Continued:

The most interesting piece of Beta software is the Live Search Beta-Mobile service. According to Microsoft’s description of the application, it would allow you to search for restaurants and other local places using a mapping/directions service on the cell phone. Now this makes a lot more sense to me than opening my notebook and checking for directions, which is how things are presently with Google Maps and Google Earth.

With Windows Live, Microsoft has, in a single stroke, declared war on Google on several fronts like e-mail, instant messaging, maps, and even some areas where Google has not gone yet, such as online virus scanning and storing your favorites (personalizing your homepage doesn’t count).

Perhaps the scariest news for Google, however, is that all of these services would be provided at no charge to users. Microsoft would logically generate revenue from these services, but instead of charging a subscription fee of some sort, the world’s largest software maker would lean on online advertising to continue to generate revenue. As we all know, Google’s business model relies on online advertising, and if Microsoft is able to make a dent in the search giant’s ad sales, we’ll have a real battle on our hands.

There are other key benefits that Microsoft might derive out of Office Live. Since it’s online, you won’t need to purchase a hard copy of the application. Hopefully, by offering the software online, Microsoft would reduce the cost of the program to make it affordable for majority of us to purchase. This solution seems more likely, since not having to purchase a hard copy would mean cost savings for Microsoft. This solves the perennial cost effectiveness problem that has plagued Microsoft Office since the dawn of the IT industry.

Next