Cloud Nine

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Last week I went off on Google. This week I am going to admit that of the big companies Google is one of the few whose products I use. The reason for this is that Google is one of the first who focus on and advance the “apps in the cloud” mantra, which is why their net neutrality stance is even more frustrating.

Here’s the complete list of big company apps:

  • Apple: laptop, iPhone, iPad, iWork (Pages, Keynote), iLife, MobileMe
  • Google: GMail, Reader, Docs (as little as possible), search, blogger, YouTube
  • Microsoft: Excel
  • Intuit: QuickBooks
  • Adobe: Photoshop Elements

(And I would love to replace Adobe and Intuit — especially Intuit. And Excel can’t be replaced even though their Mac version stinks.) All other software — and a lot of it — is from smaller, independent developers.

But it is Google and Google alone who really understands this concept of access everywhere. Take Google Reader for example. I access Google Reader from every computer I have (including using an app called Reeder on iPhone and iPad) and they all stay in sync perfectly because of its connection to the cloud.

This is where the future resides for most software products and anyone who doesn’t understand that will be left behind. I am already convinced that this is a clear deliniation on smartphones and tablets: if you don’t have a web connection, don’t bother developing it.

4 thoughts on “Cloud Nine”

  1. I hear you on QuickBooks. As for Excel, does OpenOffice not do enough? Or, add to your Googleyness and use Google Spreadsheets. It’s in the cloud!

    • Google Spreadsheets is particularly poor although I do use it some when I need access to the same info on multiple systems. I don’t know what it is about Excel except 15-20 years of constant use. It is one of the few apps that I can say Microsoft and elegant in the same sentence, but just for the Windows version.

      Congrats on the book, by the way. I was out of town when it was announced and forgot to send a note when I got back.

      Elia

  2. As you want to replace Quickbooks with something accessible “everywhere” here is my story: I am now doing the financial accounting on the iphone with bookkeeping.warby.com and I am really amazed that this is possible. I tried nearly all of th available iphone apps and did choose the most flexible one (backup/restore to webdav is also nice). Using it in the little device has lots of advantages for me (invoices and quotes on the go, balance sheet in my pocket) and is very easy to work with as it motivates me to do the “dry accounting” because typing on the iphoen is more fun than a desktop application. Greetings from Vienna, Robert

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