Short answer to question “Is this the future of all software products?” is yes.

I have had some fun and high aspirations with Google Documents. Although I went through the actions of creating a text document (a template to fill in for the library’s June E-News –I intend to use and collaborate with it!), a spreadsheet and a graphic presentation, I am struck by the tiny differences in functionality from the MS Office Products I have used. For example, I am pretty good with Excel and the spreadsheet I copy-and-pasted in to Google Docs, then edited, just didn’t feel as robust to me. It is a complex spreadsheet — and downloading the one for the exercise was simpler, but I miss the ability to do what an experienced user can do in Excel. I invited the student services manager for the Curriculum in Toxicology to look at the photo and text details I put into two presentation slides — and she responded right away — honest it was only a test — but now we have another way to be reminded of a project that we only do once a year complete with photo of award ribbons and our local contact to procure more!

When I checked out information on Zoho I was perplexed about the ability to sign in using my Yahoo account, but then — of course — the long agreement came up which I chose to decline and not test Zoho’s functionality. The Technology Review article raved about it and I will trust that it would work for me on a Mac. I have tried to read the article from Slate but it has timed out three times so I’m moving on. I am an advocate of standards, which Web 2.0 tools seem to have few in comparison to what I consider standards — but never mind because as noted at the end of the article 8 million new computer users are “counted” in India every month “and they’ve never heard of Microsoft Office.” The ability for users to learn how to get around intuitively with any software, rather than being tied to one product line (Microsoft) is more valued than true software expertise. Wow — that PC magazine review from 12/27/06 of Microsoft Office Live answered my wonderment about the odd message that appeared when I attempted to investigate at the link: http://workspace.officelive.com Seems to be another PC only and you people who use Macs are just undersirable arrangement. Or maybe they know how much I hate flashing ads and stuff even if the software is “free.” Seamless capability to set up a web site? I’ll never know!

Webex WebOffice looks like an interesting product and I am impressed that it is associated with Cisco Systems, a company also located in nearby Research Triangle Park, NC, but my home internet connection is being very finicky so delving into the white papers and learning more is out of the question tonight.

While my short answer was yes, my long answer is maybe! While it is interesting to consider the market for collaborative document tools, I believe someone should learn about what is possible and then determine what would work best for their needs. Yes, this is a course on Web 2.0 tools, but must one always be online? This reminds me a little of the students I see who cannot seem to relish the silence w/o cell phones or Ipods. Working on a document simultaneously may have its advantages in the early stages, but in the end, there needs to be one editor and hands-off time. Maybe that’s when one copy and pastes it from the collaborative space back into their private world!

Optional: here is the URL to the Golberg Travel Award ribbons slides:
http://docs.google.com/EmbedSlideshow?docid=ddr6gzcj_6fcrztqdr