It’s fair to say that consumers and home-based business owners are increasingly seeking greater simplicity in their software. At the same time, the growing popularity of netbooks means that more users are focusing on a smaller set of core tasks. Corel’s Home Office addresses this segment’s specific needs by striking a reasonable balance between features and ease of use. Having said that, I just don’t see the point in paying for an office suite when there are such fantastic solutions available for free on the Internet. As an added incentive for netbook owners these programs don’t even need to be installed - all you need is a compatible Web browser. If you are after office suite functionality but don’t want to spend, why not stop by Google Docs or Zoho. Granted they don’t look as nice as Corel’s Home Office, but that’s rather trivial on the grand scale of things. Home Suite is a definite improvement on the company’s previous suites in terms of usability, but I think Corel is barking up the wrong tree. It needs to shift its product portfolio online, and quickly, if it wants to survive in the increasingly Web-centric world of software.



Link: IT Reviewed