Mediaboss Marketing

Microsoft's confirmation of an Office Mobile app that will let users of iOS and Android devices view and edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel files on their mobile devices raises, if you're willing to give it some thought, a philosophical -- or perhaps at least sociological -- question.

Are we fast finding ourselves in a world where we are never not "at work?"

It's a question that perhaps surfaced with the "crackberry" phenomenon when young, eager business types would almost go into a panic and withdrawal if they suddenly found themselves disconnected from work email or unable to be instantly and electronically in touch with the "home office."

Businesses now seem happy to embrace BYOD -- the "bring your own device" policy that folds workers' own mobile devices into the work environment and its "all connected all the time" ecosystem.

"Taking work home" used to mean a folder in a briefcase that you'd look at once you arrived home after dinner with friends at a restaurant.

These days it is increasingly not just taking work home but taking work everywhere -- including the restaurant.

Watch a group of workers meeting after hours at the sushi bar, and note the chopsticks in one hand and the smartphone in the other.

Now, more than just emailing and texting, they may soon be truly "back at the office" once Microsoft's Office Mobile debuts.

And although Office Mobile for iOS and Android will be free, Microsoft is not being philanthropic.

Users can view their Word, PowerPoint and Excel files, but if they want to modify or edit them, they'll have pony up for a subscription to the full Microsoft Office suite in the cloud.

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SciTechTalk: All work and no play?