Info Tech
Microsoft expands Office Web Apps functionality, adds real-time co-authoring
NEW YORK – Microsoft has declared yesterday to be “Get It Done Day,” and in that spirit it’s rolling out significant changes for Office Web Apps, the free Web-based complements of the core Microsoft Office applications.
Traditionally, Microsoft has viewed Office Web Apps as a companion to the full suite of desktop applications—tools with limited functionality designed to allow those with Microsoft Office to continue to get things done even when they’re not at their primary PC. The new and improved apps are designed to provide a standalone productivity experience closer to the “real thing.”
What’s new
From Microsoft’s perspective, the biggest news with Office Web Apps is the substantial improvement in co-authoring functionality.
Peers, friends, or family can create, add, and modify content simultaneously in the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint Web Apps. Microsoft added real-time presence that identifies where your various collaborators are currently working in the document, so you can make sure two people aren’t editing the same thing and easily avoid conflicts.
Microsoft Web Apps
You can access the Office Web Apps for free from Microsoft’s SkyDrive.
The biggest change, though, is that the Save button is gone. The previous incarnation of “real-time” co-authoring in Office Web Apps required users to frequently save their work and would only refresh what co-authors could see from their end as the information was saved. The new Office Web Apps displays all text and formatting changes as they happen and everything is saved automatically as you go.
The Word Web App now includes Find and Replace and lets users apply style and formatting to tables, insert headers and footers, and more. In the Excel Web App, you can now drag and drop cells, reorder worksheets within a workbook, and provide a summary analysis of selected cells at the bottom of the display just as in the desktop equivalent. The PowerPoint Web App comes with picture cropping capabilities and more control over the visual appearance of the presentation.
Hands-On
I had an opportunity to play with the Office Web Apps in a demo environment for the past few days. In fact, I created and edited part of this post using the new Word Web App. The experience was very smooth and fluid. The letters appear on the Web-based Word doc just as quickly as they do when I type them in Microsoft Word locally.
The ribbon interface at the top of the display in each of the Office Web Apps is more sparse than the current desktop versions, but it provides easy access to the most used formatting and features.
The real test, though, of the Office Web Apps experience is how well they work from a tablet like an iPad. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has insisted for years that Microsoft doesn’t need to create native iOS or Android tablet apps for Microsoft Office because tablet users can access Office Web Apps through their Web browsers. The problem is that the hobbled features of Office Web Apps were no match for the capabilities and experience of a native app. Maybe the new, improved version could deliver on Ballmer’s promise.
While editing a Word Web App doc on the iPad, a red flag denotes where my co-author is currently working.
I typed this part of this post from my iPad while still logged in from my MacBook Air. A red flag appears in the text to indicate the presence of my MacBook Air login within the document, and my changes from either device were updated and reflected on the other system in real-time.
I was able to format text—adding a heading and changing text to bold or italic—relatively easily from the iPad. When I select a word or section of text on the iPad, a contextual menu of formatting options is presented to make it easy to cut, copy, paste, or format the selected text.
I’m not completely convinced that it replaces the need for a native iPad app, but it is a quantum leap forward from previous versions. The new Office Web Apps at least make Ballmer’s assertion feasible, if not ideal.
Throwing down the gauntlet
Apple recently took aim at Microsoft Office by making its iWorks productivity software free for all Mac OS X and iOS users. However, many of those users were upset when they discovered that Apple had stripped features and dumbed down the desktop versions of the apps to make the experience more consistent with the iOS apps.
Microsoft has a much wider audience. The Microsoft Office desktop software is available for both Windows and Mac OS X, and Microsoft offers a mobile version of the Office apps for Windows Phone, iPhone, and Android phones, in addition to these Office Web Apps.
The fact that Microsoft took the opposite approach—adding rich functionality and new capabilities to the Office Web Apps to bring them closer to the desktop experience—gives it an edge and makes Microsoft Office and Office Web Apps a better choice for productivity and content creation no matter what platform or device you’re using.
In efforts at spicing up the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, the management of ITREALMS Media has partnered with E-waste Producer Responsibility Organization of Nigeria (EPRON) membership organisations for a day-long collection scheme of small electronic waste on Friday, December 15, 2023.
The EPRON members aligning their partnership with 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue are EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited and WEEE Eco-Friendly.
ITREALMS’ day-long collection scheme is part of the commemoration of 2023 international E-Waste Day (IEWD) within the ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue with the theme “You Can Recycle Anything with a plug, battery or cable” at Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Lagos.
Revealing this collaboration, the Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media, the organisers of the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, Sir. Remmy Nweke, urged mobile device enthusiasts to come along with their devices that have reached their end-of-life to the venue for proper disposition by professionals who would also be on grounds to address some topical issues.
The collection of small electronic wastes especially mobile phones and like-devices, would be carried out by EPRON member organisation, EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited as facilitated by ITREALMS Media group as part of this year’s ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue on Friday, December 15, he added.
He disclosed that the exercise would commence at Welcome Centre Hotel by 9am till close of work hours the same day.
Nweke pointed out that the collection of small e-waste items would include mobile phones, pointers mouse, earpieces, rechargeable torches, phone chargers, to name a few.
Further, he said, that this initiative has become time-serving because some people may have missed any other opportunity before now for the year-long campaign, hence this awareness on e-Waste has to be continuous, “ITREALMS came up with this scheme.”
Nweke beckoned on Nigerians, especially mobile phone users, to leverage the opportunity in disposing of their mobile devices they no longer use, of course in exchange for a voucher or gift item.
In her reaction to this year’s day-long small waste collection, EPRON Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, described the initiative as commendable, expressing confidence it would intensify the collection of end-of-life devices for proper disposition.
Mrs. Faluyi, also urged Nigerians to take advantage of this day-long collection of small wastes courtesy of ITREALMS Media.
Recalling for instance that in October 2022, EPRON had partnered SLOT alongside some UN agencies for collection of small e-waste items in Lagos, including the United Nations Information Centres (UNIC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
This is even as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Aminu Maida and Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Prof. Aliyu Jauro, would both lead speakers at the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue slated for this Friday, December 15, in Lagos.
Today, September 12, the tech corporation Apple will introduce the iPhone 15, their newest iPhone model.
According to a Forbes story, this model, which will be introduced at the company’s “Wanderlust” event in Cupertino, California, will be available in four variations: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Here are five things you should know about the new iPhone 15 model.
1. The new model is made of titaniu, not stainless steel as some other Apple smartphone models, Senior research analyst at DIGITIMES, Luke Lin reports.
2. The Pro Max model will feature double the optical zoom on the iPhone 14 as it comes with a newly-introduced ‘periscope lens upgrade, performing 5-6x optical zoom.’
3. The Pro models will carry an A17 bionic chip expected to make it perform faster.
4. The iPhone 15 model will feature a USB-C charging port, the same port featured on some Android phone models.
5. Due to its titanium shell, the new model is anticipated to be more expensive to purchase. The following is the speculated price list, as reported by Forbes:
The iPhone 15 starts at $799, the iPhone 15 Plus at $899, the iPhone 15 Pro at $1,099 ($100 increase), and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at $1,299 ($200 increase).
In an effort to reduce the exorbitant cost of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, the Infrastructure Bank Plc announced its collaboration with FEMADEC Group on Monday to offer 500 buses powered by autogas (Compressed Natural Gas).
Partners in the agreement claimed that the project was created to provide citizens with dependable, affordable, and environmentally friendly travel options, taking into account the negative effects of the nationwide increase in PMS costs.
Under Decree No. 51 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1992 Constitution, the Infrastructure Bank, originally known as the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, was founded in 1992 to promote the quick development of infrastructure throughout the nation.
In a statement issued in Abuja on its partnership with FEMADEC, the bank said, “The preliminary offer extended by TIB lays a solid foundation for the expansion of FEMADEC Group’s CNG bus fleet.
“With plans to introduce 500 CNG buses within the next five years, commencing with an initial batch of 50 buses in the forthcoming year, this proposal stands poised to instigate significant change.
“The acceptance of this proposition by FEMADEC Group, notably championed by Fola Akinnola, the Group Chief Executive Officer, is a testament to their zeal and dedication to this alliance.”
The bank described the partnership as a “pivotal endeavour that is primed to redefine Nigeria’s public transportation landscape, offering dependable, cost-effective, and ecologically conscious travel alternatives for citizens, while harmonising with the nation’s broader sustainability ambitions.”
“This partnership represents a remarkable stride towards a more ecologically aware future for Nigeria’s transportation sector, highlighting the shared commitment of both TIB and FEMADEC Group to sustainable advancement and progress.”
It said FEMADEC Group’s strides in operating Compressed Natural Gas buses, including the existing fleet of 20 CNG buses under LAMATA, underscored their unwavering dedication to ecologically sound solutions, a commitment predating the fuel subsidy removal.
“Their leadership within the CNG value chain is undeniable, and the new alliance with TIB underscores their foresight.
“This partnership seamlessly aligns with TIB’s sustainability objectives, echoing their resolute endorsement of the government’s net-zero and climate change agenda.
“The bank’s aspiration to champion Nigeria’s infrastructure progress is evident in its endorsement of pivotal initiatives like this, yielding expansive positive impacts on both the environment and society,” the bank stated.
The bank added that it would continue to make a significant contribution to the country’s growth as a leading financial institution committed to advancing effective and long-lasting infrastructure projects.
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