by Zakary Venturo

Created on: July 17, 2010

Microsoft Office has long dominated the desktop. Even while  Google pioneered the cloud, introducing Google Docs and gaining the affection of geeks everywhere, businesses have continued to depend upon the polished tools Microsoft offers the workplace. Both companies know cloud computing is the future, both companies plan on leveraging their email user base to get there, and now both companies offer the ability to share and collaborate on documents everywhere the internet is accessed.

With the release of Microsoft Office 2010 comes the introduction of Office Web Apps. These are free trimmed down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, familiar staples in the Microsoft diet. Each of these web applications retain the familiar look and feel of their desktop bigger brother, making them a very attractive alternative to Google Docs function over form approach.  The big question is how Office Web Apps stack up in a side by side comparison. Here is a rundown, minus the OneNote Web App:

Web Apps Word vs Docs Documents:

Microsoft definitely believes in the tab design it introduced in Office 2007. Its Web App offering is confined to the basics, with Home, Insert, and View available. Even then, there are less options available than the desktop product, but what it lacks keeps the Word Web App focused. The Home tab has the most options and is aimed at formatting. Home is broken down into familiar sections: Clipboard, Font, Paragraph, Styles, Spelling, and adds a new "Open in Word" button in the section labeled Office .  The Insert tab keeps it simple, offering Tables, Pictures, and Links. The last tab, View,  only offers two options for editing and reading view the single Document Views section.  

Google offers Documents in a throwback style familiar to the those who have used Microsoft Office 2003 or Open Office. Across the top are drop down menus: File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, Table, and Help. There is also a basic button menu geared towards quick formatting options, like a fonts, bullets, and indenting a paragraph.

The big difference between these two web word processors is styling. Both are back to basic functionality, but Microsoft is pushing to keep its web app part of a unified larger whole. Microsoft's tab styling emphasizes quick easy to do formatting while Google Documents follows a no nonsense approach with plenty of features.

Surprisingly, the Word Web App has a couple hidden gems. Right clicking inside the page allows

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