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AjaxWrite to "Compete" with MS Word

prostoalex writes "Michael Robertson (of MP3.com, Linspire, SIPPhone, GizmoProject and MP3Tunes.com fame) is launching a Web-only competitor to Microsoft Office by creating a suite of applications replicating Microsoft Office look and feel. From the posting: "But ajaxWrite is just the start. We have a library of applications we have been working on to replace most of the standard PC software titles. Every week we will launch a new sophisticated program on Wednesday at 12:00 PST on ajaxlaunch.com. These programs will push the boundaries of what people believe is possible today with web-delivered software. These programs look and operate much like their traditional software cousins, but are cross-platform, loaded dynamically, and are available to users at no charge. I'm convinced if you try a few of these products you will understand how the software business will fundamentally change." ajaxWrite is the first launched product."

7 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not likely by n9uxu8 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Support for DOC is not good at this point. Open any doc file and watch the simplest format be mangled. Save an Awrite doc file and then open it in word...marvel at the fantasticrapistally mangled doc. Nice idea...needs work...lots of work.

    Dave

  2. Quick review... by carsonc · · Score: 5, Informative

    Quick review... Problems:
    1. spellchecker isn't working yet (there, but grayed out) ...making it useless
    2. I will let you close the window and loose you work without a warning. That's a big minus in my books.
    3. And it's not handling the load from /. very well, it's really slowing down.
    Other that that it looks okay. Like most of the web mail apps from Yahoo and Google. Expect that I like the drop down menus, very intuitive and easy to navigate if you use regular word possessors. They will need to add online storage to make it really useful.

  3. Re:The Power of the Web in your Hand! by Sporkinum · · Score: 4, Informative

    Exactly.. it me be ok for some things, but given the vagaries of the net, you might not be able to rely on it to edit a file. I have the same problem at work with Office delivered VIA Citrix. It will lock up in the middle of editing, or I won't be able to lauch the application. I fixed that problem by installing Open Office.

    --
    "He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
  4. Re:Speechless. by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yet the web has always been lacking in the interface. This application is an amazing glimpse of things to come.

    Sorry dada, but you need to get out more.

  5. Re:Not likely by LnxAddct · · Score: 5, Informative

    Seriously, my GMail composer has more features, including spell check, just for writing an email. This ajaxWrite just took firefox's rich text editor and threw tabbed DOMs into the picture. Completely unoriginal, there are significantly more advanced open source editors like the FCKEditor out already(That's a link to their demo, not their index just fyi).
    Regards,
    Steve

  6. Not quite MSWord... by BishonenAngstMagnet · · Score: 4, Informative

    Last time I checked, MSWord doesn't get Slashdotted.

  7. There are ways to by M$ office for less... by milgr · · Score: 4, Informative
    Last year when I needed by buy MS office for myself, I found that there was a less expensive, legal way...

    Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 costs about $125, and can be run on three different computers.

    Microsoft stresses that this version of their Office 2003 is only for non-commercial use. You qualify for this edition so long as you are 1) a full- or part-time student enrolled in a K-12 institution, 2) home-schooled, 3) taking at least 6 credits at an accredited college/university, or 4) a full- or part-time faculty member and work 20+ hours at a school.

    When I bought my copy, I had a child in Kindergarten. A year later, and he still hasn't used Office -- but my wife and I did.

    Sorry for that advertisement for M$ products.

    Oh yeah, I frequently use Open Office -- which is free, does a great job most of the time, and runs on almost everything.

    --
    Where law ends, tyranny begins -- William Pitt