Google Writely and Spreadsheets

There was a "Knock-Knock" at Microsoft's door this last Wednesday. "Who's there?", they asked. "Google Docs" was the answer, and that answer may have just signaled the coming end of Microsoft's market domination.

Can't happen, you say? Microsoft Word and Excel are too entrenched, too powerful, too ubiquitous? Well, we'll see.

I've been using these products for a few days prior to their release. I found them (especially the spreadsheets) a little buggy, but wonderfully convenient - especially for opening Microsoft documents on my Mac and Linux machines. Of course Microsoft will quickly try to kill that convenience by changing their formats to make them incompatible, but I don't think that trick is going to work this time. Google has tremendous penetration also and I think use of these web based word processors and spreadsheets is going to mushroom - if Microsoft tries their Power Ranging morphing tricks to sidestep, I think they'll just find they've stepped right out of the game.

Not that Microsoft isn't aware of the seductive allure of web based apps. Oh, no, of course not: Microsoft wants to do exactly the same thing, with the only difference being that they want to charge. Right now, though, in a knee jerk response, Microsoft is playing the "inferior product" card: at Google Docs & Spreadsheets Is Here: Microsoft Responds a Microsoft VP is quoted as saying "The technology they are using has some inherent limits, They are going to hit up against these limits."

Yeah. Let's see: a few hundred bucks and some marginal advantages vs. free. A few hundred bucks and tied to Microsoft operating systems vs. free and platform agnostic. Oh, sure: I'll go with Microsoft.. no, not likely.

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them.

I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Comments




Thu Oct 12 16:31:38 2006: Subject: http://phoe6.livejournal.com   infinity
Tony, Greetings.


What I was wondering was, Google is search Giant and have a kind of Monopoloy over Search and Web. Using this power, including someones strengh ( M$ Office) isn't an abuse of Monopoly? Can M$ think in those lines and sue Google?




Thu Oct 12 17:05:14 2006: Subject:   TonyLawrence
I don't think Google qualifies :-)



See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitrust for why they don't and Microsoft has.



Don't miss responses! Subscribe to Comments by RSS or by Email

Click here to add your comments

If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a Gravatar