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You’ve probably heard of Web 2.0. Basically this is the idea
that in the near future everything can be done on the internet. These means that we won’t be controlled
by the location of our files and computers. For example, many of our customers are already using
Blackberry’s, Treo’s,
Iphones and other devices that allow them to view their e-mail and the internet anywhere they are.
But for most of us, if your pictures are on your home computer then that is generally where you view them.
You can move them to another computer using a thumb drive. Then you become controlled by the location of your
files on two computers and sometimes they get mixed up and overwritten or lost. Web 2.0 offers a solution.
With Web 2.0 you can upload, access and create your files in secure storage on the internet. Now you can access
them on any computer that has the internet and you’re no longer controlled by the location of your computer.
You may feel worried about putting your pictures and personal data on the internet because they could possibly be stolen or accessed by
the wrong person. Good! You should be aware of the location of your personal data and be aware of who has access
to it. What you might not realize is that much of your data is already on the internet – e-mails for example.
If you use hotmail, or yahoo mail
or host your e-mail through your web host, that means your e-mails are probably accessible through a secure login at hotmail.com
or yahoo.com or webmail.myemail.com.
Also, your computer may be less secure storage than online storage. Currently we're recommending Ibackup.com
for online storage. However you might consider Xdrive.com and
Mediamax.com. An online server is backed up to other servers and generally more secure against intrusions and viruses than most people’s home computers.
Web 2.0 requires not only being able to store your files online but create new ones and be able to use them the same way you do on your computer.
Here’s what’s new:
Word, Excel, Power Point Processing on the internet:
A. Zoho.com is a new startup that brings the world of word processing onto the internet.
It’s free, you can
create new Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents at Zoho.com’s website. (pict) You can even upload and share your documents
for others to see. Don’t expect zoho to remain free. They’re in Beta now, as soon as they go out I suspect they’ll
charge a monthly fee. However I’m sure it will be less than the cost of purchasing a server for your office combined
with the price of Microsoft Office licenses for all your computers.
B.
Google Docs
- Google is getting into it too. You can do the same thing with Google Docs, create, upload and share Word and Excel
files online. View a demonstration video on Youtube here.
Google quickly purchased Writely (Article Here , one of the
original creators of online Word Processing, to help them launch into the market.
C. Microsoft Office Live -
Microsoft, as usual, is watching it’s competitors before jumping into the game, buying them our or suing them.
However, they should be in the game soon. I suspect it will be a monthly pay version or you’ll have to have a
full license of Microsoft office in order to log on. However, I’m sure it will be better than Google’s or Zoho’s versions.
We’re testing a new Web 2.0 idea here at WitzEnd Computing. To hear more about it Click here and tell us
what you think about it.
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- Steve Fink MCSE, MCSA, A+, Network+, Witzend Computing -
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