Hordes of programmers, slave at desks, in Microsoft’s offices, desperately trying to get Vista, the next version of Windows, ready for release on schedule. Meanwhile at the Googleplex, a similar bunch of coders are frantically working on Google’s vision. The two giants of IT could not have more diametrically opposed views on the future of computing.
Microsoft have bet all their chips on the PC requiring a large, complex chunk of code, that is proving very difficult to correct and clean-up. Their vision is that the PC will continue to be used as we currently do. A model which locks you into constant upgrades of the Windows operating system, and other software, preferably from Microsoft. Also constant upgrades of hardware are required by the user, as each release of the operating system grows in size.
Google on the other hand don’t want to sell you anything. Too good to believe? How can a company as large as Google make money by giving things away? I don’t know either, advertising plays its part, but the rest remains a mystery.
The future of computing, Google style, lies in the Internet. Analysing how people use their PCs, Google have started to roll out products that can be used through the web browser. The programs are stored at Google, not on the PC, and the files created by the user are also stored at Google. This means that the user requires a less powerful computer, and gains from the lower costs involved. It also allows people to be mobile, without owning a laptop, by using PCs in Internet cafes.
You can already download the Google Pack (pack.google.com), a package of software including Picasa, which manages digital photos, and helps to publish them on-line, along with Google Talk, a voice and IM application; RealPlayer, a media player; and a virus checker from Norton. There are also several other goodies including the Firefox web browser. These form the base of your requirements.
Having successfully launched Gmail, a web based email system, that’s taken the IT world by storm, Google have turned their sights to office-type products. They have introduced Calendar, which allows you to schedule your appointments, and organise your to-do list on the web, and to share this with others. Recently announced was Spreadsheets. Still in the testing stages, and not yet anywhere near the full function provided by Excel, but it is usable. At least it can handle the simple sheets I have at home.
The second announcement was that Google had purchased Writely, which is web-based word processing software. This is a great little product. In fact I used it to produce this eStuff column. It has all the functionality you would expect from a word processor, and more. One of the extras, in both Spreadsheets and Writely, allows multiple people to collaborate on documents, making it easy to share whatever you have written, or to get peer reviews.
Rumours are doing the rounds that Google will acquire a product that allows presentations to be built, using the web browser. If these are true, that would round off the office software range.
Google’s products are still in their infancy, and it remains to be seen if people will trust Google to store their documents safely and securely. I am not sure I would trust my personal information to a third party, but I think Google could be on to a winner.
