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Google To Add Presentations

Posted by kdawson on from the looking-office-like dept.

A number of readers (some from the audience at Web 2.0 Expo) wrote to let us know that Google is adding presentations to their Docs and Spreadsheets package. With the announcement the company revealed that they have purchased Tonic Systems to help with the new presentation software. It's expected to be ready by summer. Google's CEO Eric Schmidt was asked if Docs and Spreadsheets will compete with MS Office, and he said, "We don't think so. It doesn't have all the functionality, nor is it intended to have the functionality of products like Microsoft Office."

18 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Won't work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    99% of the time most people use the "standard" features of MSOffice. GOffice will be fine with this. Unfortunately, for the 1%, everyone uses a different piece of advanced functionality and get annoyed that THEIR pet feature is missing. Good to have an alternative with intarwebbiness built in though I guess.

    1. Re:Won't work by suv4x4 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You're making some huge mistakes. First, the cost of office software is nothing for a corporation, compared to its other expenses (taxes, salaries, hardware, office bills and so on and so on).

      Second, those Google Apps are suitable for some purposes, but for heavy or advanced usage, they're totally unfit. So far we're looking at a bunch of online toys trying to pretend they're Office. They will replace Office exactly as the "web OS" sites will replace Windows.

      Third, if a company is desperate to save from licensing costs, they can use OpenOffice. As much as OpenOffice lacks certain functionality, it's a desktop app, and ages ahead of Google's apps.

  2. So... by Impeesa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They wanted to offer a new product, and bought a company to do so? Isn't that sort of a Microsoft thing?

    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It is a business thing.

    2. Re:So... by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Only if they buy them to remove them from competing.
      Otherwise it's a sound business move.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:So... by Bongo+Bill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The reason Microsoft is so rich is because that strategy works. It should be no surprise that Google behaves similarly.

      --
      ...but is it art?
    4. Re:So... by MadnessASAP · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, Buying a company that is already in a market your going into is business. Then buying/suing every other company trying to get into or currently in the market is a Microsoft move.

      --
      I may agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to face the consequences of saying it.
    5. Re:So... by xoundmind · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Only if they buy them to remove them from competing. Otherwise it's a sound business move.

      Buying them to remove a competitor is a sound business move.

  3. Lazy employees by TodMinuit · · Score: 4, Insightful

    With the announcement the company revealed that they have purchased Tonic Systems to help with the new presentation software.

    What exactly do Google employees do all day? Count money, play pool, and ride Segways?

    Furthermore, if this cannot export to PDF or PowerPoint, it's pretty much useless. When giving presentations, Internet access is rarely provided or is flakey at best.

    --
    I wonder if I use bold in my signature, people will notice my posts.
    1. Re:Lazy employees by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      OpenOffice exports to PDF (or Flash).
      I imagine it won't be hard for them to do the same.

    2. Re:Lazy employees by brilinux · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But we do not yet have the technology to have computers electricute or shoot people who want to use animations in presentations, so the best that the programmers can do is disallow the presentations from being exported to filetypes that allow animations, hence pdf.

  4. I don't get it by geek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First Apple says they don't want their office app to compete with MSOffice, now Google says they don't want to compete with MSOffice. When will someone man up and compete? OpenOffice is nice but it has a HUGE number of flaws still. We NEED competition here.

    1. Re:I don't get it by archen · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You mean like Corel Office, or the dozens of other Office Suite carcases left by the roadside in application history? MS has a stranglehold on the entire market right now. As soon as someone brings up Open Office everyone bitches about quirks with importing MS formats - comparisons on its own merits are usually secondary. The reality is that with Microsoft's position, everyone tries to carve out a nitch as best they can and hope that MS doesn't bundle something that further expands its reach.

  5. Re:Do you want it to replace MS Office? by larry+bagina · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree. Complain all you want about MS, I have a legal copy of Office (2000) on my computer and they can't take it away. I can save the files on my hard drive (in a variety of formats), and I can open files I created years ago. What if google cancelled Google Office? You're fucked. Or if they get busted on patent infringement. Or if they wreck the program with dubious features? (MS isn't the only one that does that). Yes, let's give the company complete control over our office documents. They promised not to be evil.

    --
    Do you even lift?

    These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

  6. No, Google is pissing me off. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Open Office is a fine replacement. For office. Google you want to kill microsoft? Build a web app that kills Quicken/Money and ultimately Turbo Tax et al with secure banking. Gnucash is trash. I'm sorry, I'm sure a lot of people worked very hard on it, but it is. The spreedsheet and wordprocessor apps are of extremely limited functionality, fine, Open Office is pretty rich, runs nearly anywhere. Kill the things which pin people to Microsoft. Office applications aren't one of those things anymore.

  7. Google and MSFT and Misdirection by TechForensics · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Google's CEO Eric Schmidt was asked if Docs and Spreadsheets will compete with MS Office, and he said, "We don't think so. It doesn't have all the functionality, nor is it intended to have the functionality of products like Microsoft Office."

    I like this kind of modest understatement. It understates the threat Google poses to Microsoft. Smart PR move IMHO.

    --
    Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
  8. Hat trick!!! by Duncan3 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Awesome, now I need my laptop to work, the projector to be in a good mood, _AND_ an internet connection... in a place i've probably never been until the presentation.

    Things are hard enough as it is, but good grief!

    --
    - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
  9. Re:An Access solution would be needed too... by misleb · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The LAST thing this world needs is an even more available Access-like product. It is amazing what kidn of abominations "laypeople" can come up with given these kinds of tools. And then they start relying on them. And then you have to support them... and perhaps try to export their hideous data structures into something else more sane later. That is IF you can manage to pry the tool from their cold, dead hands. No way, man. Lets keep some things difficult. There are just some things that should be left to professionals. Database design is one of them.

    -matthew

    --
    "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death