By now, you’ve probably heard the big news announced at Microsoft’s Wordwide Partner Conference in New Orleans: Office 2010 is now available as a “Technical Preview.” Starting today, the company is opening up the beta program to a larger number of users, all of whom will get to try the new, improved applications and their online counterparts. Yes, Office Web Applications will become available too, starting next month! So why will you want to replace your Office installation with the latest version? Here are ten of the best reasons why this is the version of Office that can’t be missed: Office Web Applications: For many online enthusiasts, the arrival of the web version of Office is probably the most exciting thing about the new suite. The web applications will work in multiple browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari) and even in most mobile browsers, too, including, as we reported earlier, the browser on the iPhone. Although some advanced functions will be powered by Silverlight technology, it’s not a requirement. The web apps will be tied in with their desktop counterparts and will use SkyDrive to host the online files. For consumers, web apps will be free, but no decision has been made on future plans to monetize them elsewhere. One of the best things about the web apps, besides their very “webiness” is the fact that documents will look exactly the same no matter whether you’re viewing them in the Office Suite itself or within the web browser.
