Google Docs Vs. Microsoft Word

Replies

• 

  pad

  i wish i could be an oracle....😔
  
  if i compare these two on functional basis... google is going to throw M$ out of business...(provided google keeps the pace for another two years)... M$ Office is a great product but... u know what... it locks u in... just to share M$ docs u need a great infrastructure in place... and we use only about 5-6% of features for the price we pay to purchase 100% of features.
  
  well... the way technology is changing... desktop application vs web-application is not much a matter of concern.
  
  google has great innovators... i vote in their favour....
  
  NOW THE HISTORY: qwerty is the keyboard layout we use and is default on most systems. THIS IS CRIPLED AND STILL USED overlooking DVORAK layout which is much better... how may of us are aware i dont know....
  Moral... just good products dont win... a little luck is also needed 😉
• 

  Prasad Ajinkya

  Would prefer Google Docs because of the following reasons -
  1. I hate Microsoft (ok ... I am just kidding ... I just dislike it ;-) )
  2. Online collaboration becomes a piece of cake
  3. I just need a browser to use the documents, no Office is needed
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  kidakaka

  Would prefer Google Docs because of the following reasons -
  1. I hate Microsoft (ok ... I am just kidding ... I just dislike it ;-) )
  2. Online collaboration becomes a piece of cake
  3. I just need a browser to use the documents, no Office is needed

  Probably reason#1 is the biggest reason why people want to use Google Docs. I'll wait for few more replies before I comment 😉
  
  I've no clue if Office Live solves the problem of online collaboration. I have tried the latest version of MS Word and believe me, it rocks!
  
  -The Big K-
• 

  crook

  kidakaka

  Would prefer Google Docs because of the following reasons -
  1. I hate Microsoft (ok ... I am just kidding ... I just dislike it ;-) )
  2. Online collaboration becomes a piece of cake
  3. I just need a browser to use the documents, no Office is needed

  I go with MS Word. For me its really easy to fire up my Word and start composing a message. I really hate when browser hangs up or takes up forever to show up. I seldom use online collaboration.
• 

  Prasad Ajinkya

  Do you use IE by any chance :hehehe: ... What about OpenOffice? ... I know we are comparing Google Docs Vs. Microsoft Word here, but the OpenOffice suite is also pretty nifty. It takes some time to load (thinks its java based), but once its up and running, its as good as any.
• 

  mail154

  Rather than getting into very technical issues i don't think the web based application will replace the desktop application until everyone in the world uses internet. 😀
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  mail154

  Rather than getting into very technical issues i don't think the web based application will replace the desktop application until everyone in the world uses internet. 😀

  That's a very generic statement. I think the world's already moved beyond 'web' and the 'mobile apps' are the new desktops. I think HTML5 offers several possibilities that will eventually allow complete replacement of the desktop apps.
  
  The Chromebook OS is trying to do that; but it's still way behind what the Desktops have achieved. I'm still looking for a worthy competitor to Microsoft's Office Program. Linux folks love OpenOffice; but I could never spend more than 5 minutes on it.
• 

  Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

  I wish Microsoft sustain the battle.Ms word has the best user interface i had seen and cannot be compared to google docs.Yes google is a nice web app but still I should have net connection to do it.
  So i opt for MS Word.
  😀
• 

  mail154

  Kaustubh Katdare

  That's a very generic statement. I think the world's already moved beyond 'web' and the 'mobile apps' are the new desktops. I think HTML5 offers several possibilities that will eventually allow complete replacement of the desktop apps.
  
  The Chromebook OS is trying to do that; but it's still way behind what the Desktops have achieved. I'm still looking for a worthy competitor to Microsoft's Office Program. Linux folks love OpenOffice; but I could never spend more than 5 minutes on it.

  
  
  hey big k i an not a linux folk but i still love openoffice than ms office...its a very good competitor and i think it would overtake due to its open source nature..i don't think google docs as a competitor because there is differences on it for internet requirement..still open office is great
• 

  Jeffrey Arulraj

  I personally find doing a document on the go is much better than carrying my laptop every where cos of MS office
  
  My vote is google Editor It allows more and also it's autosave feature is really cool that I don't have to worry about saving my long document every now and then
  
  First impression of Google Editor It beat Ms Black and Blue
• 

  Abhishek Rawal

  Libreoffice is way better than MS Office, because it is free. I won't spend 5K for the same product with MS prefix.
  I have listened everyone praising MS Office, but I haven't found a bit difference between LibreOffice & MSOffice.(Maybe most people haven't tried Libreoffice)
  I will never understand what's purpose of using the simple software which have similar opensource alternative ? Opensource softwares can vastly decrease the investment cost in software/OS etc.etc. No license renewing BS!
  
  

  Kaustubh Katdare

  Linux folks love OpenOffice; but I could never spend more than 5 minutes on it.

  Try Libreoffice then ? It's same as MSOffice. bit-to-bit.
  No wonder why all Linux Distros moved to Libreoffice from Openoffice.
  Home | LibreOffice - Free Office Suite - Based on OpenOffice - Compatible with Microsoft
• 

  Anoop Kumar

  One click online collaboration is future.
  MS Office have to implement it
  Google docs is already in this but to beat features of MS office.
  From Larry Page perspective, software giants should work with each other to make software world better.
  MS is taking care of offline docs and data and Google is taking care of online (Are they taking care or #-Link-Snipped-# 😨😨).
  
  Anyway I am using both of them in past 4-5 years and MS rocks in offline and office uses while Google docs is being awesome in online collaboration.
  Few things I have tried with Google docs:
  

  • While B.Tech. we manage our flat account with Google Sheet. If anyone lived with flat partner they know how much headache this was. We were 5 guys in one flat.
  • Mails, task and calender (Don't forget sms alert), easy to configure to remember b'days and bill payment.
  • Make notes throw in drive or use Google Keep.
  • I am still using for planning trips with friends.
  • Fully transparent, every revision is saved automatically.👍

  I have used Libre Office3 two years back but didn't liked it. New improvement in 4.1 seems promising and 100 plus point with Libre office or any open source they can't steal your data ☕.
  
• 

  Anand Tamariya

  This is one area where the early players have a definite advantage - simply because by the time world woke up to the concept of vendor lock-in, they were deep into it. Now you might not like MS or prefer the easing of online editing, but when you are a corporate it's not your preference alone that matters. It matters more what the ecosystem adopts.
  
  So you might have designed a flashy proposal in your favorite editor (libre office, Gdocs etc.), but before sending it the prospective client (or even govt. offices), you'd like to open and view it in MS office - because that's the only thing you could be sure that the client is using. And for that purpose alone, you'd have to keep paying MS. So far so, many RFPs would mention specifically that the response be submitted in MS Document format (doc or xls).
• 

  Anoop Mathew

  Like Anand said, ultimately it comes to Microsoft Word itself!
  
  What is the best office tool you could use for Android smartphones? - and it should be offline and should be able to save in .doc format.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Sorta going a bit off tangent from the title topic, but anyway, LibreOffice is nice software. I've used OpenOffice on and off since 2006 and the resulting LibreOffice fork, hoping to be less dependent on MS Office. For basic office work and word processing, it works just fine. But I feel it still has a way to go for to use in the business world that need specialized functions.
  
  The one big plus for MS Excel over LibreOffice Calc is Pivot Charts. This is an absolute must if you have thousands of data points that you need to analyze and present. For example, for daily/weekly performance statistics of the network and after upgrades, you need to quickly present performance trends vs time. If you have like dozens of parameters to present, you'd probably go insane if you don't have a tool like Pivot Charts.
  
  As others pointed out, compatibility and reliance of doc/xls formats from others is an obstacle. Unless there is a large initiative to switch to LibreOffice en-masse, the uptake will be slow. e.g Government led.
  
  When sending out documents for Ummatech purposes, we usually send two versions- doc & pdf.
  
  Regarding Google Docs, well, can't really compare. Useful for basic stuff and online collaborative efforts, but not for general office productivity. I feel its more of a complement than a potential replacement.
• 

  Abhishek Rawal

  ash

  The one big plus for MS Excel over LibreOffice Calc is Pivot Charts. This is an absolute must if you have thousands of data points that you need to analyze and present. For example, for daily/weekly performance statistics of the network and after upgrades, you need to quickly present performance trends vs time. If you have like dozens of parameters to present, you'd probably go insane if you don't have a tool like Pivot Charts.

  Libre Calc -> Data -> Pivot Table.
  
  You can save the document in Libreoffice in Windows compatible version also.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Abhishek Rawal

  Libre Calc -> Data -> Pivot Table.
  
  You can save the document in Libreoffice in Windows compatible version also.

  Yes, I've tried that out, but it does not have an option for dynamic charting, hence Pivot Chart. When you have to generate many reports in a short time, you need to get out these charts out quick after you have changed the variables and analyzed the trends.
  
  😔
• 

  Anoop Mathew

  ash

  Sorta going a bit off tangent from the title topic, but anyway, LibreOffice is nice software. I've used OpenOffice on and off since 2006 and the resulting LibreOffice fork, hoping to be less dependent on MS Office. For basic office work and word processing, it works just fine. But I feel it still has a way to go for to use in the business world that need specialized functions.
  
  The one big plus for MS Excel over LibreOffice Calc is Pivot Charts. This is an absolute must if you have thousands of data points that you need to analyze and present. For example, for daily/weekly performance statistics of the network and after upgrades, you need to quickly present performance trends vs time. If you have like dozens of parameters to present, you'd probably go insane if you don't have a tool like Pivot Charts.
  
  As others pointed out, compatibility and reliance of doc/xls formats from others is an obstacle. Unless there is a large initiative to switch to LibreOffice en-masse, the uptake will be slow. e.g Government led.
  
  When sending out documents for Ummatech purposes, we usually send two versions- doc & pdf.
  
  Regarding Google Docs, well, can't really compare. Useful for basic stuff and online collaborative efforts, but not for general office productivity. I feel its more of a complement than a potential replacement.

  Well Excel power is really felt everywhere and it's one hell of a tool. The pivot table is a huge advantage for network analysts and telecom operation centres.
• 

  mail154

  Abhishek Rawal

  Libreoffice is way better than MS Office, because it is free. I won't spend 5K for the same product with MS prefix.
  I have listened everyone praising MS Office, but I haven't found a bit difference between LibreOffice & MSOffice.(Maybe most people haven't tried Libreoffice)
  I will never understand what's purpose of using the simple software which have similar opensource alternative ? Opensource softwares can vastly decrease the investment cost in software/OS etc.etc. No license renewing BS!
  
  
  Try Libreoffice then ? It's same as MSOffice. bit-to-bit.
  No wonder why all Linux Distros moved to Libreoffice from Openoffice.
  Home | LibreOffice - Free Office Suite - Based on OpenOffice - Compatible with Microsoft

  
  
  i am a windows user i love libreoffice. its just differs with name with ms office. but i still stick to openoffice which is very simple to me. its just like a ms-office 2003 or a 2000.
• 

  Harshad Italiya

  I second #-Link-Snipped-# for LibreOffice I am using it from last one year and I am Happy with that.
  
  LibreOffice 👍
• 

  simplycoder

  Just downloaded LibreOffice, and don't find a reason to switch to MSOffice.
  When I need to keep my document online, I do use Google Docs though.