Ballmer says Microsoft won't ship Office 14 this year
InformationWeek | at | by Mike
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer on Tuesday said the software maker would not release Office 14 this year, which means the company is also unlikely to release a Web-based version of the productivity suite in 2009.
In a meeting with financial analysts in New York, Ballmer said the successor to Office 2007 "will not be this year." While Microsoft had not set a release date, industry speculation built expectations of a 2009 release.
Microsoft has said that a Web-based version of Office would debut with the release of Office 14. People who buy the boxed version of the suite would also get access to its components, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, over the Web.
In addition, Office Web, as the online version is called, would include a service called OneNote, which would allow users to collaborate with others and across multiple devices more efficiently.