GigaOM

I don’t use macs and tight integration with Google won’t change that. But it’s probably pretty cool for people who DO use macs.

Seems like the enemy of my enemy is my friend going on here. Both companies obviously want to take down MSFT. However, AAPL needs to be careful because as GOOG builds more and more functionality into the cloud, the importance of the AAPL OS will become less and less. Sure AAPL will still win fans because of their designs, but that won’t allow them to sustain their margin structure without the value software brings.

All we need is, google apps (all the cool ones) supported on Macs. Apple’s OS is great and Google apps like Picasa and Reader(offline) will surely bring Apple to mainstream users. I don’t think this combination will penetrate the office world. It will stay right here, at home, where i am writing this comment. Still a lot.
Somebody rightly said, Apple may be a looser in the end.

I think it’s going to be a long while before Google Spreadsheets gets anywhere near what MS Office has (on Windows). I love my Macbook, but honestly, I run Excel in Parallels because even the Office 2004 version just isn’t as refined.

Love or hate M$, the fact is, they’ve got a product they’ve worked years at. Google Sheets is good for basic spreadsheets. Business apps, however, need the full version that supports complex macros, pivot tables, the whole 9 yards.

I think MS needed taking down a few pegs, and, while I love the enthusiasm everyone has, in the end, the goal should be to get MS to conform to standards and to have meaningful competition. Replacing Microsoft with Google/Apple doesn’t help us. It just creates another monopoly.

I don’t think Microsoft is going anywhere, and I quite frankly have grown tired of the fanboy back and forth rivalry. I don’t think the consumer is best served by any one entity—be it Microsoft, Apple, or Google—controlling the space.

Forget the “PC”. Apple dominates the rest of consumer devices. Google provides the apps.

Better the second time around!

The Google Office suite has a long way to go compared to MS Office, but I am hooked on Gmail, Reader and Calendar currently and am all Mac…. I’d like to see .Mac get a complete overhaul or simply merge into what Google can do. Bring it on!

I never thought Steve Jobs ever wanted to rule the word much like Bill Gates did. Instead he wanted to make cool products. He has done this, and the world is a better place because of him. I think Google is the next Microsoft except a kinder gentler one. The strange thing is that it complements what Apple is doing, instead of trying to kill it like Microsoft did.

I guess I’m confused here. Don’t you already get all of Google’s stuff for free?

What’s the sales pitch here? “Buy a .Mac account now we’ll show you how to sign up for Google’s free internet apps!”

Wooptee frickin do. If I wanted adware, I’d already have a Google account. Nothing turns me off faster than ads; that’s why I pay for the services I use.

Google taking over .Mac. Ick,

The Swiss Army Knife of search engines - Google is an amazing, powerful search tool for internet users. Google is so huge and offers so many free apps. Can’t be beat! I love Google…. come on… it’s a verb in the dictionary for goodness sake.

True Google is a much better corporate than Microsoft! Google does complement Apple’s work but it sure is working against Microsoft.. Does seem like enemy of my enemy is a Friend!!! hope in the end its us consumers who benefit

I am so bored by the OS discussion and use always the same apps on Linux, Win and Symbian phone: Email, Office and Browser. Mostly GMail, Openoffice and Firefox. I switch my OS constantly with few problems.

As someone said earlier great things can come about if brilliant engineers meet up with brilliant design. Their primary goal will not be to beat down MS - but it’ll be their secondary one, anything to better their chances of corporate survival.

What I do worry about though is if there’s any room left for the small guy who wants to contribute when the merges and the cooperations start. And the question is obviously already here when the major players are still 3 instead of 2. Are we just constantly waiting for the next big thing from the old big sources?

WTF cares about Apple and Google.

Here’s the way this should go down, IMO. ;-)

The current .mac is completely replaced with a new version that includes Apple-branded versions of many apps “Powered by Google’ plus some other apps. For example, Apple’s .mac webmail replaced with Gmail that looks like Apple and works like Gmail. The new .mac includes Google Office, etc.

Apple’s desktop apps are updated to include tight integration between the desktop and webtop. So, in Pages, you can choose to sync the file with .mac, which in fact syncs it with Google Docs, and you can choose to share it or keep it private. All files designated for sync can be automatically done so using .mac sync services, and sessions can also be managed… leave the office, commute home, and voila, you’ve got the exact same version of a file whether you access it via .mac or your local app.

This integration will occur over multiple apps: Pages > Docs, Keynote > a Google slideshow app, a new Apple spreadsheet app > Spreadsheets, Mail > Gmail, iCal > Google Calendar, iPhoto > Picasa, and so on. The real killer app in all of this will be that Apple + Google will support APIs for connectivity via other apps. Apple won’t make a “clipping” application, but Yojimbo, which already supports .mac sync services, will sync with Google Notebook.

And to boot, all of this interconnectivity will be one of the secret features of Leopard announced at WWDC this coming week. And coming soon to an iPhone near you…

itd be ill to publish docs to google docs from pages/iwork

I’m not convinced that online apps are the way to go. It seems to be the direction that some would like us to go, but what’s wrong with the apps on the computer. If the internet is down or slow, you still can work. All I’ve seen with the online apps, especially the ones from google are slow. Even with gmail, I find it easier to use after the mail is downloaded to my email client.

I just switched from Outlook to GMail and GCal. It’s spectacular. Everyone I know has a GCal and we coordinate with unimagined ease. This is the way office software should work.

“I just switched from Outlook to GMail and GCal. It’s spectacular. Everyone I know has a GCal and we coordinate with unimagined ease. This is the way office software should work.”

You are SO right. I use MS Outlook at work– product, it seems EVERY business HAS to use– and it’s simply awful.

I wonder how OpenOffice plays into this. It has far higher penetration than either Google’s apps or Mac OS…

Google is going to take over the world.

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If this means they’ll finally get GTalk and the Picasa desktop app for the Mac, it’s good news.