Google Chrome Apps - will they rival Microsoft Office? - San Francisco Microsoft Office

Are you one of the 1.75 million installations or companies using Google Apps to run your computer office needs? It’s a bit doubtful when you think about it – 1.75 million doesn’t even cover the Bay Area, let alone the rest of the U.S. It is a nice hefty number but it doesn’t come close to Microsoft’s Office domination. Will the Google Apps take over anytime soon?

One area where I personally think that Google deserves to dominate is the mail cloud service. This App allows users to continue with the familiar “Outlook” interface, but it does its work through Google internet technology – no Exchange server required. No Exchange headaches. No Exchange security problems…. The list goes on. So, why are more folks not using it?

I think that’s a good question, and one which, unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to. I’m an independent, small business. I’m delighted when I find clients who actually use Outlook so I can do easy meeting setups and calendar planning. Do I use the “to-do” list? No, because first, you have to remember to check the to-do list, and that makes it pretty useless to me. Not Microsoft’s problem, just a fact about being me. I do use flags, though, as they save time scrolling and trying to find things. The search feature never seems to work quite right beyond the sort in ascending or descending order buttons, so, I stick with the easy-to-spot flag method for finding things. Filing? Well, sometimes, but then there’s that, “where did I put it” question that comes up every time, so we’re pretty much back to the “error-between-chair-and-keyboard” issue again.

Why don’t a lot of my clients have the Outlook hook up? Because they think they need a big business environment to take advantage of the Outlook features, and because most small business owners shy away from anything that looks like a time management solution. (I’m not alone?) They’re either rebelling against those corporate hours demands that still haunt them from the past, or they realize that small business tends to move so fast you don’t really have time to make a hobby out of keeping your calendar and your to-do list updated. Add the fact that you often don’t need to communicate that info with anyone but your own little brain, and you get the ultimate, “why bother.” To this sort of retired Project Manager; sure, it makes me cringe, but, there it is.

And, what about Word? Well, I’ve tried an abundance of word processing programs in my 30 years in technology. Hey- there actually used to be an abundance of them! I remember well the excellent apps that used to exist before they were either gobbled up by (you guessed it), Microsoft or died of their own accord. My personal favorite was a little Apple III (remember those?) application called Word Juggler, that did something really handy – something millions of people who work with States and cities, or who live in the Midwest (sorry), or who work in other antiquated businesses, still crave today! With Word Juggler, I was able to turn my computer and printer (daisy wheel) into a typewriter! Yep! Imagine the possibilities. Why and how that technology went away is a mystery, but oh, how it is missed! Believe it or not folks, creating an addressed envelope was once a very easy and one-try process – sigh.

Despite our fallen heroes, I think the Word dominance isn’t quite as big a mystery as the Outlook question. When a program controls all of your correspondence and “words,” you are very largely driven by one all-encompassing, nightmare-avoidance approach; “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I can almost see the cringing that takes place, and an unpleasant chill runs up my spine when I think of losing or even attempting to recover the Word work that is in my computer. I’d pay a lot of money and do just about anything to make sure I don’t lose it, or that I don’t have to re-type it! Besides that, the mere idea of losing time learning a new word processing app when I’m working with a deadline is almost unthinkable. Subject closed. The old wars about “the world against the Evil Empire” (aka Microsoft) are fading. Google’s initial popularity, built greatly on that premise, has faded. Besides, as Google and Microsoft continue with their very personal, decade-old vendettas against one another, the rest of us simply don’t have the time, and really don’t care that much about choosing sides. We’ve got bosses breathing down our necks for a document, and we just left the latest layoff meeting. Someone tell me that they’re worried about whether Google or Microsoft get their way.

Finally, Google's Chrome OS adoption will rely on folks dumping Microsoft Windows. Yeah – and the world will stop spinning for a bit while we solve this little crisis of global warming, and economic upheaval, right? I mean, we need a little more time to do this, so whaddaya think, universe? Can you give us a little break? Still, it’s a bit of a shame, because I think we all like Google in some way or another. We’re all rooting for a little less to go to Microsoft, aren’t we? I think it will be interesting to follow public opinion on the giant software guys, now that we’re generally looking at their profits and their competitive tactics through older and smarter eyes. Still, it all comes down to how much it will cost us – whether in time or money, when we decide to make a switch. Today, why would anyone throw out a perfectly wonderful application that does its job and allows us to communicate well with all but 1.75 million Google word app users? Only time will tell. I’ll keep my eye on things and let you know.

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All photos courtesy of DG Slayton/gone fishin studios.