The world of online, cloud-based software is upon us. While years and years have passed, the software industry has slowly been distancing itself from moving product on physical media, and instead offering it online. Adobe's new cloud-based Photoshop services offer enhancements that non-cloud users won't even get, and Microsoft's future Office builds may follow a similar trail. The company has announced that it could upgrade and update Office 2013 "as often as four times per year," which is a vast improvement over slower updates from the past.


These days, consumers expect rapid-fire updates. We're living in an app-dominated world, where these smaller programs are frequently updated with bug fixes and enhanced functionality. Now, it's time for Office to get onboard with that mantra.

Of course, Microsoft isn't making any promises here, but it's great to see the company adapting to change. Might you consider an Office subscription instead of a boxed version next time? Are you sold on cloud-based app access yet?