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Google Declares War on Microsoft

Posted by Zonk on from the they-will-fight-them-in-the-spreadsheets dept.

hajmola writes "According to an article in The Inquirer, 'Google has confirmed that it will launch free spreadsheet and word-processing software online and take on Microsoft in one of its biggest markets. Under the deal, Google will allow web users to access Sun's OpenOffice from a toolbar.'" This is full confirmation of a story from Tuesday. Forbes thinks this isn't anything to write home about, while InfoWorld disagrees.

17 of 628 comments (clear)

  1. How is this a confirmation? by mu_wtfo · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've read through all the linked articles, and the articles *they* link to, and while the claims of "Google confirms it!" are plentiful, I haven't seen a single named source or attribution for this story.The Forbes story, in fact, still calls any Google online office venture 'speculation'. Where is this 'declaration of war'?

    --
    If all the world's a stage, anyone who says they want better lighting spends far too much time in a dark theatre.
    1. Re:How is this a confirmation? by strider44 · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Sun press release.

    2. Re:How is this a confirmation? by Sheriff+Fatman · · Score: 5, Informative

      Google's official statement is that "Sun will include the Google Toolbar as an option in its consumer downloads of the Java Runtime Environment on http://java.com./ In addition, the companies have agreed to explore opportunities to promote and enhance Sun technologies, like the Java Runtime Environment and the OpenOffice.org productivity suite available at http://www.openoffice.org./"

      Somehow, the media seem to have spun this into "Under the deal, Google will allow web users to access Sun's OpenOffice from a toolbar." OK, fair enough - if you type "open office" into the Google toolbar, it'll help you 'access' it by telling you you can get it from www.openoffice.org - but it'll do the same for any other office suite, product or search phrase you can think of.

      And then the Inquirer actually goes a step further with "Google has confirmed that it will launch free spreadsheet and word-processing software online and take on Microsoft in one of its biggest markets." Um, no. Google has confirmed nothing of the sort.

      The actual Google press release is at http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/sun_t oolbar.html/. You'll notice it doesn't make any reference to Google launching free software or taking on Microsoft.

      But hey. Who needs facts when you can use hype instead?

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      -- Open Source: It's mad, but you don't have to work here to help.
    3. Re:How is this a confirmation? by man_of_mr_e · · Score: 2, Informative

      GoogleBrowser. While who knows what Google has up their sleeves, they've said they have no plans to create their own branded browser.

      --
      If you need web hosting, you could do worse than here
  2. Re:Sun's OpenOffice? by Phroggy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Excuse me. StarOffice is Sun's. OpenOffice is ours.

    Not only that, but the name of it isn't OpenOffice, it's OpenOffice.org (which is incredibly stupid-sounding and I wish they'd figure out a way to fix that). If Google and Sun were partnering on this, they'd use StarOffice, not OpenOffice.org.

    You'd think journalists would be more careful, this soon after the single-use DVD hoax...

    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  3. Re:Why the web interface? by corbs · · Score: 2, Informative

    well http://www.writely.com/ seems to be doing ok

  4. Re:Has anything like this been done before? by muyuubyou · · Score: 3, Informative

    Hotmail was quite succesful in porting the mail client to the web, well before it was bought by Microsoft. I believe they weren't the first but they were the first very succesful ones. My first hotmail account is around 10 years old IIRC (blocked and wiped clean twice during vacation time).

  5. And the press release says by everphilski · · Score: 4, Informative

    -Sun will promote Google Toolbar
    -Google will promote Java runtime and stuff

    Nowhere does it say that there will be a in-browser version on OpenOffice. It's speculation. If you disagree, link me a press release and quote it.

    -everphilski-

    1. Re:And the press release says by Clockwurk · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Is AJAX or a browser an appropriate vehicle for heavyweight office productivity software? Absolutely not." - Jonathan Schwartz (Sun COO)

  6. ThinkFree Office by lunadog · · Score: 5, Informative

    Thinkfree office has exactly the same service (a MS compatible office program available online, with document saving on their server for free)..

    http://www.thinkfree.org/

    But I imagine Google/Sun will get more publicity.

  7. What about Thinkfree Office Online by ep0niks · · Score: 2, Informative
    What about Thinkfree Office Online who's also free and already available.

    http://online.thinkfree.com.nyud.net:8090/ (Coralized)

    http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:9hxx796XGNMJ: online.thinkfree.com/+&hl=en (Google's cache)

    http://online.thinkfree.com/ (Spare them please!)

  8. Re:It's been done plenty. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    heard of portable openoffice? http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/portable_ope noffice/

  9. Re:Has anything like this been done before? by thc69 · · Score: 2, Informative

    ProCD telephone directory. Replaced by a million phone directory websites.

    --
    Procrastination -- because good things come to those who wait.
  10. Re:It's been done plenty. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Both Hotmail and CRMs rely on editing capabilities built into Web Browser. They don't require any special document formatting beyond simple text entry -entered text is formatted on server side and users have no control over formatting (except perhaps globally setting font sizes in their browsers)

    Providing Word Processor using web browser is completely different thing - Web Browsers do not have word-processor editing capabilities. For example - AFAIK - the single edit control supported by browser can display text using only one font/font style. There are other problems - like existing text reformating and so on - for which I don't think it is good idea to use Web Browser for... until next DHTML spec is not designed for this purpose - then guess what - MS IE is not going to support it...

    BTW, I haven't seen single sentence in Google/Sun press release that they plan to build web-based word processor ... they were talking about promoting _CURRENT_ StarOffice/OpenOffice only.

  11. Re:Has anything like this been done before? NO. by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 4, Informative
    Microsoft bussiness model:
    Control the distribution channel (CD's/preinstalled)
    Pay for programs, not conent.
    Google bussiness model:
    Control the distribution channel (WEB-HOSTS-SERVICES/WI-FI)
    Pay for conent, not programs.
    50 years (and more) ago, this was precisely IBM's business model, which rented data-processing equipment, and SOLD Hollerith (punch) cards, making it's money with the punch card volume.

    We all know what happenned to the big bad IBM of yesterday...

  12. Microsoft's dinosaurs by kupci · · Score: 5, Informative
    According to this article from Yahoo News, the reporter asks the question, but Schmidt doesn't exactly deny the rumour. Hence the confusion. Microsoft has used this to great effect, to "test the waters", for example when they were going to kill FoxPro. The resulting public outcry from diehard Fox users forced Microsoft to keep enhancing FoxPro. Consider this cheap market research.

    Instead of quibbling over nuances, consider this: Is it technically feasible to do this? Would there be any benefit? You betcha. Roger Kay's dinosaur quote below is great. It's funny, whenever you see one of those Microsoft adverts with the dinosaurs, it makes me think what a great OpenOffice add it would be, with Microsoft's Bob being one of the dinos.

    "Is this a threat to Microsoft? Not today," said Roger Kay, president of market research firm Endpoint Technology Associates. "But mammals weren't a threat either when dinosaurs were kings of the earth."

    [snip]

    Google Toolbar is a small header bar that fits within a computer user's Web browser which makes it more convenient for desktop PC users to use Google search and link to other tools with a single mouse click.

    Asked whether Google might feature Sun's OpenOffice on the Google Toolbar, Schmidt responded: "That's speculation. We don't pre-announce our products," he said.

    Sun declined to comment on whether OpenOffice would become a Web-delivered application

  13. Re:Has anything like this been done before? by Momoru · · Score: 2, Informative

    I didn't forget them....look when you roll out code to production, general best practice is to do it when the least amount of your users are effected. That would be like a friday night (for most of your users). MOST of the users of Google News and Google Maps are in North America (the maps only do North America, UK and Japan last I checked). 1pm EST on a Wednesday would put primetime users in Europe, and work users all accross the US and Canada. Yes, it was a great time to roll out because the people in Iran and Madagascar were unaffected. Unfortunately, these service are neither available to them, useful to them, nor highly used by them. Thus it was a mid-day rollout for all intents and purposes, the least of which being that the code was rolled out in California.