Google Docs Geared Up To Battle With Microsoft
San Francisco – Google Inc. said on Monday it has taken steps to broaden the reach of its Web-based software useful in the real world that competes with Microsoft Corp.’s Office computer software by allowing users to edit word processing documents offline.
The Internet giant said on Monday it now lets users of its Web-based Google Docs, edit documents they have created without an active Internet connection, on planes, trains and other disconnected spots. Before Monday, an Internet connection was always required to access the feature.
Google said users of its Google Docs application can use Google Gears to save and then edit documents without being connected to the Internet. Google Gears is a free, open-source multi-platform JavaScript application programming interface (API) that allows Web applications to work offline. For end-users, Gears takes the form of a browser plug-in for Internet Explorer or Firefox.
“What that is going to allow a user to do, the first time they come to Docs and see the offline link, they will install the open-source Gears extension, and all documents will automatically be synced,” said Ken Norton, product manager for Google Docs. “If you lose your Internet connection, you can still open your documents and make edits.”
The preliminary process of duplicating an online Google Docs files to a local device and synchronizing local copies with remote versions could take some time if the files in question are large or numerous.
But, over the next few weeks, once Google Docs is selected, users who have downloaded Google Gears will be given access to updated code that enables the application to run offline. In this mode, documents can be saved locally within a temporary cache, which is then transferred to “the cloud” — Google’s servers — when the browser next connects to the Web.
“Cloud computing is great, but you wants the cloud to make it work,” Philip Tucker, software engineer, Google Docs, wrote in a Google blog. “On an airplane, on the shuttle commuting to work, or at home when my cable modem goes down, I want to work on my documents. And, until now, that usually meant saving a copy and editing on the desktop.”
“Now there is a better solution. With Google Docs offline, I can take my little piece of the cloud with me wherever I go,” Tucker added. “Once enabled, I have a local version of my document list and editors, along with my documents.”
Even in offline mode, the web browser is still capable to access the locally stored, offline copy of the application via the URL docs.google.com. Generally, the application is constantly reporting updates the user makes to an active document to Google in the background; but in the version that’s being phased in, while the browser is offline, the application will file updates locally.
“It is all pretty seamless: I do not have to remember to save my documents locally before packing my laptop for a trip,” writes Tucker. “I do not have to remember to save my changes as soon as I get back online. And I do not have to switch applications based on network connectivity. With the extra peace of mind, I can more fully rely on this tool for my important documents.”
The concept already works within Google’s news feed reader, Google Reader, and applications from independent Web developers such as task-management service “Remember the Milk,” from an Australian-based company of the same name.
Nevertheless, Google has high aspirations that Apps — with Docs in tow — will broaden its reach into medium-size and large companies, and to that end has been boosting its security and administration features, particularly in its fee-based Premier version.
Offline access to documents is “one of the big things they need to be competitive in the enterprise. It is a critical step in gaining that appeal,” said Rebecca Wettemann, a Nucleus Research analyst.
The changes, at present and in the offing, addresses “gaps” in access to the features when Internet access is not available, Google spokesman Jason Freidenfelds said in a posting on Google’s official blog. “This gives us a taste of the future when you will always be able to access the cloud,” Freidenfelds wrote.
Google’s wide array of free, Web-based versions of features so far has failed to provide much rivalry to Microsoft’s leading Word franchise, but the Google features’ growth has nonetheless been impressive.
“Average monthly use of Google Docs almost tripled in November to 1.6 million from 600,000 in June.”
While Google spreads out its access to a lot of its offline applications and services, it should help organizations understand how this capability can be useful in the real world, Wettemann said. It is important that the introduction of offline access does not remain in the realm of a cool novelty, she said.
“Google should take the opportunity to talk about what are the best practices and use cases in which this approach makes sense and delivers greater value than traditional desktop applications,” Wettemann said.
Until now, talk of rivalry between Google Docs and Microsoft Word was mostly precipitated because Google Docs just was not functional without an Internet connection. Now, however, the games can begin, even if it is fair to say that the two word processing applications are aimed at different users.
“Norton said that Gears support for Google’s other online applications will be coming soon. He described the process as a rolling launch, meaning that some Google Docs users will see Gears support enabled before others. Spreadsheets, he said, will sync with Gears and be accessible in read-only mode when offline, at least for the time being. Google Presentations will see Gears support soon,” he said.
Gears is presently supported in Internet Explorer 6 and above and Firefox 1.5 and above for Windows XP and Vista, according to Google. Firefox 1.5 and above is also supported on Mac OS X 10.2 and above and Linux. Gears also run on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 and above in Internet Explorer 4.01 and above.