Google takes Docs on the road
456345
Look, but don't touch, on a mobile phone Google has slipped its Web 2.0 Docs application onto its mobile portal, allowing users to view documents, spreadsheets and presentations on their mobile phone browser.â¦
569019
New Scholar service promises next level of search engines.
668624
Google Earth now has a searchable index of data files, a feature to make it easier for users to find and adopt third-party overlays.
256798
The O'Reilly Network has a new article posted for all of those out there that are looking to make writing large documentation/publications much simpler.
83106
Google has released a tool that lets people search documents, e-mails or spreadsheets stored on a PC.
364959
(InfoWorld) - Google plans toÂ add a presentations applicationÂ to its Web applications suite on Tuesday, delivering on a promise made in April. The suite, until now known as Docs & Spreadsheets, will also be renamed Google Docs on Monday. Because Google Docs is part of the broader Google Apps suite of collaboration and communication applications, Google Apps users will also get the presentations application. The delivery of the presentations application will no doubt once again turn up the heat on industry discussions thatÂ Google Docs and Google Apps rival Microsoft's OfficeÂ suite of productivity applications and the Outlook/Exchange messaging platform. There is a key architectural difference between the Google and Microsoft suites: Google's is hosted in the search company's data centers while Microsoft's is packaged software designed to be installed on users' computers. TheÂ viability of Web hosted applications, with their software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, is no longer in question, although the consensus is that, while the future belongs to them, theyÂ will not completely displaceÂ traditional packaged applications. The issue is that, while Google and others like Zoho and Zimbra push ahead expanding and improving their SaaS suites, Microsoft is perceived by many to be dragging its feet in coming up with SaaS versions of its Office products. "Microsoft needs to take a careful look at its enterprise strategy for both messaging and the desktop," said Rebecca Wettemann, an analyst with Nucleus Research. Having delivered the presentations application, Google Docs and the broader Google Apps, which includes e-mail, instant messaging, calendar, and a Web page creator, have filled the only big hole they had in their ability to compete with Microsoft Office and Outlook/Exchange, she said. "Microsoft should be very concerned," Wettemann said. The benefits of SaaS communication and collaboration suites have already caught the attention of thousands of organizations of all sizes worldwide. Because the vendor -- Google in this case -- hosts the software, which end-users access via a Web browser, clients don't have to install the software or worry about upgrading it. Another benefit is that this type of SaaS application, designed to live on a hosted server is typically built to make it easy for users to share documents and collaborate on them. There are downsides to the SaaS model as well.Â Security concernsÂ exist about housing applications and data in a vendor servers. Availability and performance problems sometimes arise from server failures. It is also generally agreed that Google Apps and similar suites from other vendors don't have as many features and functionality as long established communication and collaboration platforms like Microsoft's Office, Outlook and Exchange and IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino. However, the SaaS suites generally cost significantly less. For example, Google Docs is free, while Google Apps has free versions and one designed for workplace use called Premier that costs $50 per user per year and includes more sophisticated features, including broader administrative controls for IT staffers. In the case of the Google Docs presentations application, Wettemann estimates that it has about 60 percent of the features in Microsoft Office's PowerPoint. Google officials point out that Google Docs and Google Apps aren't intended to replace Microsoft Office and Exchange, but rather complement them or be an option to users and organizations who don't have them. It's widely expected that Google Apps will soon gain a wiki component based on technology Google acquired almost a year ago when itÂ bought JotSpot. The presentations application, still in an early stage, will let users create presentations and store them in a central server, where they can be shared with colleagues, who can in turn edit them. Users will also be able to share slide shows of a presentation with others and chat with them in real time. They will also be able to import presentations created with Microsoft PowerPoint. The ability to export presentations to PowerPoint will be added later. Â
110852
Last week when Google came up with its Desktop Search, it promised to make finding files on our desktop a lot less painful. Knowing Google and its other services, I had little doubt that the new tool from their stable would be incredible.
18632
Google is introducing an online business software package designed to make it easier for people in the same organization to share documents and information.
205103
(InfoWorld) - Google has enhanced its enterprise search device, doubling its capacity and adding new query capabilities. The Search Appliance's maximum capacity has been increased to 30 million documents, up from 15 million, Google announced Tuesday. The increased capacity comes via a software upgrade that also includes search query enhancements. The software upgrade is available to Search Appliance owners with an active support plan. All owners get access to the search query enhancements, but they have to pay extra if they want additional capacity. The Search Appliance, introduced in 2002, is a hardware box with Google search engine software designed to index and retrieve documents stored in enterprise servers. The Search Appliance model that can index up to 30 million documents is the GB-8008, the line's most advanced. Google doesn't disclose its price but its 30 million document configuration can cost "in the high six figures," said Matthew Glotzbach, head of products for the Google Enterprise unit. The intermediate model, the GB-5005, has a 10 million document capacity, while the entry model, the GB-1001, starts at US$30,000 and can index up to 3 million documents. Although the off-the-shelf GB-8008 now has a maximum capacity of 30 million documents, Google can make the product index more documents through custom configurations. "We can easily do a 100 million document system," he said. With this week's upgrade, all Search Appliance models have gained the ability to limit search results by a date range. For example, a user now can retrieve documents published in, say, the first quarter of 2004. The Search Appliance now also can narrow search results by number range. This might be useful for e-commerce companies, so they can let their customers find products within a specific price range. The purchase of a Search Appliance includes a 2-year support plan, which in turn includes software updates and telephone technical assistance. Google also has a smaller search device called the Google Mini, aimed at departments and small and medium-size businesses, as well as an enterprise desktop search application. Google competes with vendors like Autonomy Corp. PLC and FAST Search & Transfer ASA in the enterprise search market.
499277
Online search leader Google Inc. is becoming more bookish.
572930
See how smarter documents are working for others at
565947
Docs, Spreadsheets, Folders It's only a matter of time before Google unveils a full-fledged online operating system. This week, Microsoft's biggest rival rolled out a new version of Docs &amp; Spreadsheets - its online answer to Word and Excel - adding Windows-like folders, an improved search engine, and an all-around prettier interface.â¦
11811
What's the best way to provide digital driving directions to the likes of Google and Garmin? May the best map win. By Wilson Rothman from Wired magazine.
365920
Last week, Google, a company renowned for its search service, released the Google Desktop, a software program that lets users search through materials stored on their
253899
Google's Knol project aims to make online information easier to find and more authoritative.
104928
Google Inc. on Thursday became the first tech heavyweight to tackle the daunting task of uncluttering computers, introducing a program that quickly scours hard drives for documents, e-mails, instant messages and past Web searches.
318052
The company seems to be focused on developing a solution that would enable users to access complete directions and maps using a portable device.