Thursday, November 16, 2006

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

This is a test post using Google Docs & Spreadsheets . If you're reading this, it must have worked. Several months back I swore off Microsoft Office. Too many issues, too much unreliability, and too much Microsoft. Instead, I used Writely (which is now part of Google Docs & Spreadsheets) and Google Spreadsheets when working from my PC. I used (and still use) Dataviz Documents To Go when working from my Palm Handheld . And, unfortunately, I'm still forced to use Microsoft Office while at work.

There have been some great updates to Writely and Google Spreadsheets. They have been consolidated into Google Docs & Spreadsheets, so you can access all your documents (and spreadsheets, obviously) in one place. You can email a document directly to Google Docs & Spreadsheets and access it later from your account (this doesn't work with spreadsheets yet, but I'm sure that's in the works). You can upload from your PC, download to your PC, and save your file in any one of five formats: HTML, Word, Rich Text Format, Open Office , and Portable Document Format. Yes, you can actually create a PDF file from within Google Docs & Spreadsheets. How sweet it is!

I was telling my wife earlier today that you only really need three tools online: Google (and the huge array of services they provide), Wikipedia , and Average Joe Blogs . If only I could get the rest of the webosphere to see it my way.

Joe

1 comment:

Rolly Maiquez said...

Thanks for writing about Writely (Google Docs) and Dataviz on the Palm. I'm such a user and I truly believe in your beliefs and mantra. :)

I used Writely back when it was new. Then stopped when it was offline. Then rediscovered it. I've since been spreading the news among my students (middle and upper school) -- convincing them that they don't have to fumble with flimsy flash drives. Just create a Google account (or better, get a GMail account), sign up with Google Docs and Spreadsheets -- and that's all they need for organization in their school papers. So far, I've gotten very good feedback from students. :)

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