Web 2.0 Review: gOFFICE
gOFFICE is browser-based tool designed to allow you to create general word processing, desktop publishing and spreadsheet documents. I have to admit I approached this site with many doubts and a bit of hesitation. As a graphic designer who uses professional graphics and publishing tools on a daily basis, the claim that gOFFICE can produce “High quality printable PDF output that rivals output from Adobe InDesign”, had to be proven to me.
After experimenting with the Word Processing tools offered by gOFFICE, I was pleasantly surprised at their ease of use and flexibility. The interface and formatting tools were very similar to those you would find in Microsoft Office or any word processing software. They offer a variety of letterhead styles and templates to choose from. They mention that you are able to upload your own letterhead for use in your documents, but I was not able to locate this feature in the tools. Overall, the Word Processing tools offered by gOFFICE worked quite well.
The spreadsheet tool was very simplistic. It did not seem to offer any formatting tools or features. It did simple calculations and represented simple data successfully. I tried to upload a very complex MS Excel document into the tool and it did a fair job of rending the file accurately. For very simple calculations and spreadsheets, gOFFICE Spreadsheets would work fine.
The Desktop Publishing tool offered by gOFFICE was very limited. There are only two templates available, a business card template and a Thank You card template, but neither could be modified very extensively. gOFFICE mentions on their site, that they will be adding additional templates for such things as resumes, brochures, mailing labels, and invoices, just to name a few. Overall, the desktop publishing features of the site were a bit disappointing.
gOFFICE provides a unique service, the convenience of publishing documents from virtually anywhere with internet access. It also enables users to Email, Fax, and even sends by Postal Mail any of the PDF documents created within the tool. This feature, along with its accessibility online is what gives this tool its potential. If the developers at Silveroffice, Inc. (creators of gOFFICE) continue to develop this tool, add more features and templates, I truly think they will have a very usable tool. According to their website, the mission of gOFFICE is “to help people communicate in a more effective, efficient and creative way by providing them with the tools they need”. I think they are living up to this mission, the tools are solid and easy to use and for individuals who do not otherwise have access to publishing tools or have the ability to easily create a PDF, this product works fairly well.
In an educational environment, this tool could be used by students to create and share simple documents regardless of the operating system or software they own. They could easily create reports, documents and letters using some of the sample text found in the gOFFICE sample text library and distribute them fairly easily. gOFFICE is a tool that could be used for learning, its free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. It provides simple communication tools.
References
gOFFICE Web site: http://goffice.com/goffice6.aspx
gOFFICE.com Announces Free Browser-Based Office Suite Service. Retrieved June 9, 2006, from eMediaWire
Web site: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/7/emw263190.htm
(2005) Podcast: Geekcast #41 Retrieved June 10, 2006 from ODEO
Web site: http://odeo.com/show/101114/view
After experimenting with the Word Processing tools offered by gOFFICE, I was pleasantly surprised at their ease of use and flexibility. The interface and formatting tools were very similar to those you would find in Microsoft Office or any word processing software. They offer a variety of letterhead styles and templates to choose from. They mention that you are able to upload your own letterhead for use in your documents, but I was not able to locate this feature in the tools. Overall, the Word Processing tools offered by gOFFICE worked quite well.
The spreadsheet tool was very simplistic. It did not seem to offer any formatting tools or features. It did simple calculations and represented simple data successfully. I tried to upload a very complex MS Excel document into the tool and it did a fair job of rending the file accurately. For very simple calculations and spreadsheets, gOFFICE Spreadsheets would work fine.
The Desktop Publishing tool offered by gOFFICE was very limited. There are only two templates available, a business card template and a Thank You card template, but neither could be modified very extensively. gOFFICE mentions on their site, that they will be adding additional templates for such things as resumes, brochures, mailing labels, and invoices, just to name a few. Overall, the desktop publishing features of the site were a bit disappointing.
gOFFICE provides a unique service, the convenience of publishing documents from virtually anywhere with internet access. It also enables users to Email, Fax, and even sends by Postal Mail any of the PDF documents created within the tool. This feature, along with its accessibility online is what gives this tool its potential. If the developers at Silveroffice, Inc. (creators of gOFFICE) continue to develop this tool, add more features and templates, I truly think they will have a very usable tool. According to their website, the mission of gOFFICE is “to help people communicate in a more effective, efficient and creative way by providing them with the tools they need”. I think they are living up to this mission, the tools are solid and easy to use and for individuals who do not otherwise have access to publishing tools or have the ability to easily create a PDF, this product works fairly well.
In an educational environment, this tool could be used by students to create and share simple documents regardless of the operating system or software they own. They could easily create reports, documents and letters using some of the sample text found in the gOFFICE sample text library and distribute them fairly easily. gOFFICE is a tool that could be used for learning, its free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. It provides simple communication tools.
References
gOFFICE Web site: http://goffice.com/goffice6.aspx
gOFFICE.com Announces Free Browser-Based Office Suite Service. Retrieved June 9, 2006, from eMediaWire
Web site: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/7/emw263190.htm
(2005) Podcast: Geekcast #41 Retrieved June 10, 2006 from ODEO
Web site: http://odeo.com/show/101114/view
posted by Rebecca at
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