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Content Tagged with docs + Google
Google Docs Bar - Companion for Firefox
Online Documents: Open It Online Sends Documents Straight to Your Online Editor
Overview : Working offline - Google Docs Help Center
Behind the scenes of the little green syncing icon at Google I/O
This post is one in a series that previews Google I/O, our biggest developer event in San Francisco, May 28-29. Over the next two months, we'll be highlighting sessions and speakers to give Google Code blog readers a better sense of what's in store for you at the event. - Ed.
Being a UI engineer, I usually expect the features I implement to have a little bit more visual interaction than a little green icon. However, while my team and I were implementing Google Docs Offline, the challenge was just that: how make the offline experience work seamlessly while just adding one icon.
Building Docs Offline was quite a challenge, and we pushed Gears to its limits to accomplish it. To give an idea of some of the complexities, Google Docs is one application that is comprised of 3 editors (documents, spreadsheets, and presentations) and 1 file management UI running across two domains (docs.google.com and spreadsheets.google.com). The domain challenges alone were significant challenges in our design - we are fully utilizing multiple cross-domain workers to synchronize documents, capture resources, and authenticate users.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that any of the servers can be running any version of the code and fall over at anytime?
Getting all of this to "just work" for users was tough, but necessary for a great user experience.
Wondering how you can take your applications offline? I'll be discussing all these issues in-depth at this year's Google developer conference, Google I/O. Come by and learn how to get your app its very own little green syncing icon.
Google Docs Bar - Companion for Firefox
Majority Of Americans On Google Docs: “What You Talkin Bout Willis?”
A new survey by NPD has found that the 73% of Americans have never heard of Google Docs and other online office applications, but perhaps worst still only 0.5% of respondents have abandoned desktop office applications for an online alternative. 94% of Americans have never tried a web based productivity suite.
To be fair though, the survey was of “600 PC users” so it (possibly) didn’t count Mac users for example, nor really ask enough people to even be a statistically valid survey of computer users.
Although some will undoubtedly use the figures as proof that online applications are failing to gain popular acceptance, they do represent an opportunity waiting to happen. Google and others are working hard to change the way businesses use basic services such as wordprocessing with a continued marketing push into the enterprise sector. The challenge is to overcome over 25+ years of what people consider to be normal (desktop apps) by proving that the online alternative is ready and capable of being used. There’s little doubt today, at least based on OS X and Linux adoption figures that there is a very real and definite move away from Microsoft, accelerated by the disaster that is Vista. Whilst there are always desktop alternatives on both platforms, there will be a continuing number of users who question the need to buy Microsoft Office, be that as an upgrade for an existing OS, or brand new as they switch to Mac. It’s a slow switch, but given the online alternatives there is little doubt that the number making the switch to online apps will continue to grow.
(via Download Squad)
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