Over the weekend I took a few hours and played with GoogleDocs. This was the first time I spent a good deal of time with the application, but I have used it prior. I very much like it. It's pretty quick and very easy to use. Then I read about the upcoming upgrades to Google Apps (Google Gears).
--- yoursearchadvisor Google Sites: Scheduled to be launched sometime next year (2008), Google Sites will expand upon the Google Page Creator already offered within Apps. Based on JotSpot collaboration tools, Sites will allow business to set up intranets, project management tracking, customer extranets, and any number of custom sites based on multi-user collaboration. [UPDATE] I don’t recall wikis being mentioned specifically but I assume they are part of the plan.
Will users be able to edit docs, spreadsheets and presentation offline? Scott’s answer was yes, and that the Google Gears plugin would handle the offline work. In addition, Google Gears support is in the works for Gmail and Google Calendar.
What happens when somebody edits a document offline at the same time another user is editing the online version? The same algorithm that reconciles simultaneous editing will apply here when the offline version is merged back into the online version. Changes will be versioned the same way, so basically in chronological order.
Will Google docs have OCR capabilities for importing .pdfs or other graphical files? Not yet, but perhaps someday. Scott couldn’t comment on the “roadmap” for future enhancements. However, the collaborative Google Sites (based on JotSpot) will allow for upload and storage of any file type. Will GrandCentral be integrated into Google Apps? If so, when? Again, Scott didn’t comment on the timing but said they are working on it and it is a “huge priority” for them.
Will Google Spreadsheets ever have advanced features like pivot tables, macros or offline database integrations? (This was actually my question) Scott said they are constantly trying to find the balance between speed and utility. It will never be a heavy duty analytics program because that would be too heavy and bulky for the average user.
Will Google Apps support video conferencing in addition to Google Talk and Chat? Scott’s answer, “Not yet”. I got the impression from his body language that it’ll come someday, but nothing more was said.-----
OFFICE SUITS
Very impressive stuff coming, and best of all it's free. I did a little poll because it occured to me that most of my Mac and even PC friends use GMail. I found out quickly that in my circle of friends (most are Mac users) GMail and Docs are being used by the majority of them. This is over the use of Apple's "Mail" but more importantly Microsoft's Mac version of "Office".
I still use Entourage and Word, but I find that I use Word much less than I used to and Entourage is no longer my primary Email program. Also, among my "Mac Fiend" friends, the anticipation for the new "Office 2007" for Mac has died down considerably. Now pour on top IBM's announced Lotus Symphony Suite, another free suite of document apps from a company that historically worked hand and hand with MS, and you've got a healthy helping of stewed up trouble for MS Office sales.
STEADY CHIPPING
Apple is chipping away at Microsoft sales with Leopard, Macbook's and Macbook Pro's. Recently it was announced that Apple with Leopard is doing a number on Microsoft in Japan. Now with the announcement of Android, Googles new open source operating system for cellphones, along with their bid for their own wireless spectrum, Google will put Microsoft into a fight for handset dominance. Me thinks Google stands a good chance at victory, even over the iPhone. The iPhone is stifled by AT&T exclusivity for what seems like an eternity, so it seems to me a no brainer that Android will have an effect on iPhone sales. But with companies like HTC gleefully pledging to create handsets for Googles Android, and by the mere fact that Android is "open source", allowing developers to create a virtual universe of applications, it's easy to assume that MS will take a huge hit here.
THE LOOKING GLASS
If you see these things coming, don't you have to wonder why so much time and money is being spent on an MP3 player that's never going to rival the iPod marketshare? Or is it that MS just doesn't see it coming? They've been king for so long that they just can't imagine being knocked off the thrown, particularly by a couple of kids from Silicon Valley. Which is strange because wasn't Bill Gates a kid when he started his world take over?
The two years are going to prove extremely interesting in the high tech world. There will most definitely be a shift in the statues quo. I think the real question is who is going to take over, Apple or Google? Microsoft clearly can't get out of their own way. Dumping millions into a fad like "Facebook", millions into trying to reinvent the MP3 wheel (without a shred of invention) and over priced software suites that provide no real value over a freeware software suite are going to sink the one time giant. Which simply boils down to arrogance, a state that most on top get comfortable with.
But as I said, the next couple of years are going to be very interesting and very advantageous for consumers, as these rising giants continue to take on the sitting giant with products that challenge the way we've done things for the last twenty years. This is a good time to be a Tech lover because we're all in for a fun ride.
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