We already told you Microsoft Office will be extended to the browser. There has been a lot of excitement about this new service, but Sarah from on10 found there’s also quite a bit of misinformation around it. Therefore she decided to create a special Q&A, to answer some of those burning questions people have about the new web applications. I’ll list a few of them here:

Q : Is Silverlight required in order to use the Office Web Applications?
A: No! Silverlight is not required. Using Silverlight will enhance the user experience, resulting in sharper images and improved rendering. Also, the Office Live Workspace has integrated Silverlight technology into the multi-file upload function for a better experience there, too.

Q: Will the Microsoft Office Web Applications work on Linux?
A: Yes! It does not matter which operating system is used as long as you're running a supported web browser.

Q: Are the Web Applications replacing Microsoft Office software?
A: No. This does not change the way customers buy Office nor will it slowdown the future innovations coming to the desktop software.

Q: Will the Microsoft Office Web Applications be free?
A: Yes – for consumers. Microsoft will deliver Office Web applications to consumers through Office Live, which is a consumer service with both ad-funded and subscription offerings.

Q: How does the collaboration feature work?
A: Collaboration will be done using Office Live Workspace. There are two scenarios here, one experience is similar to SharePoint, where a user makes a change to a document and then uploads or saves to the SharePoint site.  Whoever opens the doc first has control of that document.

The second scenario is using Microsoft SharedView, which is integrated with Office Live Workspace and enables real-time collaboration. With Microsoft SharedView, you can share your desktop and edit documents with others in real time. While sharing your desktop, Microsoft SharedView, enables you to control who edits, makes comments, etc. and then save that document back to your Office Live Workspace.

For the full list please read Sarah's Q&A. Besides Sarah’s Q&A there’s also a FAQ about Office Live Workspace available at the Office Live Workspace website. If you are not familiar with Workspace you can read this to orientate. It doesn’t tell much about the web apps, besides that they are lightweight apps and to sign up for Office Live Workspace if you wish to get more information and updates about any beta product availability. But hey you already knew that ;)

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