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Mike Riversdale on Sunday, October 19, 2008
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Was it timing that merely 2 days after Steve Balmer (Microsoft CEO) says (of Google Docs)*:
... you can’t even put a footnote in a document!
... that Google releases footnotes into Google Docs?
Or was it to show that the on-line world moves at a different speed to the "traditional" PC software environment and that Google has more ability/agility than most realise.
This isn't to say that Google Docs is more or less useful than Microsoft Office - that's for each business/individual to decide - but it does highlight how a product can become more useful before your very eyes and as you ask.
As to who will "win" - maybe the tortoise, maybe the hare - I don't care as long as we get software than is useful!
Further reading on this:
- Google Docs ... so what - the ONE reason why you should care
- Constant Beta Is A Bit Like Hair Growing - No-One Notices
- Useful - The Only Criteria Software Should Be Measured Against
- Agile, if it can work for millions of users why can't YOU do it?
- Google Applications - Not Enterprise Worthy?
* source: Google Apps no threat to Microsoft? Maybe it is…
Picture credit: Gutenberg.org
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3 comments:
This seems similar to the comparison of factual errors between Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia a few years ago. The number of errors were about the same. What was interesting was that the Wikipedia errors were all fixed two days later...
:-) Nice comparison
Seems like a classic "disruptive" trajectory. Target the non-users and light users first with a cheaper and more convenient product, then gradually add features until you match the incumbent. Of course Google is adding a bunch of features that Microsoft never really had, so perhaps it's more of a Blue Ocean Strategy.
Who will win? Google, methinks. So long as folks trust Google with their data, and most folks seem to, the standard quoted SaaS/Cloud-based advantages, along with the freemium biz model should eventually carry the day.
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