AJAX attack Web 2.0 online Office Project Resurrection

Fashionable development technologies such as AJAX are stimulating the growth of consumer Web application software. These new technologies have even revived some projects that were once considered impossible: Online Office.

The launch of some Web services represented by Google Maps makes AJAX technology famous. Currently, dozens of startups are using it to develop online desktop software versions, from word processing software to project management software. However, they are not simply copying the Office on the Internet, and sometimes the focus of many of these Web applications called Web 2.0 is to publish and share information through the network.

The basic AJAX technology was invented by Microsoft in the 1990 s. However, until recently, the term AJAX appeared around February, A large number of developers and enterprises seize the opportunities brought by AJAX. Google's use of AJAX this year proves that Web application software can rival existing desktop applications in terms of appearance and style. The further popularization of Web standards in browsers ensures that AJAX applications can run on most PCs.

Burton Group analyst Richard said that when the word "AJAX" appeared earlier this year, companies that use it began to blossom everywhere. These start-ups with talented developers can use AJAX without being limited by tool vendors. Richard said that interactive web pages developed using multimedia tools such as Flash and Flex have existed for many years, and these so-called "rich Internet application software" tools will continue to be applied to complex tasks, however, AJAX can meet the needs of simple tasks, such as adding interactivity to existing websites.

Building Better Web capabilities paves the way for hosting services, a change to the traditional desktop software model. Microsoft is actively switching to Web-based application software services. In May November, Microsoft reorganized its business department based on software services and launched the Live.com service. Many Live.com services, including Windows Live MailHotmail, depend on a front-end that uses AJAX.

The increase in AJAX usage and Microsoft's turn to services have inspired discussions on Web-based Office collectors. Some companies have developed office software and are now making Web-based communication an indispensable part of their products.

For example, Writely is an online text processing software. But Sam, co-founder of Upstartle, said that the greater value of the system is that users can easily collaborate in developing webpages and share webpages. He said that in the four or five months after we launched Writely, people thought we were crazy. Why can't users edit documents in a browser? Now Google and Microsoft are developing similar products.

Google has already engaged some of its employees in OpenOffice open-source projects, prompting speculation that it will provide a Hosted version of OpenOffice. Microsoft has not announced the provision of fully-hosted Office. Microsoft announced last month that it will launch an Office Live service for small businesses to charge or manage users for customers, but this service will supplement rather than replace Office. Microsoft said that the Office Live service will have advertisement support versions and order versions.

Another startup that is developing a Web-based Office-style application software is the developer of Silveroffice graphic processing gOffice, which provides text processing and printing functions, and plans to launch online spreadsheet and demo software soon. Kevin, founder and CEO of the company, said they planned to launch a service in May to convert documents into PDF format.

GOffice is free for users and generates revenue through advertising. Kevin said Silveroffice plans to provide ordering services to enterprise users who do not want to see advertisements. The number of gOffice users has reached "5 digits", and Silveroffice wants gOffice users to increase to 2 million, many of which will come from outside the United States.

Replacing Office is not the goal of Silveroffice. Kevin said, I think gOffice can coexist with Office, and they do not have to fight for death. He pointed out that although Microsoft Outlook is pre-installed on many PCs, people still use Web-based emails, such as Hotmail or GMail. He pointed out that the use of AJAX and Web-based release modes allowed his start-ups to develop their own applications.

Writely, gOffice, and other Web-based office software, personal information management tools, and instant messaging software are mainly for consumers. However, IT industry officials and analysts said that the influence of AJAX-style browser development models can also be felt by enterprises. Enterprises can use AJAX to add more interactivity to existing enterprise websites, such as sharing, restructuring, and re-engineering. XML-based data collection technology can be used to obtain data from different sources of information.

Scott, the technical director of Zimbra, a startup in email and calendar, expects AJAX to have a significant impact on B2B applications, such as telecom customers who provide financial services and require a wide range of user interfaces. Zimbra uses AJAX for data exchange for enterprise products. For example, a calendar entry is used to display a meeting place on Google Maps.

Sam predicts that the increasing popularity of AJAX will result in the flood of interactive functions on Web pages. In fact, some industry officials and analysts have been worried about the abuse of AJAX, web pages that are highly interactive but poorly designed. Scott said AJAX is not a panacea. He pointed out that some applications, such as complex workbooks and Demos, require desktop storage capabilities.