Office Web Apps vs Google Docs

A few weeks ago Jodie Miners ( @jodiem ) and I were discussing Office Web Apps, a free online version of Microsoft’s latest Office Suite, and comparing the features against Google Docs. So me being a Microsoft fan and Jodie being a Google fan we thought it would be a great idea to compare the features in a live collaboration demo at the Sydney Windows User Group so to prepare for this we spent a few hours playing around covering:

  • Office Web Apps Online Editing
  • Word 2010 with the document saved on Office Web Apps
  • Google Docs
  • Google Wave (just because of my previous post saying how good Google Wave was now).

In each product we created the document, shared it, and edited the section about the experiences working with that product. Each section has then been copied and pasted into this post.

And here are the results:

2 People Editing a document in Google Docs

How it works
  • Go to google docs – docs.google.com
  • Create a new document
  • Share it with another user – either enter an email address or choose from your Contact List
  • They open the document and start typing
  • You will be notified in the top right hand corner that they are editing the document too
  • After a bit you will automatically see the changes the other person has done, right in your document.
Pros:
  • Linked to your Google Account to easily share with contacts and integrate with GMail et
  • Nice environment to work in for straight text editing, eg for a draft document.
  • It won’t tell you where the other person is editing, but it will tell you there are conflicts and will let you copy your text if it won’t save it due to a conflict.
Cons:
  • NR: Formatting is..well..crap.
  • JM: Formatting documents in Google docs is difficult as it is missing all the quick and easy shortcut keys for headings, bullets etc. 
  • NR: Slow in syncing changes between the two users
  • NR: No inline spell checker – JM: It works in Chrome – sort of – it only highlights that the word is misspelt, it won’t actually allow you to correct the spelling by right clicking on the word, so it is kinda annoying, If you want the word suggestion you have to use the spell check feature in the toolbar.
  • There is a really really cool chat feature inside the document if you are doing a Google Spreadsheet or Presentation, but it is completely missing when doing a document. This feature is sorely missing from this collaboration experience.
Overall

NR: Google Docs is good for basic document authoring and editing, the formatting has some issues, but overall it is a good product. I’d like to see the chat feature from the spreadsheet and presentation tools added to the Document authoring tool.

JM: I love Google Docs for quickly whipping up a new document, but for anything that requires formatting or printing, I will always go to back to Word or Excel.

Editing with two people within Word Web App with the file shared on Skydrive.

How it works

· Create the document from within Office Web Apps (http://office.live.com) or create it in Word and save it to the Web

· Open with the Word Web App and start typing.

Pros

· Slick word like interface

· Nice editing environment.

Cons

· A bit fiddly to set up and share the document

· Not actually live collaboration, gets the error message that there is someone editing the document.

· Limited features of Word – eg no Find and Replace.

· Only works in IE (we tried it in Chrome and it works to edit, but then you don’t have the seamless switch to editing in Word).

End Result – Gave up on it as we are looking for a true collaborative authoring experience. It’s not collaboration, it’s document sharing, which it does well.

Editing in Word 2010 with two people editing and Document saved on Skydrive.

How it works

· Create a new document and save it to the web. (There is a save to web option in the save menu).

· Share the document with the other user – you can do this from within office.live.com or when you are saving it from within word.

· Start typing just like any other Office document.

· You will see when the other person comes on line to start editing the document – it pops up at the bottom of the screen.

· You will see the paragraphs that the other person is editing – those paragraphs are then locked to you for editing, and it tells you a nice message that you should wait for the other person to finish editing this paragraph.

· Everytime you save, the other user gets notified that they can refresh that paragraph to see the changes you have made.

· When both people save, the document gets updated in both places

Pros

· Seems to work well after we got the sharing and document open in outlook

· Cool popup down the bottom of the screen showing who is editing and gives their live messenger status so you can chat to them whilst editing.

· You can see that the other person has locked the paragraph that they are editing

· Made by Microsoft, everything they make is Awesome! HEY, there will be NO ZEALOTRY HERE.

· Full Word functionality

· It’s free!

· Familiar Ribbon interface in Browser

Cons

· Requires Office 2010

· No Live Collaboration from Web Browser

· Can be slow in creating and accessing files through a Web Browser (probably due to being in Beta)

End Result

Jodie: I’m quite impressed with it. It works well. It does what they say it does. It’s free and it’s quite useable. I would use it again, no questions asked.

Nicholas: Very impressive for a beta of a version 1 product from Microsoft. Really impressed with the Live Collaboration when editing in a client, just like with Office Web Apps for SharePoint but this is FREE and available now at office.live.com!


Footloose: Nurses Style


Why i enjoy User Groups

When i first started blogging back in 2008 I wrote two posts about Technology User Groups, the first was about the Sydney Business & Technology Group (SBTUG) and the 2nd about the Sydney Windows Mobile User Group (now the Sydney Mobile User Group) (SMUG or SydMo). Since those two User Groups i have attended nearly everyone since, and even through inspiration from Craig Bailey, created the Sydney Windows User Group (SWUG)

The first user group event I went to was SBTUG back in May 2008, I had travelled down for work meetings in the City and it was the first time I was in Sydney on the same night as a User Group. I turned up at Microsoft Australia’s Sydney office early and waited in the waiting room watching TV and reading the newspaper trying not to look nervous. Finally someone else turned up and after saying a nervous hello, I discovered it was Catherine Eibner and after chatting for a bit we were joined by more people including our Microsoft hosts Roger Lawrence and Andrew Coates and then the SBTUG Leader Craig Bailey. The night was filled with great presentations and some great chats with people who I am now very close friends with. I drove back to Newcastle very happy after that and promised myself that I would try and make every SBTUG from today on.

Two weeks later, the Sydney Windows Mobile User Group was held, again at Microsoft Australia’s Sydney Office. I had known about this user group for a while but never had the change to make it, after enjoying SBTUG so much I decided that SMUG was worth the 2 hour drive down from Newcastle. Again it was another great night and from then on I kept pushing myself to make my way to Sydney to attend these. The travel did get easier a few months later when I was successful for a new role which meant moving to Sydney.

Fast forward 2 years and I’m still going to SBTUG and SMUG, presenting the news each month at SBTUG as well as a few other presentations. On the SMUG Executive organising the monthly meetings and famous Christmas Parties. I enjoyed these User Groups so much, i decided to create the Sydney Windows User Group. A group dedicated to the Windows Operating System and related products like Office, Xbox and Windows Live. After 12 months, SWUG is still going strong with a range of topics and some awesome demos!

The reason I enjoy the User Groups so much is both the presentations and networking with other members. Talking about technology and how they use it in their business or personal life you can discover some amazing things. The User Groups are also a great support mechanism if you’re having issues with technology or you just want to learn more. There is a great sense of community about Technology User Groups and everyone is always willing to help whether it is a technology, business or personal issue.

There are way too many awesome people I have met at Technology User Groups, but you all know who you are.

If you haven’t been to a Technology User Group before, then i would encourage you to go along, learn about some interesting technology and meet a bunch of awesome people.

For more information on User Groups you can check out:


AuTechHeads Online User Group

Back at Tech-Ed 2009 on the sunny Gold Coast, a group of Technology professionals came up with an idea to create an online User Group to extend the networking achieved through Tech-Ed and other similar conferences. After adding more and more ideas, we have come up with AuTechHeads

AuTechHeads is an online and offline group of geeks, by geeks, and for geeks. We are breaking down the geographical barriers of traditional user groups and associations, enabling geeks from all over to come together virtually and in person with Tweet Ups, Dinners and Get Togethers at conferences, vendor gatherings, other user groups – and whenever we can!

This group helps to complement traditional user groups and professional societies by enabling them to reach a larger audience across Australia and around the world. By setting a low bar for entry, we allow our members to affordably access and take advantage of social and professional networking, geek education and assistance, community engagement, online content and opinion, and many other opportunities.

Our goal is to be vendor agnostic, and multidisciplined. We encourage geeks from all backgrounds and industries to get involved and contribute for the benefit of all involved!

The AuTechHeads site has been live for 6 weeks now and is already seeing great traffic, awesome blog posts and some good conversations in the forums. If you’re a geek, please come and join AuTechHeads!


Back to blogging!

So it’s been a while since my last blog post..there are many reasons for it, but the main reason was i forgot my hosting was due to expire and realised before it was too late..fortunately I was able to access the original files and will be restoring all of my previous posts but it will take time because i need to trawl the database for posts, photos, links etc Smile

Anyway, i’m back now and will be blogging more regularly aiming for at least a post a week…now off to write my first post of the year (well, besides this one!)


Announcing the Sydney Windows User Group

Announcing the newly formed Sydney Windows User Group (SWUG) lead by Nicholas Rayner and Craig Bailey with the help of Microsoft Australia (first meeting details below). The aim of the SWUG is to support and provide advice to consumers, power users and small business in regards to the Microsoft Windows Operating System and related products. The user group will showcase the Windows Operating System and provide demonstrations of key components of Windows can be used both at home and in your business.

The User Group will also focus on related Microsoft Products including Windows Mobile, Windows Home Server, Microsoft Office, Windows Live and XBOX 360 and how they can be used to enhance the Windows user experience.

Meeting details

Date: Wednesday 13th May 2009

Time: 6pm – 9pm

Venue: Microsoft Australia – 1 Epping Road, North Ryde

Agenda:

6:00pm – Introduction

6:10pm – News with Q&A session

6:30pm – Windows 7 RC Demonstration

7:20pm – Break

7:40pm – Windows Touch including a demonstration on the HP Touchsmart PC

8:20pm – Close

If you can make it to the first meeting, please RSVP to windowsusergroup@live.com

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IT News – Week in review 8 March 2009

Something new that Craig and I thought we could try is some regular news updates on the SBTUG blog, a small taste of what i cover in the news section at the beginning of each SBTUG. This also give you all a chance to submit news, comment on the news and digest some of the news so you can ask really good questions and win prizes!!

So..the plan is that I’ll blog each weekend with a week in review cover technology news, mostly business focussed, but some consumer stuff too. I’ll stick with the format that works well in the SBTUG presentations, but if you have any suggestions on how this can be better presented leave me a comment.

Developer News

Windows Live FrameIt SDK released

FrameIt Client PowerToy review by Liveside.net

Microsoft released the Windows Live FrameIt SDK at the end of February and now available for download. Windows Live FrameIt allows you to organise and display photos on compatible devices, such as a digital photo frame. You can also get weather and news feeds on the FrameIt device too.

Application Compatibility testing for Windows 7

The Windows 7 engineering blog have posted another massive article, this time focussing on Application Compatibility Testing for Windows 7. If you’re a developer this is well worth a read. Also Andrew Coates will be presenting at our next SBTUG meeting on developing for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8

Create a dynamic (IE8) Web Slice in 5 minutes

The guys over at the IE Blog have put together a quick tutorial on how you can create a dynamic web slice in just 5 minutes!

IT Professional News

Microsoft App-V Support for the Windows 7 Beta

Microsoft have announced the availability of App-V 4.5 CU1 with support for the Windows 7 Beta! If you’re a subscriber of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MSOP) you can head to Microsoft Connect to register and download the update.

Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC released

The Hyper-v role update will be included with Service Pack 2 (initially when Windows Server 2008 shipped, the Hyper-V role was still in Beta) along with some other big fixes and performance enhancements.

Windows 7 ‘Walkthrough’ deployment guides released

These guides include: Deployment Image Servicing & Management, User State Migration Tool and DirectAccess in Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows News

Windows Vista SP2 Release Candidate available

Microsoft have made available the Windows Vista SP2 Release Candidate. Vista SP2 is a roll up of all hotfixes since SP1 as well as additional support for Bluetooth 2.1, inclusion of Windows Search and the Wireless Feature Pack.

Custom Dictionary support available in Windows 7

Rob Bushway from GottaBeMobile.com revealed that Microsoft has added support for custom dictionaries, such as Medical, in Windows 7.

Microsoft News

OfficeLive adds some new features

Microsoft have announced some new (much needed) features for OfficeLive including Folder support and file copy/paste from within OfficeLive itself.

Business Action for ISVs – world tour

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM team kicked off a world tour at the end of February targeting developers considering using Dynamics CRM as a line-of-business platform, Silverlight or WPF to build compelling experiences, Office or SharePoint to build on the familiar skills of your end-users or Partner-Hosting or Azure Services to extend you application to the cloud.

Microsoft OneNote community site launched

The OneNote community site was developed by OneNote fans with the aim to help new users and raise product awareness. The site has some great resources and is made up of passionate OneNote users who are willing to help.

Microsoft announces internal testing of Kumo

Microsoft recently announced, probably due to a number of rumours out there, that they are internally testing a new search engine Kumo

Microsoft releases free Office 2007 training videos

These new training videos are aimed at end users of Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint and Windows SharePoint Services.

Mobile News

i-Mate announces the “Legionnaire”

The Legionnaire is a really interesting device, not only is it a high end Windows Mobile 6.5 device, it can also be plugged into a netbook shell – power that netbook and also double as a trackpad.

Long Zheng discuss the new Windows Mobile 6.5 Honeycomb interface

Long wrote a great article on the new Windows Mobile 6.5 Honeycomb interface that has received mixed reviews. Long speaks about getting icons away from the corner and more finger and scroll friendly.

Asus P835 announced

Asus recently announced the P835 Windows Mobile device sporting a high end processor, Windows Mobile 6.1, a 800×480 WVGA screen and can also double as a wifi access point.

Samsung release SDK for their Mobile Devices

Samsung have now released an SDK that will allow you to develop applications that make use of the Samsung hardware such as the accelerometer, notifications indicator and haptics feedback

Hardware/Device news

Samsung Q1EX Ultra Mobile PC available in the US

The Samsung Q1EX is the successor to the very popular Q1p and Q1u UMPCs and is expecting to be shipping to Australia later in 2009.

Apple refreshes the iMac and Mac Mini

This month apple announced refreshes of their iMac and Mac Mini product line.

Hope you enjoyed the first IT News – Week in review

Nicholas (aka Aussienick)

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Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 Review

X1_product_quality_image_1 (2) I’ve had a brand new Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 for the past two weeks and i have to say that this is the best phone i have every used. I’ve used Windows Mobiles, Blackberries, Nokia and the first gen iPhone and the XPERIA X1 trumps them all! This is a big statement to make, but hopefully after reading this you’ll agree.

First off, here are the XPERIA X1’s specifications:

  • Microsoft Windows Mobile® 6.1 professional
  • Fully QWERTY keyboard
  • Touch screen / handwriting recognition
  • 3.2 Megapixel camera – Auto focus
  • MMS / Email / Picture editing / Blogging
  • Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
  • WLAN – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
  • 3D games / Motion sensor / Accelerometer
  • USB support v.2.0miniusb
  • Media Player & Track ID
  • 3.5mm standard audio jack
  • Expandable memory – MicroSD
  • Up to 400MB phone memory
  • Person to Person Video Calling3
  • Email
  • Mobile Internet capability
  • Polyphonic Ringtones
  • FM Radio
  • Integrated MP3 Player
  • GPRS capability
  • Vibrating Alert
  • PC Synchronisation

The XPERIA model I have is the X1a which is available on the Telstra network and will be available in the US through selected carriers.

The XPERIA X1 comes in a pretty standard box and comes with the standard Windows Mobile accessories:

  • Stereo Headset
  • USB Sync cable
  • Wall charger
  • Resource CD

After the standard Windows Mobile 6.1 setup of calibrating the screen, setting up my time zone and setting up my email i was in sight of the Today screen. At the stage the XPERIA run a further customisation to install the XPERIA panels and themes. Now i was ready to go! I was expecting to see many more applications coming pre-installed with the X1, but Sony & Telstra  have done a good choosing the right applications for the device and not just bundling everything they can find with it.

I’ve been using the XPERIA fulltime for the past 5 weeks until i won an iPhone and love it. I think this is one of the best Windows Mobile devices ever produced, it provides 1.5 days of battery life and offers fantastic performance and reliability. This is one of the few Windows Mobile devices I’ve used that has had the power to run the Operating System and User Interface customisations without lag! The screen resolution provides a great user experience and video playback, although not full screen, looks awesome.

One of the major features of the XPERIA is Sony’s Panel interface. Panels provide you with upto 9 different home screens (Sony calls them ‘desktops for your phone’) on your device. The device comes pre-loaded with a number of panels including the standard Windows Mobile today screen, media player panel, a 3d fish animation panels and more. You can also download panels from the Sony Ericsson website via the XPERIA or your PC or MAC.

The only negative i have  is not about the device itself, but the marketing behind the device…or should i say lack of advertising behind the device. Telstra and Sony have done very little to market the device apart from advertising it on their respective websites. When the XPERIA was announced at the Mobile World Congress in 2008 everyone who saw it wanted one and now nearly one year on when the device is launched there is very little marketing. I would like to see the XPERIA feature on the front of the Windows Mobile Australia website and feature more on Technology news sites and blogs.

Overall i think that the XPERIA is a power packed device that would be suited to most Smartphone users, it’s light weight, powerful and easy to use.

If you located in Sydney, Australia then you could come along to the Sydney Windows Mobile User Group meeting on the 10th March at Microsoft Australia where I’ll be demoing the device along with Windows Live Services for Mobile Devices and Microsoft MyPhone.


Installing Windows 7 from a USB drive

I’ve been installing Vista and Windows 7 on UMPCs and Netbooks using this process for a while and thought I’d point out the best tutorial i have found (via Dave Glover).

Link: How to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows Vista

Although this tutorial is specific to Windows Vista it works for XP and Windows 7 aswell!


I won an iPhone!

hero20090209 (2)Last Friday i was lucky enough to win myself a brand new 16GB Apple iPhone and have now had the chance to use it full-time for the past week and have been pretty happy with it.

First a little background – I bought the first iPhone when it came out in 2007 which was available in the USA only, and used it for a few months before handing it on to a family member. The major disadvantage to the iPhone 1.x firmware was no 3rd party applications, unless you jailbreaked the iPhone. This was fixed in June 2008 with the release of the iPhone 2.0 firmware and with further small revisions the iPhone OS now seems to be a much more stable operating system.

So back to my new iPhone!! It’s the 16GB model and locked to the Telstra network which works out well for me because I was already on the Telstra network. So far I’m really impressed with the iPhone for a number of reasons, mostly the browser and the number of applications available and the easy install process. I have my iPhone connected to Microsoft Exchange and also 2 other email accounts, Windows Live Hotmail (via POP3 access) and another personal account via IMAP.

Apps installed:

  • Facebook app – mobile app for Facebook
  • TwitterFon – twitter client
  • LinkedIN app – mobile app for LinkedIN
  • Evernote – note taking app that can sync across multiple devices & the web
  • NYTimes app – mobile app for the New York Times
  • Google App – mobile app to access most Google services
  • Bejewelled 2 – great game!!
  • DuckShoot – game
  • Super Monkey Ball Lite – fun game that makes use of the iPhone’s accelerometer
  • Seadragon – Mobile app designed to provide next-generation visual experiences, regardless of the size of the screen, size of the file or speed of your network.
  • Fring – great program that allows you to access Skype and other Instant Messaging services through a single application.
  • Microsoft Tag – Mobile app to snap a pic of a Microsoft Tag

Things i like about the iPhone:

  • Once activated, it’s simple to setup email accounts
  • Easy to use User Interface
  • Simple to purchase and install applications – this can be done on the iPhone itself, through iTunes or even via a link on a website to purchase through the iTunes App Store.
  • Keyboard – i have used a lot of on screen keyboard and i still find the iPhone’s far superior and more responsive than others on the Windows Mobile OS.
  • Call quality & speakerphone – great quality either on the device itself, speakerphone or via headset.

Things i don’t like about the iPhone:

  • Requires iTunes to activate and sync – although other phones require sync software, iTunes requires frequent updates and requires more system resources. Windows Mobile requires ActiveSync (Windows XP) or Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 (Windows Vista & 7) and is only updated upon new versions of Windows Mobile. Nokia phones require the Nokia PC Suite which is updated every few months. Blackberry requires the Blackberry Desktop Connect software which is a massive download and resource hog, but rarely updated.
  • Cannot create meeting requests – I’m connect to Microsoft Exchange and the iPhone cannot create meeting requests, only post to my own calendar.
  • Cannot search Exchange Global Address List (GAL) for phone numbers – I can search the GAL for email addresses, but not phone numbers…you’d think i might want to call someone from the GAL and not just email them!
  • No copy and paste – the way Apple have implemented the ‘long hold’ to magnify over characters, in my opinion, will prevent Apple from implementing copy and paste. One Windows Mobile a ‘long hold’ is the same as a right click and allows you to copy, cut & paste.

Overall I’m pretty happy with the improvements Apple have made since introducing the iPhone in 2007. At the moment they are the clear favourite of consumers and even breaking into the Enterprise market to compete with Blackberry and Windows Mobile. Apple is expected to announce the next version of the iPhone at this year’s Apple Developers Conference in June.It will be interesting to see how they can further innovate on the iPhone’s form factor and Operating System.

With Microsoft’s announcements of Windows Mobile 6.5, a new partnership with LG (50 Windows Mobile devices before the end of 2009) and some other great devices, Microsoft have a chance to hit back at Apple in both the Enterprise and Consumer market, but there is some more work to be done before the end of the year by Microsoft such as more advanced integration with Windows Live Services and continued performance improvements in the Windows Mobile User Interface.

Now the final question…will i continue to use the iPhone? At the moment, the answer is yes, but it’s a complicated story about our Exchange server i don’t want to bore you with! So once some issues have been resolved, then I’ll be heading back to my Sony XPERIA X1 or HTC Touch HD!!

PS. More on the XPERIA X1 and Touch HD coming soon :)


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