Apps and Offices and Object Linking & Embedding

I had a fun time playing around with Google Apps the last week or so. For most my basic needs the word-processor and spreadsheet are just fine. Unless you have highly intricate sheets with macros... a power user, you should be fine with them too for inventory lists, employee lists, calculators of whatever it is you want to program them with.

Google Docs are nice, but again, as I use the web and page layout, and illustration as primary means of putting things out there, my use of a wordprocessor is minimal.

I was even able to share snippets of Google's spreadsheet in a web page. Which was cool, but it wasn't editable.

Then I tried Microsoft Outlook.com got yet another MS email address - I've had several  in the past, hotmail, live, whatever.

Along the way I discovered the newly released MS Web Apps for Skydrive, and so far so good.  I like the fact that MS has kept the ribbon controls everyone has so reluctantly gotten used to.

I also think the'tiles for documents is kindof cool looking, but if you have lots of documents? Time to find out tomorrow, I'll load it up - all SEVEN GIGS worth. In another week or so that won't sound like much, but for basic documents, that really is a hell of a lot of storage. If you've got videos you put them in YouTube, and for music, use Soundcloud, or Mixcloud.

Best of all exporting part of a spreadsheet - a cute little resolution aspect ratio counter, I was able to embed the document into a webpage AND change the values non-destructively to have the calcultor actually calculate.

Best of all i was able to export just the amount of the spreadsheet I wanted... with the option to include or exclude sheets, and alllow or disallow the user from making edits. And password protected them to only approved accounts.

So far both Emails and Web Apps accounts are free, although Google is starting to charge for new business App Accounts. It's not much though, and probably worth it for support.  Microsoft may well follow, however they do offer a paid for expanded Office 365 product that is more fully featured. This is something Google does NOT have, so once again Microsoft finds a way of capitolizing on it's years as an office application platform,  regardless of the medium.

I'm actually glad to see this, because while Open Source has Libre Office, there's not enough development from the nonpaid VOLUNTEERS who update it to transition to a fully functional web app.

And this is just a very beginning, while SAAS is pretty much a vertical market for it's specific applications, more general applications may be arising soon which mix the boundaries of the document to the long awaited concept of a 'document container' that provides full applications within object elements. Need a spreadsheet module, just plunk one in and the full features of a desktop office based system is there in full to support it. Not just an integrated applet cobbled together to form an interoperable 'suite' but the whole deal. Inserting a picture is the same as creating a picture using Photoshop - think Pixlr.

What is so different now?

Some critical elements are in place that allows big data centers to handle all the various instances of the programs, do the calculations, conversions and keep document space on those very computers, and simply send the interface to the end user in real time. Of course this has been done many times before, but not in a fully integrated way, and not in the comofortable interactive friendly way local programs have provided in the past. What has really changed is the speed at which all these elements can be sent back and forth, and the onboard processing power of new web interface technologies.

4/12/2013

Gnirps in New Jersey

I went out doors yesterday and smelled
New Jersey.
At least that to me is the smell implanted many years ago
when I was a toddler
It's spring, and earth, and just some other odd combinations of taste, and wetness, and it's very pleasnt. Very alive.

IT was a beautiful sunny day, and then later on it rained like a bitch
And yelled with thunder
That was lovely too!
Still smelled sweet.