Google Docs gains two competitors

Microsoft and Adobe have joined Google by offering a word processor that can be used without installing any software.

Microsoft on Monday unveiled its Live Workspace service, which offers online storage, as well as the ability to access and edit documents. The service requires access to Microsoft office. Slated for availability later this year, the service is currently accepting pre-registrations for a future beta.

The new service allows Microsoft to compete with Google Docs, which offers online text editor, spreadsheet and presentation tools. Although the services lack many of the advanced features found in Microsoft Office, it offers basic text editing and document creation and allows for collaboration.

Microsoft also plans to introduce hosted versions of some of its professional applications such as Exchange and Sharepoint under its new "Online" brand. Microsoft Online service target organizations with more advanced IT needs, where the Live brand, which includes the Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail email service, is intended for individual users.

Google can expect additional competition in the hosted productivity suite space from Adobe. Also on Monday, the firm revealed that it had acquired Virtual Ubiquity, developer of the Buzzword application. The service is build for the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), a runtime that aims to establish a new, standard platform for running internet applications.

Although AIR applications are delivered over a network, they function both with and without an internet connection. The technology uses existing internet programming techniques such as HTML, Ajax and Flash.

The major set-back to AIR is that users are required to download and install the runtime engine the first time that they want to run an AIR service. Ajax and Java applications typically run without any user intervention.