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18 Comments
- merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Why trust someone else with your business data?
If you want free, use tools like open office. - GravyTrain6, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6http://www.duggmirror.com
- Xnus980w, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I agree that the security part can be a big negative. is it a good idea to store company internal information online? Things like marketing strategies and budget is something that should be closely guarded than to trust Google or any other companies to host online.
- cruffenach, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9This is where Google is laying the ground work to put Microsoft out of business. From what I can see Micrsoft makes money off of 2 things:
1. Windows
2. Office
Xbox costs more to make than they are selling them for, same with the zune. And I know Microsoft has more money than I could even imagine already in the bank, however, unless they join in this web 2.0 revolution, they could be left in the dust.
I think all of these apps are leading to one thing. Google OS. Where Google says its final ***** you to Microsoft. Google develops their own easy to install flavor of Linux that takes advantage of all of their already free apps that are quickly catching up to Microsft Office in functionality and what smart business person would continue using Windows. Let alone upgrading all of their machines hardware and liscenes to get Vista, what is shaping up to be one of the most disapointing software releases in history. The battle has begun, and Microsoft has got a load of progress to make up. - resplence, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Well the only few times I really needed Writely it was down.
I'll stick with my computer and e-mails for now. - simd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5So how do you do real-time collaborative editing with Open Office?
(I use it too, but Writely is a great tool). - fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6The important points:
1. Security and confidentiality
Because Google has already proven it can't be trusted. MS can't be trusted either, but you can always just unplug your computer from the network.
2. No Internet - no work
Yeah...internet will not always be on. Think power outages, storms, traveling, airplane...If you're stuck in an office, internet offices are fine.
3. World of Beta
In other words, stability is a dream.
4. Lack of features
Yeah, if you don't know what Mail Merge is, you don't use Word. It's one of the most powerful features offered by any office program. Macros are a close second.
7. No possibilities for audit of changes
MORE Important: No audits for the IRS or accounting dept/firm or attorneys...
9. Exporting to .doc creates some layout issues
Given that the vast majority of the business world uses Word, this is a really important issue.
Long story short: If you trust Google for your office needs, you're screwed. - hiscity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Seems that the real power of online office apps should be the ability to embed live data, such as: a google map of real time traffic, a google monthly calendar frame, or web cam photos of the weather....
Truth be told though, I'd be satisfied with a simple spreadsheet that could load up and process a million rows quickly, had a robust set of filters, and allowed "paint on fields" in a report form with query. I don't understand why the data would have to be kept server side -- if you didn't want to? Basically a cross between a database and a spreadsheet.
Another cross over app could combine word processing and desktop publishing. Seems like a web based app would be ideal for desktop publishing. Tons of graphics, but would need to generate an easy copyright citations page ... auto-listing. MLA cites, etc., would be perfect over the web.
Of course, there should be the ability to work on the document off-line too. It was really strange to use the Office 2007 beta and find that the only documents allowed were in a fictitious desktop on the web. I kind of feel the same way when I'm trying to download an email out of gmail. Not sure it's even possible. When I don't have a local copy, it doesn't feel like I own the document.
In sum, I like server side delivery of office applications, but they shouldn't need to be connected to the web to run basic functions. - ArcusOfSV, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I use Open Office on my Windows boxes and Neo Office on my Mac. Ill never buy another MS office suite and in turn I donte some of the money I saved to these guys.
- DeadFly, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Has anyone here made deliberate moves to web based apps (either hosted or internal) in established businesses in order to one day free themselves from Microsoft or just general PC woes? ( http://www.GettingCrapDone.com )
- joel8x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't think they want to kill MS completely, I think they want to take over the corporate world though to some degree. Think about it - all you need is a browser. Hardware costs would be so small because you will be dealing with what amounts to thin clients. No viruses, complete centralized control. For most average corporate computing tasks, this will be perfect. The only reason you would need an actual workstation will be for specialized positions - Jane the assistant no longer needs a PC to load up with spyware while she searches for pointless garbage during her down-time. If they can sell the whole package as a network appliance that can upgrade the apps straight from google on only one server, and run locally on your network to protect the content - well, it sounds like a solid future for Google to say the least. And since they currently give away the product for home users - people can learn and use the same apps at home. Brilliant.
- eric1, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6Site already down: http://duggmirror.com/software/The_Virtually_Free_Office_10_Pros_and_Cons/
I actually started using Writely mainly for the 'cool' factor and am happy to say it's done everything I needed thus far, and there is something to be said for documents I can view anywhere. I also really like the tagging aspect of it, which, if you can do it 'real' programs, I've never seen it. - Zap2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Could have used OpenOffice/NeoOffice...still online share is nice and you can work from anywhere, with bringing your doc any were!(But for a trade of of having to use the internet, so I could work on something in my car, on my laptop, with no internet, but with idea would mean I'd need it everywhere.
still a neat idea! - rahulsv, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It is all nice and cool to play with. I love and use them for informal non-profit groups for small projects. But I have doubts on whether big business will embrace these technologies wholesale. Imagine putting your company's documents on beta software and then one day Mountain View (or Utah or wherever they are building their massive data site) hits a power outage ... all your docs go poof. Good luck calling the provider for retrieving the data. Who knows if they keep backup and what are the policies for retrieval. What is the guaranteed quality of service?
At best I can imagine a few versions
1. Corporate versions: Deploy on intranet behind firewall with scheduled backup.
2. Hosted version: Someone sets up a 'for payment' service with known security, backup guarantee and certain quality of service.
Couldn't open the blog though. - dtenen, on 05/30/2008, -0/+0Exactly right! I wouldn't trust anyone with my business data.
What if the site crashes and loses all my data?
I use Servcorp, http://www.servcorp.net/ for my virtual office needs.
They've been in business for over 30 years and very trustworthy. - luxette, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Want to come up with a real potential MS killer? Come up with a really good appliance version of writerly / google spreadsheets / etc. Price it so that for your average small business, it's more cost-effective to stick one appliance server on the LAN and have everyone run their office apps through their web broswer.
Cheaper than buying MS Office for all.
Security is less of an issue since it's all inside the firewall.
Now that would be something that could seriously threaten Office hegemony. - akapablo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0AbiWord, Thunderbird, BlogDesk, and Firefox...that's pretty much it for my office needs. I'll use OpenOffice if I *must* look at a spreadsheet, which is rare.
- dognose, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It's true, this is sorta what they are working towards. The closest thing so far is Google Pack, which is just a big set of software with an auto updater.
While it costs money for MS applications, Google is actually PAYING for installs. Firefox and Picassa are both $1/install and Google Pack is $2 in their referral service. I'd imagine their whole OS would be even more. Imagine, hardware preloaded w/ google OS could actually be CHEAPER than barebones machines.
