After a lengthy phase of beta testing, Microsoft finally unleashed its long-awaited update to the Office 2007 desktop productivity suite.

Office 2010 includes a number of new features, among them a redesigned menu system, improved inline multimedia editing, real-time collaboration, improved security settings and — perhaps the biggest of them all — a cloud-based web apps component that aims to compete with Google Docs.

The online component of Office 2010 includes web-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. They’re largely positioned as companion apps to their full desktop counterparts, making them arguably less powerful as standalone services than existing cloud champions Google Docs or Zoho.

Never one to sit idly by, Google has already launched the first volley in the coming Office Wars by suggesting Office 2007 users would be better served by “upgrading” to Google Docs instead. Still, with an enormous existing base of business Office users, Microsoft will undoubtedly benefit from its incumbent position in the marketplace. Nor have things been totally rosy for Google Docs uptake lately, with Yale University and UC Davis recently dumping the search giant’s cloud services over privacy and security concerns.

Nevertheless, a number of schools are embracing Google services in order to reap all the advantages that come with productivity in the cloud. Will the online component of Microsoft Office 2010 be enough to stave off the competition from Google, Zoho and others? It remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a sign of the times that the once staunchly desktop-chained Office suite has put its head firmly into the cloud.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default…

Did you know that a simple upgrade like adding more memory to your computer can sometimes boost performance substantially?  With the operating systems of today and the applications we run like any word processing applications or spreadsheets are demanding more memory. If you don’t have at least 1gb of memory, your not fully utilizing the performance of your computer.

Windows 7 was officially released to the public on October 22, 2009. I’ve been fortunate to have been running it since its beta release back in February. Since then I have formed a personal and professional opinion about the new OS from Microsoft and I have to say that they seem to have finally gotten this one right. This is the OS to finally upgrade to.

If you are currently running Windows XP and have been afraid to upgrade to Vista, fear no more because this upgrade will be worth it. It is faster, runs smoother, boots up faster and shutsdown quicker as well. Its loaded with tons of great features that provide a really nice user experience.

I have been recommending Windows 7 to my friends, family, co-workers, peers and my clients. Even if you have older hardware, Windows 7 just may be the ticket to breathing new life into that old PC. Send us an email or give us a call if you would like to discuss Windows 7 for your computer.

As Apple gets ready to preview its new software developers’ kit and an updated iPhone operating system next week, there could be some changes to the company’s App Store too.

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For years I have been using a windows mobile device for my emails and web browsing. I started off initially with the AT&T 8125 which was a mobile device with a slide out keyboard. This phone I liked but then as technology progressed it was upgraded to the 8525 model which had a faster processor. Finally the last phone I just ended up was the tilt aka htc tytn ii. This phone was probably my favorite windows mobile phone to date, but I felt that something was missing.

At about the time I had moved to he tilt I had bought my wife the first generation iPhone. Now this is a person that is not tech savvy and felt like she wouldn’t have a use for such a phone, but she went along. After using her iPhone for about a couple of weeks she couldn’t believe how easy it was to use and how functional it was for her.

After experiencing this and noticing how responsive the user interface was, I decided to get one for myself and after two months of using it, I think I actually like it better than windows mobile. I think mostly because the interface is more responsive plus looks cleaner, and I love the on screen keyboard. In fact, I just wrote this whole post from my iPhone. Has anyone else had a similar or better experience moving from another mobile device to the iPhone? I’d like to hear about it!