Checking style in proofing in Word 2016

Perhaps we disagree on the meaning of the phrase 'I would guess.'

MS says the new Editor is a cloud-based service.

Cloud, cloud, cloud.  MS will gradually require that you live in theirs.  Eventually you won't be allowed to use a keyboard and mouse, either.

It's not enough for you to have a presence on the telephone system and the Internet -- which soon enough will be required (not optional) in your pocket just as "normal" ID is.  If you're not in the cloud, you'll risk being legally deemed a vagrant.

With things like MS Word Editor, if you want equal access to features you "buy," you'll need a presence in the cloud, and a strong, reliable, fast web connection ... something absent from a large segment of homes in the US.

And those like me who can afford a connection but who have no access except by satellite ... a far less reliable and slower service than cable, with small monthly usage limits, continuous cloud presence is not possible.  (Along with millions of others, I don't have a cell phone signal, either ... and I live only 20 miles from a major state university campus, not in the middle of the Tetons.)

So when I'm editing an important document needed tomorrow morning, or needed NOW, if there's a thunderstorm or heavy cloud cover (terrestrial clouds, that is), I can't edit as I could in all versions of Word going back many years.  Hey, beginning this month, you can't login to your Social Security account anymore without a cell phone texted login key (so I am now barred from using this federal online service).  See the direction it's all headed?  You WILL be assimilated.

If I'm reading MS's announcements wrong, and there actually WILL be a desktop-installed Editor, let MS say so, and say how limited it will be compared to that available to 365 subscribers, if so.  PLEASE TELL ME THE NEW FEATURE/UPGRADE (EGREGIOUS BUG FIX) "EDITOR" WILL LET ME USE A GRAMMAR AND STYLE CHECKER COMPARABLE TO THE ONE IN 2013 WHEN I'M NOT LOGGED IN TO MICROSOFT CORPORATION.  This question applies to all Word users, whether they are 365 subscribers or not.

All the press articles I've found scraping the July 26 MS announcement about Researcher and Editor treat these "upgrades" as "upgrades" and act as if 2016 always had what 2013 did, and I never could find press articles about MS removing the feature in Word 2016.  So much for The Press, i.e., corporate mockingbirds.

I'm leery of accepting the Editor "upgrade," because their announcements clearly show it is still in development.  How many crashes will this virtual beta cause?  Remember, they scrambled to create it in a year.

The remainder of this post is copied from the July 26, 2016 MS Office Blog article (italics mine): New to Office 365 in July—new intelligent services Researcher and Editor in Word, Outlook Focused Inbox for desktop and Zoom in PowerPoint

by Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for the Office team.

This month, we are releasing a new set of cloud-powered intelligent services in Office apps designed to save you time and produce better results. These features help you improve your writing in Word ...

Introducing Editor—your new digital writing assistant

While Researcher helps you start a paper, Editor assists you with the finishing touches [tell that to Strunk & White] by providing an advanced proofing and editing service. Leveraging machine learning and natural language processing—mixed with input from our own team of linguists—Editor makes suggestions to help you improve your writing. Initially [what does that mean?], it will help you simplify and streamline written communications by flagging unclear phrases or complex words, such as recommending “most” in place of “the majority of.”  [Initially.]

As a cloud-based service, Editor will get better with time. This fall, it will expand upon Word’s current [yeah, right] spelling and grammar tools to inform you why words or phrases may not be accurate—teaching at the same time it is correcting. In the same release [the summer or fall one?], Editor will overhaul Word’s visual proofing cues so you can distinguish at a glance between edits for spelling (red squiggle), grammar (blue double underline) or writing style (gold dotted line). Stay tuned for these and other updates to Editor.

Office 365 still is installed "locally". In theory, it can run without an internet connection   it only needs to be connected to the internet every 30 days to verify.

Yes the "Editor" and "Researcher" are online services that require a good internet connection.

You don't have an option about accepting this "update", of installing them. I suspect you will have the option of turning them off.