This month has introduced a bunch of new features to Office 365.

Web Apps features

The latest and greatest update to SharePoint Online gives you more editing and more formatting controls. With the latest SharePoint Online update, you’ll get new Office Web Apps features: more editing and formatting controls, co-authoring support across the web apps and expanded device support, including editing from tablets.

 

Here is the highlights from the wikipage:

• Word Web App Update: See graphics, images, and layout with excellent fidelity, including new support for viewing and adding comments.
• Excel Web App updates: Get essential spreadsheet features, such as merge cells, context menus, auto-fit columns, formula assistance, fill handle and AutoSum.
• PowerPoint Web App updates: Presentations look like they do on the desktop, with high-resolution slides, full transitions, and viewable comments.
• OneNote Web App updates: Users can find what they need more easily with the ability to search on a page or within a section. And new support for ink viewing makes more information accessible from the web.

If you haven’t noticed, support for Internet Explorer 7 ended October 1st, 2012 for Office Web Apps. That means essentially, that if you haven’t updated your browser at all, in the last few years, you might wan’t to get that done.

Read more about the Web Apps at the Technical Blog article.

Dirsync

Get the ability to scope what objects are synchronized from the AD to Office 365. Filtering options are Organization-unit-based, domain-based, and user-attribute-based.

Third-Party Identity Solutions

It’s now possible to use 3rd party identity solutions. That means you can use different ways or logging your users in to Office 365. The protocol used is WS* (WS-Federation and WS-Trust). You can use Ping, Optimal IDM etc. Take a look at the TechNet for more information.

NOTE: I’m still looking forward to the day, where I can invite users to my Office 365 Extranet to login via their Facebook or LinkedIN accounts.

Change Password Expiration and Notification Policy in the Portal

If you have an E or A subscription, you can change the default password expiration and notification policies for the users. The setting is for all users. You cannot turn it all off. To turn it all off, you need to use PowerShell.

Do you want to know more? Take a look at their wiki-page for Office 365 updates.

[Office 365]