joedonahue.org

It is not uncommon for us to discuss and debate technology trends in my department, and as an avid user of Google Docs (bias alert), I was alarmed at this article which Scott emailed to me from Wired News. It takes on the appearance being an evaluation of Google Apps and Microsoft Office, but is really an evaluation of Google Apps against Microsoft Office. I will explain why I think this is inappropriate, followed by a reflection on the comments the author made.

The (implied) starting point for this article is “Is Google Apps Microsoft Office?” This is going to be a very difficult pill for a lot of people, but let’s ask – Is Microsoft Office really what you want? I would like to give as a strong a No! as the Wired article author issued against Google Apps, but I won’t. At work, and perhaps in some other isolated contexts as well, Microsoft Office is very appropriate. I’ll be fair – I’ve used MS Office and OpenOffice at the desktop level, and these suites offer extremely powerful tools that I cannot imagine doing my day-to-day work without. They cannot be removed from the game at this level, and in this point I agree that Google Apps has quite a way to go.

But should your personal computer be equipped with the same enterprise-level tools, and at a greater price tag? Being the power-user you are, you may respond with a mind-numbing yelp of affirmation. I will refrain. Excel is a great example – it offers a wealth of tools, the half of which I will never properly know how to wield. I feel like a hardcore power-user when I do a SUM across columns or do a fill-down with a formula. Needless to say, this barely scratches the surface of Excel’s capabilities, yet I will never use them. At this point alone, I chose OpenOffice over MS office, as I got all the power I could ever want in a spreadsheet for that hard-to-beat-price of free.

Having established that I don’t need $200 of enterprise-level tools on my desktop to make a grocery list or keep track of Uno scores (an actual task my wife used Excel for), I would like to submit a reflection on the points made in the Wired article against Google Apps, out of having used them exclusively in my personal and graduate-level school work for about 6 months.

Privacy

If someone else does happen to hack in and steal my essay on John Wesley’s A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, I pray it may it may cause the heart of the reader to be strangely warmed. Privacy is of utmost concern, but I would affirm that while storing your password list in a Google Spreadsheet may not be as safe as simply not writing down your passwords anywhere, that list is just as safe in the hands of Google as it is on your desktop. On your PC, anyone logged into the computer can find the file and open it (usually). With Google Apps, they must either be logged in as you, or you must have given them explicit collaboration or viewing rights to that document.

Google Apps is Incomplete

And I quote, “Where is the Powerpoint killer?” Powerpoint was the Powerpoint killer. It was fun in Office ’97, but today, sequential slides of text with ‘wordart’ titles doesn’t qualify as multimedia. I had a class last fall where the prof used Powerpoint, and every single word on every single slide drop-animated into place. It looked like the Matrix in slow-motion with agonizingly anti-climactic end results.

I believe there should be a replacement for Powerpoint, but it will probably come (or has come) through apple.

There is also some attempt to argue that storing contact information on a local computer is more organized and efficient than storing it on the internet. GMail’s contacts system is wonderful, and I have long made the switch to using it exclusively for keeping track of contact info. Added bonus: In both Facebook and, more recently, Skype, I have entered my Gmail login and password and they retrieve my contact list, automatically importing it into their program for you to use. In a previous decade this may have been accomplished by exporting a CSV (there go my separated values again) into an external file (remember where you save it!) and importing it into the application. The newer approach is quicker and easier. And cooler.
Working on the Web is Weird

Not working on the web is weird. Once you have come to enjoy perpetual access to your files from any computer, there is great disdain for doing it the old way. There is a paradigm switch, especially in the form of organization through tags instead of a folder system, but it is well worth the investment. Lastly, ‘working on the web is weird’ is only valid for those who don’t already play on the web. If you have never before used a Web2.0 application (MySpace doesn’t count) then Google Apps will be a whole new world. If you have been using Flickr, Facebook, 43things or 43places, Gliffy, LibraryThing, or any number of other Web2.0 apps, then Google Apps is going to feel like home.

No Offline Access

The argument:

1. “Sometimes the tubes get clogged.”
2. “There’s no wi-fi on planes.”
3. “No access if Google goes down.”

I’ll try and answer these in order. It should be stated that the very hinge that allows Web2.0 apps to even exist is the proliferation of broadband connectivity. The technology, software-wise, has been in place for a cool 10 years prior to the current “boom” we are experiencing with web applications, but it has required speed and “tubes” that have not been available until now. But they are now available. It will only continue to become more available, and I do not support giving web apps a thumbs down just because it isn’t absolutely everywhere. It’s like saying “Let’s not buy a cell phone until we are absolutely sure that we will never lose service anywhere we go.”
I will concede that there is still no wi-fi on planes. Those are the most harrowing four hours I experience every year. And finally,there is a greater chance of your desktop hard drive catching on fire then Google going down. The security of having your documents stored on a server is about as safe as you can get.
I believe this addresses Wired magazine’s concerns. There are other features, not even touched upon, but you should really just use it and discover them for yourself.

My theme for late on here has been for posting pet peeves.  It seems that blogs are good for either disseminating innovative and useful information (of which I have none) and for ranting.  So onward we go.

Facebook.  One of the more awesome things to happen on the internet in recent history, and definitely the Most Coolest (super-superlative) social networking site yet developed.  It lives alongside Google Docs as a site I not only visit, but use on a daily basis.

But there are some things that irk me.

1.  Question-Mark-Face-People.  Honestly.  If you have a question mark for a face, then you have completely missed the boat when it comes to facebook. It is imperative that upon signing up for an account, the initial action taken is to upload a picture of yourself. Alongside this, I group people that use pictures of themselves as a baby, or pictures of themselves in a group.  There should be one person in the picture, and it should not have been taken before you learned to feed yourself.

2.  No-Network-People.  I don’t even think this should be allowed to exist on facebook.  People who are not in a network are saying one (or more) of three things:

They have never gone to college.
They don’t have a job.
They don’t live on planet earth.

The first two are excusable, and I am not bothered by it.  But when someone fails to even sign up for a Geography network, I am existentially perturbed.  If you live on planet earth, then you qualify for a Geography network.  Please take advantage of a social networking site by associating yourself with a physical place that also contains people.  It’s the least you can do.

3.  This could be the big one:  People who don’t understand the concept of comma separated values.  When you list your favorite movies, it is supposed to be a list of movies, separated by commas.  Then every title in between the commas becomes a link, which you can click on to find other friends that also like that movie.  Writing down “Anything with Leonardo DiCaprio” is not only an ethically terrible decision, it is a technically bad decision.  You should not use conjunctions, such as “Episode I and Episode II” as this also makes the whole thing worthless.  You could enter genres of movies, or even directors, so long as they are separated by commas.  “I usually watch comedy, or drama, but not chick-flicks, except when I have to” will create four different links, and I doubt anyone else also likes the movie “except when I have to.”

As in all cases, please take the appropriate action.

And on a positive note, I finally got my new car registered!  I had to skip two classes and drive all over creation (Independence) in the snow to get it done, but it worked out pretty well.  I did end up having to pay back taxes on my contour, which I guess is something you are supposed to do??  Who knew?

Upon reading A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, Julie turns to me and asks,

Who do you think is cooler, me or John Wesley?

You, Julie.  You’re cooler.

As of 11:15am on February 3rd, 2007 AD, I have made NINE trips to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Or, as they refer to it out here, the Department of Revenue. For historical purposes, I will forthwith call it ‘DMV.’ I first went to the DMV about 18 months ago to get my license and register my car (Green Monster I, ’96 Ford Contour). That took four different trips, each time being avasted (no ding, not really a word) by state goverment, technology, the fates or perhaps even the universe itself.

Then we moved out to Independence, upon which I made three attempts to change my license to carry my newfound address. Each time I was punched in the face. I eventually gave up and still have my old address on my license. This brings us to a grand total of seven trips to the DMV in less than a year.

Today I went to transfer the title of my new car (Green Monster II, or to some simply ‘Jr.’, ’99 Ford Escort) and register and get the whole car ordeal over and done with. After a relatively short wait, I was told I had all the documentation I needed except an Inspection. Firestone was next door, but they couldn’t do it until the afternoon. THe DMV closes at noon, so I turned them down and headed for the Ford Dealership. This is the third consecutive weekend I have gone there, so as soon as I walk in the guy looks at me and says “Donahue, right?” Well played! The inquiry is made and they say they can be done in 30 minutes – and sure enough they were. Ecstatic that I overcame this hurdle (and that the Ford people are so awesome) I headed back to the DMV, took a number, waited in line for 20 minutes (finished my reading for Doctrine of Holiness on Tuesday) and brought my stack of paperwork to the same person I had just talked to, who had no idea who I was or what I was doing there.

I retold my story, and she looked through my paperwork, finally telling me that I needed to have proof that I paid personal property tax on Green Monster I for 2006. Seeing as though I had no such proof, seeing as though I didn’t, it was looking as though I was not going to get my car registered today.

That makes nine trips in 18 months, the last five of which have been completely worthless. I would like to thank the Missouri State Government, technology, the fates and yes, perhaps even the universe itself for ceaselessly giving me the run-around.

Pet Peeve # 3: Going to the DMV.
One thing that did go right today was a haircut, but it is bittersweet because I hate getting a haircut. Mostly I hate the question that is always asked – “How would you like it cut?” I never know how to respond… If I am ordering a cheeseburger, I know if I say “medium well” they will accept this as appropriate and leave me alone. If I order eggs, I can say “Over easy” and that will suffice. Coffee: double cream double sugar. Do you want the warranty plan with this? No. How do you want your haircut? I just don’t know how to answer this. I say “short” and all it does it warrant more questions. No more questions! Just cut my hair.

Pet Peeve # 9: Getting a haircut.

Averages given as ranges. For example,

The average cost of a computer is about $500 – $700.

That is not an average.  Now if I had said “What is cost of a new computer within one standard deviation of the mean?”  It would be a totally different story.  (That was for Kindra and Brooksie).  In conclusion, averages are not ranges. Please take the appropriate measures.

Thank you and good day.