October 10th, 2006
Google Docs & Spreadsheets: More pieces of Google Office
The new combined Writely and Google Spreadsheets interface has just gone live, under the name Google Docs & Spreadsheets. The Writely.com site now re-directs to http://docs.google.com and the Writely brand has been replaced by the usual no-frills Google brand. The homepage allows you to tag and sort your files. There are also common functions, like import and export. The new doc and spreadsheet pages now look almost identical, with similar tabs and layout.
CNET has an early review:
"Today's release of Google Docs and Spreadsheets is a step forward, and I trust that Google will continue to improve the feature set, usability, and integration of these two products. At a preview for bloggers earlier today, we heard about some future plans like integration with Gmail (when you get a word processing file or a spreadsheet as an attachment, you'll have the option to open the file in Docs and Spreadsheets). The team is also working on APIs, so other programmers can access the functionality of the applications. Also, Google is going to "take a shot" at a disconnected version, for users who want to access files when they are offline. And they're working on other applications, too."
While I still think this is a piecemeal solution, it looks like Google is putting a lot of effort into web-based office. Kudos to them.
