Imagine if you could enjoy Adobe Systems Inc.'s (ADBE) forbidden Flash and PDFs on your iPad. Now imagine if your device from Apple, Inc. (AAPL) could also use Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Office (MSO) suite of productivity apps.
This dream is reality, thanks to OnLive, an enterprising startup who created an iPad app that leverages remote virtualization to deliver the missing functionality over high-speed gigabit internet connections. OnLive's free service launched in January, offering users free Office access.
In February it added the "Desktop Plus" service. Priced at $4.99/month, the upgrade ditched ads and eliminated annoying waits to get access to the remote Windows 7 desktop. And it added Adobe PDF reading and Flash compatibility, plus 2 GB of storage.