Barney's Blog

Blog archive

Office UI Giveaway: What's Old Is New Again

Microsoft announced a plan to let software developers use the Office User Interface royalty-free to build apps that should be easy to learn -- provided you are adept at Office (I still find Word to be about the most difficult app to fully master, and sometimes even keep under control).

Looks to me like Microsoft flaks are recycling press releases. A decade or so ago, when I wrote for InfoWorld, Microsoft announced what seems to be the exact same thing. As I recall, some folks like Visio hopped onboard, while competitors like Lotus and WordPerfect politely declined.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 30, 2006


Featured

  • Microsoft Joins Workday's AI Agent Partner Network

    Microsoft has become a key partner in Workday's newly launched AI Agent Partner Network, aligning with other industry leaders to integrate AI agents into enterprise workforce systems.

  • LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky To Lead Microsoft's Productivity Initiatives

    In a strategic leadership realignment, Microsoft has appointed LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky to oversee its consumer and small business productivity software division, encompassing Microsoft 365, Teams and AI-driven tools like Copilot.

  • Salesforce To Acquire Informatica in $8 Billion Deal

    Salesforce announced on Tuesday it plans to acquire data management firm Informatica for $8 billion.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.