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The cloud "hipness" seems to be already fading in some circles, due to privacy and concerns about who owns the data. Non-geeks creeped out about ads following t

The cloud "hipness" seems to be already fading in some circles, due to privacy and concerns about who owns the data. Non-geeks creeped out about ads following them around based on what they type in a document, or their data being accessed by people that guess their password. And remember that thin client/thick client has always been a cycle. A linear prediction toward everyone using services such as Google Docs is probably wrong. Also, open source software for non-geeks seems to be on the rise as its usability has improved surprisingly in the last 5 years. I wouldn't say it's a direct threat for Microsoft though as their important customers are big enterprises...

nopinsight 15y ago
It's not about being hip. For small businesses with a few branches, Google Docs and other cloud-based services like Trello are god-send. Even though we have Microsoft Office, cloud-based collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria. We decided to use Google Docs instead of MS Office for more and more documents over time as their feature set matures and wireless infrastructure becomes widespread.
- wladimir 15y ago
  "hip" was probably the wrong word. It's more like "having the temporary advantage". I expect desktop office programs will also support real-time collaboration in the near future. It's indeed an incredibly useful feature, so there is no reason why it would remain limited to third-party hosted web programs. (and desktop programs could implement security features such as encryption, and/or use peer-to-peer protocols, preventing third-party privacy issues)
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  "collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria" What if MS Office or LibreOffice eventually bake these in to their applications? There's no need for cloud storage for real time collaboration.
- Czarnian 15y ago
  And you still gave Microsoft your money.
JeremyBanks 15y ago
Non-geeks creeped out about ads following them around based on what they type in a document... Has this ever happened with Google Docs? It doesn't sound unlikely that this will happen eventually, but I don't think it already has.
jonknee 15y ago
You can disable ads on Google Apps for business or education. Google Docs may not be the end all, but I seriously doubt the future swinging back to documents living on a local client.

nopinsight 15y ago

It's not about being hip. For small businesses with a few branches, Google Docs and other cloud-based services like Trello are god-send. Even though we have Microsoft Office, cloud-based collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria. We decided to use Google Docs instead of MS Office for more and more documents over time as their feature set matures and wireless infrastructure becomes widespread.

wladimir 15y ago
"hip" was probably the wrong word. It's more like "having the temporary advantage". I expect desktop office programs will also support real-time collaboration in the near future. It's indeed an incredibly useful feature, so there is no reason why it would remain limited to third-party hosted web programs. (and desktop programs could implement security features such as encryption, and/or use peer-to-peer protocols, preventing third-party privacy issues)
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
mike-cardwell 15y ago
"collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria" What if MS Office or LibreOffice eventually bake these in to their applications? There's no need for cloud storage for real time collaboration.
Czarnian 15y ago
And you still gave Microsoft your money.

JeremyBanks 15y ago

Non-geeks creeped out about ads following them around based on what they type in a document... Has this ever happened with Google Docs? It doesn't sound unlikely that this will happen eventually, but I don't think it already has.

jonknee 15y ago

You can disable ads on Google Apps for business or education. Google Docs may not be the end all, but I seriously doubt the future swinging back to documents living on a local client.