iGoogle

[jfrenaye]

IF anyone uses iGoogle for their customized homepage, I just discovered they have a new theme--a very cool Hong Kong scene!

[CraigTPE]

I LOVE iGoogle. I use the bus stop theme, which changes with the local weather.

I also love Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs. I like having access to my stuff from any computer anywhere. I just worry about Google's integrity with THEM also having access to my stuff.....

[jfrenaye]

I agree on the integrity--have not moved to google docs yet but love the calendar--share it with my ex wife for kid stuff. All of their themes change with the time of day (sunrise to nightfall) and I think they all do the weather as well....

Google rocks

[CraigTPE]

I don't use Google Docs often, just love the ability to, from time to time.

On my iGoogle, I have all the things I want to see at a glance. I use Google Calendar to totally organize my schedule and share it with my partner and the agent who runs a language school I work part time for. Gmail was what really got me hooked, though. The storage capacity is unparalleled, the archive and search features are so helpful and the display is much less cluttered than with the other free e-mail services. Again, the only concern is privacy as they scan e-mail content to determine which ads to display. (A scary thought)

[Kairho]

iGoogle sounds interesting and I'll have to try it. I wouldn't touch their online docs program because Open Office is equivalent to Microsoft Office (well, 99.5%), runs locally, and is free.

[CraigTPE]

OpenOffice ROCKS!!!

Why on EARTH would anyone pay HUNDREDS of dollars for Microsoft Office when OpenOffice has the same functionality, can share and edit documents with MS Office users and is FREE.... LEGALLY!!

I've used OpenOffice for years with no problems whatsoever.

Like you say, though, it's housed locally on your computer. So if I need access to some documents from other computers, I will save them also in Google Docs.

[tdew]

I use google docs for things I might want to share with others or to have access to from a different location. I do not put anything on there that is private or sensitive.

Recently I've been working at preserving historical documents for a group. I've scanned tons of papers and burned them to CD and have used a program to create a menu and provide simple access to all different file types. The resulting CD should be able to be used by even those with limited computer skills.

Recently, a new person has come into the group. His idea is that we should just store everything online with something like google docs.
It disturbs me to think that people are moving to on line ONLY storage of their files. Companies go out of business or change their terms. Servers go down. Many different things can happen.
I know the current trend is to move storage to online, but it seems to me that a better solution would be a blend of both methods, then you'd have more chance of having the files survive.

Of course, the physical storage methods have to be updated as improvements or changes come along.

[jfrenaye]

THere are data recovery services that store all your stuff. I think the issue is that it is free. If there was a fee of some sort, I am sure the security would be very tight. Not that it isn't now, but....

I imagine Google will move to this eventually. Get enough adopters that like it and then install a security deal and charge for it.

I know that Microsoft has a white paper discussing the revenue from making Hotmail a pay service. Right now they have over 500 Million hotmail accounts and they were talking about $5 a year for the basic account and more for additional storage, spam filters etc. Think of how many people would rather pay the $5 even for a tosaway email address. Now think of that revenue stream

Build it and they will come