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P U T T I N G G O O G L E TO W O R K FOR Y O U : G O O G L E A P P S
Table 7-1. Pros and Cons of Docs & Spreadsheets.
Pros
Mobility
Cons
Features
You don't need to be at your own computer or carry around your own Laptop. You can access your files with a Web browser from any computer that has access to the Internet.
The programs used in Docs & Spreadsheets are hardly as powerful or full-featured as Word or Excel. In fact, they're pretty minimal.
No Need for Storage Devices
Reliability
You don't have to use floppy disks or memory sticks Before D&S, you might need to save a few files to a floppy disk and carry it around with you to access that information from a different location. Since many people now have laptops to mobilize their information, the floppy disk is already seldom used. But with D&S, forget the floppy disk because all you need is an Internet connection.
If Google or its servers go down, your files become inaccessible.
Access
If you need to edit a document or spreadsheet in a hurry, you need to be connected to the Internet to do it. Otherwise you need to download or export your file to your computer.
No E-Mail Attachments
Security
Improved Collaboration
Education
Forget Word and Excel attachments Instead of emailing your colleagues a Word or Excel attachment, just invite them to view your document or spreadsheet online. Collaborators will be able to make edits to your documents without saving a new copy to their hard drive and emailing the revised version back to you. Forget being in the same room to edit the same document at the same time You can invite people to your documents/ spreadsheets and everyone can make changes together at the same time.
If you put critical business files online, you are trusting in Google's servers to handle them securely.
Perhaps the biggest drawback is the need to develop new habits. You and your coworkers have to adjust your behavior and get used to working online.
• You go directly to the URL http://d0cs.g00gle.c0m/a/[mydomain] • You go directly to the URL http://docs. [mydomain] In either case, you'll need to replace [mydomain] with your domain name. You'll be prompted to log in, and create and share documents and spreadsheets. There's another option that's worth mentioning: although this book emphasizes