Some users have become true masters of PowerPoint. They know every corner of the program, and have developed a completely natural command. But what happens when Microsoft seems to have something much better, with greater flexibility, advanced cloud integration, dynamic resources, and direct access to social networks? The intention is clearly to try it. Microsoft Sway has entered public beta, and it looks quite good.
Combining products is complicated. Several companies have tried, with disastrous results. Users like to keep things separate, and dedicated tools are often preferred over a fake all-in-one that falls short in each function. But sometimes things go well. Or so it seems. The example of Microsoft Sway is quite striking. At first glance, it's as if all the products in the Office suite had been placed in a collider to create a new particle. The official term Microsoft used to describe Sway is "presentation web app". This led specialized media to use words like 'heir' or 'replacement' to PowerPoint. With the enormous popularity PowerPoint enjoys today, placing Sway on such a high pedestal so quickly seems exaggerated... or maybe not?
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jw-g6IuBVJEThe news is that everyone can now resolve that doubt. Previously, access to Sway was by invitation, but Microsoft revealed that since the presentation of the preview, the app has had more than a million visits, and the number of requested invitations exceeded 175 thousand. Consequently, Microsoft Sway is now a public beta, and all interested users need is a compatible Live account. Sway can pull content from multiple sources, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and of course internal services like Bing and OneDrive, and once finished, all projects are shared with great ease using dedicated links.
One of the most important details we've noticed in the Sway video is that one of the users is developing their project on an iPad Mini. First, it's a good gesture by Microsoft to recognize the impact of its direct competitors' products, and second, if the iOS-compatible app becomes well optimized, one can't help thinking that Sway could add a huge number of users in a very short time. Doubts, questions? True, we still have many of both. But Sway is there to be tested, bent, hit, and twisted. If it has problems, better to find them now while it's a beta.
