Google Wave

[Camy]

Still in development, Google Wave is a browser-based tool that mixes e-mail, with Instant Messaging and real-time online collaboration elements. Harry McCracken, of Technologizer.com, wrote: "It's one of the most ambitious services that Google or anyone else has cooked up".

Google Wave is currently only open to developers interested in building applications for the tool.

Google Wave co-creator Lars Rasmussen wrote on the official Google blog: "A wave is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

"In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly.

"It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8076697.stm

The future of collaborative work? Imagine writing in real time with a bunch of friends ... hmm, then again, maybe not.

[The Pecman]

Google (or as David Letterman refers to them "The Google") is definitely a force to be reckoned with. While I'm a little nervous about them becoming a monopoly, I like to think they'd be a nicer monopoly than Microsoft.

If you think Google Wave is good, you oughta check out Google Voice. This is going to be a mind-blowing application once it's out: one service that ties together all your phones, voicemail service, email, the works. You have three phones and somebody calls you, all three of them ring until you pick up. Or you can select only certain phones to ring. Somebody leaves you a voice message, it types it up and sends it to you as an email. All free. Absolutely amazing.

The preliminary info is here:

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/an...y?answer=141993

[DesDownunder]

Damn, more stuff to learn in my old age.

[JamesSavik]

If you think Google Wave is good, you oughta check out Google Voice. This is going to be a mind-blowing application once it's out: one service that ties together all your phones, voicemail service, email, the works.

Of course the next logical step is Google HandJob...

[colinian]

Damn, more stuff to learn in my old age.

Des,

My granddad says that when you stop learning new things it's because you're dead; so as long as you keep learning new things you'll keep the grim reaper away from your door.

Sounds like good advice to me.

Colin

[DesDownunder]

Granddad is right. But that doesn't stop me bemoaning yet again that I am having to face an IT learning curve.

Quote from somewhere...

"Live today as if you will die tomorrow,

Learn today as if you will live forever."

[The Pecman]

Quote from somewhere...

"Live today as if you will die tomorrow,

Learn today as if you will live forever."

And I would: and complain the entire time and hope it will do some good.

BTW, Google Docs is also a damn good application. I've already used it to do some writing, and while it's not exactly Microsoft Office, it works really well for what it is. And you can store a coupla gigs up there (Word or text documents, and also Excel spreadsheets) for free. Very handy.

[Tanuki Racoon]

Google Docs is really slow and has very limited features. I can't say anything nice about it except it looks pretty.

[The Pecman]

I like Google Docs only in that if I have a chapter in progress, I can access it anywhere in the world and write without having to worry about backing it up. Given that it's free, I think it's pretty amazing.

Assuming a fast connection, it works about as well as could be expected. Cloud computing is never going to be as fast as having the application sitting live on your own computer.

[DesDownunder]

I like Google Docs only in that if I have a chapter in progress, I can access it anywhere in the world and write without having to worry about backing it up. Given that it's free, I think it's pretty amazing.

Assuming a fast connection, it works about as well as could be expected. Cloud computing is never going to be as fast as having the application sitting live on your own computer.

cloud computing?

Pecman, are you saying you know for sure that there are computers in the afterlife, in Heaven?

I would have thought they would have been more likely to be found in the other place.

[The Pecman]

Pecman, are you saying you know for sure that there are computers in the afterlife, in Heaven?

Assuming you're not kidding, here's an explanation of Cloud Computing on Wikipedia.

Basically, it means you have a computer that has only an operating system on it and no programs (aside from a web browser). All the applications "live" on the net, and you access them that way. It's a concept that drives Microsoft nuts, since it means you wouldn't have to buy their programs like Microsoft Office anymore.

[DesDownunder]

It was me, Des, who was attempting to be humorous.

I know, I shouldn't do that.

[Camy]

Assuming you're not kidding, here's an explanation of Cloud Computing on Wikipedia.

Basically, it means you have a computer that has only an operating system on it and no programs (aside from a web browser). All the applications "live" on the net, and you access them that way. It's a concept that drives Microsoft nuts, since it means you wouldn't have to buy their programs like Microsoft Office anymore.

Anything that drives Microsoft nuts is a must in my book. After all, they've been driving us nuts long enough.

[Cole Parker]

As usual, this is a topic I know nothing about, but when has that stopped me from commenting before?

Isn't this what Google Chrome is? An online system where you do all your work online with their software programs, for free, and you don't need Windows?

I understand it still has a few problems, but not buying Wwindows, and not waiting five minutes as it boots up, and not having it freeze up on lyou, sounds like a dream come true.

C

[Guest Fritz]

Cole; Google Chrome is a web browser similar to Safari or Internet Explorer. I've been trying Chrome and so far it works pretty well. I had been switching between FireFox and Safari and so far I like Chrome slightly better than either, but I've only been using it for a few days, not enough to form a firm opinion on it.

[The Pecman]

Chrome is also going to be an entire operating system, due out next year. It's going to first be intended for small netbook-type computers, but I suspect Google has much bigger plans.

I'm also certain that Microsoft is extremely nervous about Chrome. I think this represents a far bigger threat to them than Macintosh, since this will run on pretty much any modern PC in the world. Plus, Chrome stands to move users away from Microsoft applications, which will hurt them very badly.

More power to 'em. I just hope Google sticks to their motto of "do no evil."

[Cole Parker]

It seems to me MS had a huge opportunity and blew it, taking profits over customer satisfaction, quality and service. They could have provided all those things, they could have written better programs instead of overlaying one bad one over another bad one, but evidently were more interested is tweaking the market to make all the dollars they could.

If Google succeeds in this, it'll be another example of how competition forces progress that doesn't come without it.

C

[Guest Fritz]

Pecman, I hear what you're saying, but I'm not sure that it should be termed an operating system as we commonly understand the term operating system to mean with regards to computers. My understanding is that it will be a very limited system that it will be basically nothing more than a web browser designed for cloud computing and built on a Linux kernel. In short, it will not be capable of running applications itself, but will allow people to run them through the web. While that meets the technical definition of an operating system, so do many other applications such as the computer in your car that controls fuel flow or the one in your pocket calculator, and when we think of computers we commonly think of them as being able to have applications installed and run off line. I would define it as more like Web TV in that it will be a web access system with little other use unless hooked to the web.

If I understand the concept correctly, you can think of a computer, running Chrome, as similar to a computer station in a large store where all the terminals are hooked to a larger computer and all the computer station is capable of doing is accessing the larger computer, in Chrome's case the cloud computer concept. Perhaps a better analogy would be a glorified iPhone with a better keyboard and bigger screen. It will be interesting to see what it actually does when released.

[The Pecman]

Google has already said there will be a developer's kit available that will run actual open-source software on Chrome, especially for situations where no internet access is available. So I think basic functions like word processing, spreadsheets, simple database work, presentation software... all of this will be available in some form.

Microsoft has fired back with Office 2010, which is going to be a free cloud computing application. I assume it'll be ad-supported or something, but it's clear they're taking Google's threat seriously.

[DesDownunder]

The plot, or perhaps I should say, the cloud thickens.

[Guest Fritz]

Pecman: I had missed the part about a development kit to run open source software and that puts a very different prospective on what Chrome will be capable of. Thanks for the info.