<p>In the past week-plus, Apple announced plans to make its iWork office suite free for iOS users, and Box has fielded a preview of its own collaborative note-taking technology. On cue, many tech pundits began sounding the "Microsoft Office is in trouble" horn, yet again.</p><p>Some seem to have forgotten (or maybe just have never heard of?) another Microsoft offering that is is key to the cross-platform office wars. That competitive technology is Office Web Apps.</p><p>Office Web Apps are the free, Webified versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, which Microsoft first introduced with Office 2010. Office Web Apps are usable in a variety of browsers -- including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari -- on different operating systems and form factors (PCs, tablets, smartphones). Office Web Apps include a subset of the functionality in the full Office versions of each of the apps. Microsoft claims to have 50 million active users accessing these apps every month.</p><p>Box Notes, from what I've read about the preview launched today, is a very rudimentary OneNote-type product. iWork for iCloud is the cross-platform version of iWork that Apple made available in beta form earlier this year. Like Office Web Apps, it works inside a browser -- specifically Safari, IE and Chrome.More about BoxWorks 2013:</p><p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/why-the-real-box-notes-target-isnt-microsoft-office-7000020734/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324823804579016520176819360.html">How to Work Without Microsoft Office</a> (Wall Street Journal)</p><p><a href="http://www.fool.com/financial-advice/2013/09/15/free-microsoft-office-software-get-the-essentials.aspx">Free Microsoft Office Software: Get the Essentials Without Paying for 365</a> (Motley Fool)</p><p><a href="http://www.news24.com/Technology/News/NGOs-get-boost-from-free-Microsoft-Office-20130916">NGOs get boost from free Microsoft Office</a> (News24)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dBQXAJZT_vRfsSMgD-u_VmVvOTLMM&ned=us">15 additional articles.</a></p>