Google Docs
Posted by Peter | Filed under Software, Websites
Over the past number of years, I have found myself steadily moving more and more of my day-to-day computing activity online… in keeping with much of the computing world, I suppose. However, I had not really moved into the realm of online document editing until recently, largely because I had no need.
I started using Google Docs when I was collaborating on a paper to be submitted to a journal, and was immediately impressed by how simple yet powerful a tool it is. It is now becoming almost indispensable to me, as it allows me to create and edit documents from nearly anywhere I go, without needing to download software or synchronize copies. I can keep things private, or ’share’ documents with specific people to whom I want to give read and/or write access, or open them up to the world. It’s certainly no replacement for fully-fledged office software when it comes to final drafts for print or such, but it’s amazing at what it does, and it is reliable. (Regular automatic saves, and document revision history… how can I live without it?)
That’s just the word processor. I have looked over-the-shoulder of somebody using the spreadsheet, and was astounded by how slick it all is. The integration with form-based input for users is amazing too.
I am also turning to Google Calendar more now, which I have found to be very useful in many ways for organising my (hectic) schedule. Alongside other useful stuff I use regularly, including GMail and GoogleCode, and of course, the inimitable Google Search Engine (with all its handy tricks), I really am a big fan of this .com giant, founded by some crazy/genius blokes who couldn’t spell googol properly.
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