In a bid to stanch the flow of Microsoft Office users defecting to Google services, Microsoft unveiled Office 365 today, an online version of its email, word processing and spreadsheet programs. In recent years, Google has been chipping away at Microsoft's software stranglehold by offering free online services such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Talk, while offering subscription-based corporate versions for $5 per month. With Office 365, Microsoft is pushing more features for a higher price. Is it worth it? Here's how tech bloggers are contrasting the services.

Working Offline Is Better with 365, writes Andrew Gradwell at The Guardian:

A common misconception about cloud services is that in order to work you need to be online. I agree that this need for connection is a major drawback, and one that Google Apps Premier has in buckets. (You can't even change a Google spreadsheet or document if you're not online...

This is where Microsoft really shines: OWA syncs with your on-premises Outlook. Equally, Office 365 supports the SharePoint Workspace offline tool, meaning you can work on your desktop and then sync with the cloud when you are connected.

Read the full story at The Atlantic Wire.