Hollie1985 Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) Saw this today- Google planning on taking Microsoft office users. Members what are your thoughts? Video: Google woos Microsoft users | 20 Oct 2009 | ComputerWeekly.com Edited October 20, 2009 by Hollie1985
mac_shinobi Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Although its great having the abiliity to create / ammend and use office type documents online via google docs for sims and other things you still require an installation of office ( what ever the version ) and there is open office but things like sims do not work with open office or other competitors solutions so I think microsoft are still ok on that front. Also its down to personal preference with what users will go with and the standard is obviously ms office although the geeks will no doubt either use google docs or open office 1
webman Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 The internet isn't reliable enough to replace desktop applications 100% just yet, but it has its advantages. 1
Lee_K_81 Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Nice idea but I dont see software as a service as being a huge competitor to MS at the moment. Imagine the scenario: 3 miles away some careless body with a pneumatic drill goes through a fiber optic cable. HT come storming in - I'm trying to do an important presentation for [insert important event] and it's crashed Phone call from bursar - I'm trying to prepare a spreadsheet and it's crashed. Until such a 100% guaranteed internet connection is available it wont work. With a local install i know you can have the app crash but at least you open it and it's back or you can reinstall in 10 mins. You may have to wait hours or possibly days with no office apps with software as a service. 1
localzuk Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Nice idea but I dont see software as a service as being a huge competitor to MS at the moment. Imagine the scenario: 3 miles away some careless body with a pneumatic drill goes through a fiber optic cable. HT come storming in - I'm trying to do an important presentation for [insert important event] and it's crashed Phone call from bursar - I'm trying to prepare a spreadsheet and it's crashed. Until such a 100% guaranteed internet connection is available it wont work. With a local install i know you can have the app crash but at least you open it and it's back or you can reinstall in 10 mins. You may have to wait hours or possibly days with no office apps with software as a service. This is why 'Google Gears' exists... The online apps are then available offline too. 1
localzuk Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Although its great having the abiliity to create / ammend and use office type documents online via google docs for sims and other things you still require an installation of office ( what ever the version ) and there is open office but things like sims do not work with open office or other competitors solutions so I think microsoft are still ok on that front. Also its down to personal preference with what users will go with and the standard is obviously ms office although the geeks will no doubt either use google docs or open office IIRC SIMS.net has been confirmed to work with the office viewers. Not to mention the fact that the reporting part appears to be heading towards using MS SQL Reporting instead of the current system - which should, hopefully, allow them to make it more 'MS Office' independent. 1
Lee_K_81 Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 This is why 'Google Gears' exists... The online apps are then available offline too. Fair point. Still dont think it will take off fully for a few years though. 1
localzuk Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Fair point. Still dont think it will take off fully for a few years though. You'd be surprised... Rentokil to use Google's Apps cloud, biggest yet | Technology | Reuters Google wins business customers in Japan: report - MarketWatch Mortgage Choice swaps Lotus for Gmail - News - Software - ZDNet Australia There are more and more companies, universities and schools using cloud apps for critical purposes now. 1
mac_shinobi Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 You'd be surprised... Rentokil to use Google's Apps cloud, biggest yet | Technology | Reuters Google wins business customers in Japan: report - MarketWatch Mortgage Choice swaps Lotus for Gmail - News - Software - ZDNet Australia There are more and more companies, universities and schools using cloud apps for critical purposes now. Does that synch your docs between the cloud storage ( there servers ) and your local computer that way they should always be both up to date at some point in time every so often ? 1
localzuk Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Does that synch your docs between the cloud storage ( there servers ) and your local computer that way they should always be both up to date at some point in time every so often ? I believe so, i've not played with it really - as my internet connection has never been down for me to check it... 1
mac_shinobi Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 I believe so, i've not played with it really - as my internet connection has never been down for me to check it... makes 2 of us hence my question - you could always disconnect your router / modem lol 1
DrPerceptron Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 I would guess Microsoft are keeping quiet and not worrying too much sincethey're expecting a lot of people to be happy with Office Web. From what I've seen in pics and info - looks to be very good. Office Web AppsOffice Web Apps, the online companion to Word, Excel®, PowerPoint® and OneNote® applications, allow you to access documents from anywhere. You can even simultaneously share and work on documents with others online. View documents across PCs, mobile phones, and the Web without compromising document fidelity. Create new documents and do basic editing using the familiar Office interface. By offering more ways to access files from almost anywhere, Office Web Apps enable you to get things done according to your schedule. 1
Alis_Klar Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Nice idea but I dont see software as a service as being a huge competitor to MS at the moment. Imagine the scenario: 3 miles away some careless body with a pneumatic drill goes through a fiber optic cable. HT come storming in - I'm trying to do an important presentation for [insert important event] and it's crashed Phone call from bursar - I'm trying to prepare a spreadsheet and it's crashed. Until such a 100% guaranteed internet connection is available it wont work. With a local install i know you can have the app crash but at least you open it and it's back or you can reinstall in 10 mins. You may have to wait hours or possibly days with no office apps with software as a service. An internet connection is already a "must have" in schools. We don't generate our own electricity if a cable is severed so why do it for IT? Scary (for our job's) but cloud is the future!
Lee_K_81 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 An internet connection is already a "must have" in schools. We don't generate our own electricity if a cable is severed so why do it for IT? Scary (for our job's) but cloud is the future! Erm, this thread is 17 months old. If you continue to read you will see somebody mentions google gears allowing the software to run offline. I agree an internet connection is a must have but internet connection downtime is still more likely than a power cut. No power = no PCs and in all likelyhood means the school closes as it would not be safe for pupils to be onsite when there are no alarms, poor lighting, no heating, no telephony (possibly). No internet means no internet, pupils can still work with offline apps / document storage. Despite the thread being so old, I think my point is still valid. While the cloud is the future it does not yet rival MS, although I think their new EES licensing model highlights their own fears about their rivals.
CyberNerd Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Erm, this thread is 17 months old. Interesting. Google docs has already overtaken MS Office in certain depts in our school. There are so many advantages for online collaboration, it is just a matter of time. We already have: 10,581 Google Documents, 2,838 Google Spreadsheets, 442 Google Drawings, 367 Google Forms, 4,111 Google Presentations and 3,222 uploaded files
Lee_K_81 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Interesting. Google docs has already overtaken MS Office in certain depts in our school. There are so many advantages for online collaboration, it is just a matter of time. We already have: 10,581 Google Documents, 2,838 Google Spreadsheets, 442 Google Drawings, 367 Google Forms, 4,111 Google Presentations and 3,222 uploaded files Horses for courses. One school's usage isnt indicative of what schools everywhere are doing. I'm not discounting cloud computing, or even open source alternatives, i'm saying that MS office isn't going anywhere yet.
CyberNerd Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Horses for courses. One school's usage isnt indicative of what schools everywhere are doing. I'm not discounting cloud computing, or even open source alternatives, i'm saying that MS office isn't going anywhere yet. I wasn't saying MSOffice were about to go bust - just that in the 17months that the thread was posted (along with people saying it won't take off for years) it has really caught on well here and for KS3 MSOffice is hardly used for teaching any more - saves us a lot of money as well as improves student/student student/teacher collaboration.
mthomas08 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 We are going to purchase the microsoft annual package which allows us to run what we got and upgrade. It will cost us 9k a year, to be honest I like free but usually there is a huge difference. So we will be sticking to microsoft for 5 years at least if the world doesnt suddenly change. To be honest though if the rivals started to take a huge share out of MS surely they will either have to drop their prices big time or make their products free in some way. At the moment for us MS is the way to go, its the language of the world and gives our students best prep for leaving here.
mattx Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Going Google - or putting it another way: 'Single Point Of Failure' No internet connection ? No work.
mac_shinobi Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Going Google - or putting it another way: 'Single Point Of Failure' No internet connection ? No work. They should make use of there chrome OS so you can setup a chrome OS server on site and it stores the docs to the users home area and if the net goes down it can still use the chrome os server on site whilst the net is down ?? Even if its in a virtual machine on a high speced server
srochford Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I'd guess that Office 365 is in part a response my Microsoft to Google Docs. Given Microsoft's app-v product I'd guess the next move will be for them to combine this somehow - you've then got the flexibility of the full MS Office product but delivered in a way that can be used offline. It's obviously not here yet but I've no doubt that something like it will come (and please don't drag my words up in 2 years time to prove how rubbish I am at predictions :-))
mthomas08 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 They should make use of there chrome OS so you can setup a chrome OS server on site and it stores the docs to the users home area and if the net goes down it can still use the chrome os server on site whilst the net is down ?? Even if its in a virtual machine on a high speced server This is how things should go, but lets face it, costs a lot more money. We here have had a internet outtage rarely over the last 18 months (Touch wood). Once solved at 9pm sharp (weirdly enough the second EIS start working) another time up and running by about 9:45 I believe. The times before that it was our networking in a main hub area. Our service provider are brilliant when it comes to to getting their end sorted out and they do have a backup link we can use. It still is a niggling thing if you do lose the net, we have just got Frog and that will be a in house server and although some will say cloud computing is the future, some said the same thing about Mini Discs/HD DVDs, hell even Flat screen TVs and DVDs have been around for a very long time well before they got off the ground. Not saying cloud computing isnt the future but I am not saying it "is", the whole wikileaks thing put water on that fire.
CyberNerd Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Going Google - or putting it another way: 'Single Point Of Failure' No internet connection ? No work. No active directory, no work. No core switch, no work. No file server, no work. You can mitigate against all these things - including an internet connection failure.
mthomas08 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) No active directory, no work. No core switch, no work. No file server, no work. You can mitigate against all these things - including an internet connection failure. Without seeming like I want to argue We can replace our core switch within 5 minutes, we have everything on seperate servers so if something goes down you only lose a single system. "Cloud" systems means everything is your internet connection (or most things) and that is where some people will always be touchy over it. Plus wouldnt most of our jobs be out the window and resort back to being a basic technician if all our servers were managed by a CORP? Similar to BSF we would all help the transfer but surely become redundant one day? Edited March 9, 2011 by mthomas08 the plus part
CyberNerd Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Without seeming like I want to argue We can replace our core switch within 5 minutes, we have everything on seperate servers so if something goes down you only lose a single system. "Cloud" systems means everything is your internet connection (or most things) and that is where some people will always be touchy over it. Our core cost over £12k (with the fibre modules) Our Blade and SAN maintenance contract (next day fix) is £4750p/a. A backup internet connection is a ballpark similar cost - it can be mitigated against failure, this is how cloud companies such as google, amazon etc keep their services running. I wasn't suggesting that there is zero cost to any of this. If want to run a 24-7-365 SIMS server with redundancy so that there is absolutely no downtime you can do it. Same with using a hosted email/docs service.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now