MICROSOFT AND GOOGLE DOCS LATEST BATTLE

After Google’s own development and the acquisition of Writely, Google Docs appeared in 2006 and has had a solid hold of the online document world since around 2009. Although seriously lacking the robust features of Microsoft’s Office suite, it was clear that Google would continue to develop their own suite to be a real competitor in the creation and sharing of documents online.

In 2010, Microsoft made its biggest jab at the search giant’s platform with their own online suite, Office Web Apps.  Web Apps provided a feature-lite version of their popular document software, and the service was free for users with a Microsoft Live account (which is also free).

Microsoft’s version of online document editors maintained the selling points of traditional Office; robust features, lots of format compatibility, and the most accurate online conversion of Office documents.  Google however still led the chase with real time co-authoring and a simple and sleek look. Their jump start in the arena also netted them four million businesses already using their document solution.

As late as September of this year, both sides continue the battle.  Microsoft released a large update that fixed many performance issues and added a handful of new features.  Google continues to offer updates with much of the same.  And as each update is rolled out each side makes statements to computer blogs and magazines pointing out the weaknesses of the competing product.

Statements from both sides show that they are keenly aware of the deficiencies of the other.  From this, we can also assume that both are aware of their own faults and are feverishly working to make their platform stronger.

Who will win this online battle?  Will Google continue to dominate the online world and slowly grab users from traditional offline software or will Microsoft’s Web Apps add real-time sharing quicker than Google thinks to establish it as the better option.  Time will tell.

Frank Anderson is a technology writer who gained his expertise with the virtual web hosting and cloud computing company WebHosting.net.

NEW PLANET DISCOVERED | LATEST NEW PLANET | NEW PLANET AROUND WORLD | LATEST PLANET

After all the pushing, squeezing and screaming, the universe has finally given birth to a new planet, in an eruption that two scientists managed to capture on film. The newborn pile of planetary pudge, named LkCa 15 b, was discovered by Drs. Michael Ireland and Adam Kraus, who, over the course of 12 months, successfully documented the event using Keck telescopes and a technique called aperture mask interferometry. Their findings, published in Astrophysical Journal describe a Jupiter-like gaseous planet that likely began forming some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Located about 450 light years from Earth, it's also the youngest planet ever observed, having dethroned the previous record-holder, which was about five times older. According to Ireland and Kraus, the LkCa 15 b is still being formed out of a circle of dust and gas (pictured above) surrounding a 2-million-year-old star. By observing a "young gas giant in the process of formation," the researchers hope to find answers to fundamental questions that have long eluded them. "These very basic questions of when and where are best answered when you can actually see the planet forming, as the process is happening right now," Kraus explained to the AP. Head past the break to see an artist's rendering of the newborn, and if you get the chance, be sure to send flowers.

IPHONE NOT THE ONLY OPTION

Remember when T-Mobile CMO Cole Brodman splashed a bucket of cold water on our hot iPhone 4S dreams? Yeah, well the carrier's back to clarify its glaring lack of the handset in its lineup, and it appears the choice wasn't the company's to make. In a statement released today, SVP of Marketing Andrew Sherrard expressed the operator's desire to play host to Apple's latest device, but claims Cupertino's omission of an AWS-friendly radio is the true culprit. In order for that phone to run competently on T-Mo's 4G network, those 1700MHz bands would need to be serviced. In its stead, the exec points to other more capable phones currently on offer -- namely, those bearing Android -- while referring to the 4S' apparent network issues. Fighting words or just a case of the sads? Follow past the break for the full quote straight from Magenta's mouth.

T-Mobile thinks the iPhone is a good device and we've expressed our interest to Apple to offer it to our customers. Ultimately, it is Apple's decision. The issue remains that Apple has not developed a version of the iPhone with technology that works on our fast 3G and 4G networks. We believe a capable version of the iPhone for our 3G and 4G networks would offer an additional compelling option for our customers on a fast 4G network. However, the iPhone is not the only option to experience the benefit that smartphones offer.

T-Mobile's 4G smartphones stack up against competitive smartphones in terms of functionality, speed, features offered and overall experience – including the iPhone 4S. Reports continue of iPhones not operating well on some carrier networks, while our latest 4G smartphones offer many advantages vs. the iPhone 4S:

• Capable of faster speeds
• Bigger screens
• Compelling service pricing
• More advanced camera on the HTC Amaze 4G
• More choice

We firmly believe that T-Mobile's portfolio will give any iPhone a run for its money. We offer the increased processing power and faster 4G speeds achieved by our fastest smartphones, the most advanced camera of any smartphone on the HTC Amaze 4G, and our industry-leading 4.52" super AMOLED display offered on the Samsung Galaxy S II.

With our portfolio of Android, Windows, and BlackBerry smartphones, fast 4G network, and competitively priced worry-free unlimited talk, text, and data plans, we believe it's a great time to be a T-Mobile customer.

GALAXY NEXUS RELEASE DATE | GALAXY NEXUS LATEST UPDATE

Three's the magic number, and the third time is the charm so, this triple confirmation of release date gossip's got us thinking an Android avalanche is on its Big Red way. We've seen November 10th bandied about as the day Google's Ice Cream Sandwich flagship Galaxy Nexus and HTC's awkwardly monikeredRezound would hit Verizon's shelves. Now, this latest leak over on Android Central appears to set that date in stone and give us potential $299 on contract pricing for both handsets. Alas, eager beavers hoping to get their hands on Motorola's just unveiled Droid RAZR are in luck, as this chart outs an earlier October 27th date for the device. These launch windows could easily slip and slide further into the end of year, so take all this talk with the usual dose of skep. At least we now have the consolation prize of knowing a vanilla Android experience is officially headed back to VZW's chunk of radio waves.

NOKIA N9 REVIEW | NOKIA LATEST PRODUCT | NOKIA LATEST LAUNCH | NOKIA N9 IN MARKET | NOKIA N9

It's taken a long time for Nokia's MeeGo-packing N9 to make its way into our top secret labs (the N9 moniker was first applied to early E7 prototypes), but it's here in our dirty little hands, at last, and it's glorious -- well, as glorious as a stillborn product can be, anyway. The N9 is the latest and greatest in a long line of quirky, interesting, yet ultimately flawed touchscreen experiments from Nokia that includes the Hildon-sporting 7710, a series of Maemo-based "internet tablets" (770, N800, N810, N900) and most recently, the N950 MeeGo handset for developers. What makes the N9 special is that it represents Nokia's last flagship phone as an independent player. MeeGo is already dead, and future high-end devices from the manufacturer will run Windows Phone and use Microsoft's services. So, is this the company's final bittersweet hurray? Did MeeGo ever stand a chance against Android, iOS and Mango?

MOTOROLA XOOM WITH ICECREAM SANDWICH

Now that Ice Cream Sandwich is real, the inevitable next step is a parade of announcement that certain devices will / won't experience the latest and greatest flavor of Android. Xoom owners can breathe easy however, as a support forum mod (totally reliable source) confirms Moto will issue an update for itsfamily-friendly tablet, but can't say when we'll see it. Feel free to check out our emulator-powered Android 4.0 tablet demo until then, but considering how long it took to slide LTE into those slabs, you should probably grab a Snickers.