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So... people are going to be hesitant to adopt it based on the fact that it doesn't do something that none of it's competitors does either? ...or did dropbox recently add a feature that allows me to edit my office docs in the web browser that I'm not aware of?

You are the biggest douchebag. No one but Microsoft offers editing its files in a browser in their own format, because its their [censored] software. Google goes a step ahead of dropbox, sugarsync and gives an option to the user to be able to edit it by converting it.

You are the biggest douchebag. No one but Microsoft offers editing its files in a browser in their own format, because its their [censored] software. Google goes a step ahead of dropbox, sugarsync and gives an option to the user to be able to edit it by converting it.

Yet another professionally crafted anti-Google article!

But this one is not bashing Google Drive directly, it is injecting hesitation.

Yet another professionally crafted anti-Google article!

But this one is not bashing Google Drive directly, it is injecting hesitation.

Starting from the article Title to the conclusion.

I'm sorry for PCWorld.com, we used to find quality articles here, but not anymore.

The problem is with Microsoft Office, not Google Docs.

The reason is that Microsoft's ".doc" file format is secret. Microsoft doesn't publish it, so other vendors have to guess how to translate such documents.

The answer is to stop using secret file formats like ".doc", and use open formats (eg OpenOffice or LibreOffice) instead.

LenZek, on 25 April 2012 - 02:04 PM, said:

Actually, the current default formats are XML based. All documented here: http://www.ecma-inte...ds/Ecma-376.htm

Changes to the content goes through an international committee Standard ECMA-376, and have done so since 2006. The bulk of the documentation was accepted as an ISO standard in 2008.

Microsoft Office 2010 provides read support for ECMA-376, read/write support for ISO/IEC 29500 Transitional, and read support for ISO/IEC 29500 Strict.[7] Microsoft has stated that the next release of Microsoft Office (version 15) will support both read and write of ISO/IEC 29500 Strict.

Because of this, documents can be edited by any application adhering to these standards. This is key as editing Microsoft Office documents on the web does not require the documents to change formats, and they can be edited by both web users and application users interactively without a loss of data.

Microsoft actively updates and incorporates changes from the field, unlike OpenOffice which has been stagnant and incomplete for years.

The author has a long professional history with Microsoft and tight preferences toward old school outlook email management (not webmail) so his cloud computing hesitation and general google misunderstandings are expected... oh but if it's apple products and icloud and apple-compatible dropbox, then he sings praises. refer to past articles about icloud...?

RicBretschneider, on 25 April 2012 - 03:59 PM, said:

my clients appreciate that openoffice and google docs are free. perhaps openoffice should start charging $199+ like how microsoft does? then it might be able as you put it "actively update and incorporate changes from the field".

Sorry, I don't see the issue. Yes it would be nice if Google Docs worked transparently with other file formats but what I *need* Google Drive from is quietly synchronized working documents between home, office and notebook. iCloud hasn't accomplished that for me, and if Google can my academic life gets a little easier.

onsiteone, on 25 April 2012 - 11:28 PM, said:

If they're satisfied with that level of functionality that's obviously the right choice for them. Are you saying that people who choose to buy MS Office are stupid or uninformed? Actually there's a lot of analysis that goes into corporate purchases, and those include the "free" alternatives. And yet they overwhelmingly still choose the product they pay for.

However if you're just digging at MSFT, be my guest. It's not like it changes anything.

RicBretschneider, on 26 April 2012 - 09:50 AM, said:

not stupid - just uninformed. and nothing wrong with being uninformed.. just a result of not having enough time or having different priorities. in my many years as an onsite service tech to families and businesses, most did not know there were free alternatives over the purchase of MS Office software. and majority only required "that level of functionality".

Corporate analysis of office software goes like this (for businesses big enough that employ servers):

"Aww snap! We have windows server/exchange server and all our users accustomed and stuck with outlook and Word, Excel, etc. Ah well - too late to change the game now... no use considering the free alternatives. Let's just pay for the MS Office stuff again... it's part of our budget anyway. It's just the cost of business these days I suppose..."

So you are correct, thusly "they overwhelmingly still choose the product they pay for."

And yea, suppose I'm digging at MS a bit, and true won't change anything much. =)

It's useless to just discuss which service is better. We need to evaluate the service based on our needs.

For personal users, based on the comparison charts, make a check on what features you really need that those services provide. Then decide which one you will go with, which device you will use. It's not a crime to love and use both Microsoft and Google products at the same time.

As for me, I am a Google fan, and also a Microsoft fan. I use Google account for most of my work like Email, Calendar, To-to list, Reader, Google+. But for documents, they are all in Microsoft Office format. Why? Because I haven't seen any one who does better than Microsoft in this area.
There are pros and cons on Google Drive and Skydrive when you compare with the customers' needs, not among those features they provide.

If box.com can accomplish editing of msoffice docs online (via zoho), it's only a matter of time before google (or partner) release an app to do this also.

You can edit microsoft office docs (plus more) directly from google drive using the cloudon app on the ipad.

This post has been edited by TimJasper: 26 April 2012 - 07:20 PM

onsiteone, on 26 April 2012 - 10:35 AM, said:

Having been involved for 17 years on the development of Office software and personally talking to thousands of individual customers from clergy to corporate during that time, I can tell you that very large amounts of time (typically years evaluating new releases) and money are spent in just this analysis as to which to choose. Sure, lots of mom and pops, small business who don't interchange documents with clients, and companies that don't need to do efficient or tracked workflow will be satisfied with the level of functionality (typically just under that of Office '97) offered by the clones if it means saving a couple of hundred dollars. They're typically less than a dozen seats. While amusing, your little rendition of corporate analysis literally doesn't add up. If they bought on big ticket items like seats for Exchange and Sharepoint, going for Office licences is just under a rounding error. Usually their analysis includes how much they'll have to pay 3rd parties for support and extensions to make the "free" alternatives come close to their needs.

RicBretschneider, on 26 April 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

Exactly. Looks like we agree.

The drama between us is that we were bred from differing professional environments: As a Microsoft Office rep you speak for clients who are companies large enough to require/deploy servers and have the budget to setup 12+ user environments. In contrast, all of my client base consist of individual residents, low income families to small businesses that are small enough where the cost of a server is not justified. In your world, a couple dozen copies of MS Office software is just a drop in the bucket. In my world, purchasing a single copy of MS Office at $200 may break the budget for a month or two.

Your initial comparison with OpenOffice on this thread is not within good context. You are comparing a pay-for product designed for the use case and budget of corporations (that coincidentally is sold to consumers) to a FREE product that is built for the use case and budget of consumers. In my opinion, Google Drive, Google Docs, OpenOffice, are marketed to the individuals, families and small business who need not the servers and MS-centric "tracked workflows". And in this context, Google Drive, Google Docs, OpenOffice works great especially since it's free. Also since there is no server to maintain (exchange/sharepoint), there is no 3rd party contract required for support expenses.

A better comparison would be to pit OpenOffice with Office 2010 Starter (both free). Or the full MS Office software with another pay-for office productivity software (both cost $$ and installed on local system). Or to compare the web office 360 with Google Docs (both free and web based).

This post has been edited by onsiteone: 26 April 2012 - 09:54 PM

Google Drive synchronizes your files between the cloud and every computer you install it on. Therefor, if you put an Excel file on your Google Drive you can then edit that Excel file on any computer connected to your Google Drive.

The 'drawback' the article refers to is that if you convert the file from Excel to Google Docs spreadsheet format then you can edit it from ANY computer with an internet connection... and it then no longer counts against your Google Drive storage space limit.

In the SANE world this is known as a BENEFIT.

What about The Google Cloud Connect plugin? With it you can edit your documents that are in Google Docs directly from Office.