data with popular social networks, sharing status, pictures of the people on an email thread, shared online documents, and more. Well, it will soon, Microsoft claims. At present, the brand new feature supports only Microsoft's SharePoint servers, and only the 2010 beta version at that.![Integrating Facebook with Outlook]()
E-mails now have a pane that will contain information about the people in a conversation, data pulled either from a Microsoft Exchange or SharePoint server or from social networks like Facebook and MySpace. At present, however, Microsoft hasn't enabled connections to those third-party networks.![Edit Files Online]()
Online Web Apps replicate some of the functionality of the full client programs. If the limited selection of features is all you need, there's no need to buy Microsoft Office 2010 at all.![Broadcast a PowerPoint Presentation]()
Office 2010 Also adds a very neat "broadcast" function for PowerPoint presentations. The feature uploads your presentation to a secure website and gives you a unique URL to it; pass the URL to your friends or colleagues to create an impromptu presentation from wherever you are. It's a very convenient way to collaborate.Microsoft Office 2010 Beta
Microsoft has just unveiled a public beta of the new Office 2010 productivity suite.
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- Microsoft Office 2010 Beta
