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New Heroku Dataclips eases data sharing via Google Docs

Barb Darrow — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:29:14 +0000

Heroku has spiffed up the Postgres Dataclips service to make it easier for developers to collaborate via Google Docs and to share, use or discard Data Clips as needed without risking the underlying database.

The Platform as a Service provider launched Dataclips launched a year ago as a way to let users share their SQL queries by simply sending a URL.

The new-and-improved Dataclips 2.0 now lets developers share, chart and build dashboards for their database applications on a shared Google Doc that gets live updates to the underlying data. As GigaOM’s Derrick Harris reported last year, Heroku’s aptly named Fork tool already let developers fork their database, or copy it fast so they can play with the copy without impacting the production database. Data Clips 2.0 now allows them to do the same thing with their queries.

“In the same way that you can fork your database, use it and throw it away — [now you can] by browsing Data Clips within the dashboard … you can find other reports, fork them and then modify them to suit your own needs,” Craig Kerstiens, “product guy” at Heroku, told me via email.

In addition, Dataclips 2.0 gives access to the resulting database reports to people who don’t necessarily have access to the source database. “This allows your data to flow freely within an organization without being trapped with developers. Developers can create reports and share the live results, but then have fully ability to remove access in the future by simply removing access,” Kerstiens added.

And, with Dataclips 2.0, this capability is available to all users of Heroku’s Postgres service, whereas the previous version was only open to users of Heroku’s production tier databases which start at $50 per month.

The availability of tools like Fork and Dataclips reflect the growing desire of business users to really drill down into their data without having to worry about screwing it up. the pattern in enterprises is for database admins to run reports against their database on a scheduled basis. Then people send around related spreadsheets of the data and things can get messy. More importantly, things like Dataclips let database admins keep the keys to the underlying database to themselves.

“The last thing they want is someone hitting the database at an inopportune time or worse, screwing around with the database itself,” said Stephen O’Grady, principal analyst at Redmonk.

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Google Drive for iOS adds editing, unless you count spreadsheets

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:26:45 +0000

Google should silence some of its critics with iPads and iPhones after adding document editing for docs in Google Drive. The updated software, version 1.1, was released on Monday and can be found for free in the iTunes App Store. I installed it on my iOS devices and the document editing is solid on both my iPad and my iPhone 4S.

When Google released the first iteration of its Drive app in late June, iOS users were understandably disappointed by the lack of document editing. But even though Google shows spreadsheet editing on an iPad in the below informational video, the feature isn’t supported.

Here’s a look at the video, which also shows some collaboration features and new functionality for Android devices. Watch at the 0:50 mark.

I tried to edit a spreadsheet on my iPad in Google Drive, but there’s no Edit button; it only appears for documents. The video demonstration may be showing what Google is working on however as I researched spreadsheet editing for Drive and found this tidbit on the official support page:

“Google spreadsheets can currently be viewed and edited only through the mobile browser. We’re working on an iOS-native editor for Google spreadsheets.”

The same holds true for creating new documents; you can’t create a new spreadsheet — or a presentation, for that matter — from an iOS device. Your only option is to create a new text document.

This rather large limitation aside, I like the document editing function for Google Drive. The full editing menu doesn’t fit on the small screen of an iPhone or iPod touch, but slides nicely across the top of the display as needed.

And if you have other applications that support the viewing of editing of Google Docs, you can send your files to those apps directly within Google Drive: Think Evernote as one example that I saw.

Updates such as this for Google Drive are welcome, of course. It’s odd to me, however, that instead of using the Drive app, I’m still turning to Office2 HD to create and edit all types of documents on my Google Drive from an iPad. I’ve been using the $8 app since the original iPad launched in 2010 and it still delivers a far better experience than Google’s own app.

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Chromebook Google Drive integration: Handy and slick

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:37:41 +0000

Chromebook owners are waking up to a software update that adds Google Drive integration and offline Docs support Google previously announced. The newest Chromebook models — Samsung Series 5 550 devices — also gain a firmware update while the original CR-48 models gain the new Chrome OS user interface and open source touchpad drivers.

While Google says the software updates are rolling out over the next few days, the Samsung Chromebook I’ve been using full-time for several weeks received the new features late last night. After trying out the new Google Drive integration, I’m liking what I see: It adds to the Chrome OS experience with a more traditional file storage system, even though that storage is completely cloud based.

When viewing the File Manager on the Chromebook now, the Downloads storage area is supplemented with Google Drive. Drive appears as if it were a local drive and adds the ability to create new folders in the cloud, directly in the file manager app. Drag and drop support is there too: I copied a local .MP3 file from my Downloads storage to Google Drive with no problem on the Chromebook. And of course, when I hit up Google Drive in a browser on any other device, the music file I moved there appears.

The new Drive integration has few other handy tricks too. I found that using a three-finger gesture swipe on the trackpad switches between Downloads and Google Drive. There are a few view options in Drive as well: You can enable or disable viewing of Google Docs data; tell Chrome OS not to sync Drive files over a mobile broadband connection; and there’s an indicator to see which Drive files are available offline.

I liked the original Chrome OS concept, but it didn’t attract me as a user, mainly because it offered a fairly limited user interface and feature set. However, the more desktop-like UI paired with improved hardware on the newer models got my interest and I’m enjoying the distraction-free nature of working solely in a browser; mainly because my workflow suits that use case.

With the new Drive integration and support for offline Google Docs, the experience is only getting better. It’s not likely enough to sway app-centric users to the Chrome OS, but those that use the web for a majority of tasks will appreciate these and other incremental Chromebook updates.

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The evolution of consumer-media cloud storage

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 06:55:30 +0000

Currently the biggest investments in the business of consumer media cloud storage have come from major consumer-facing platform providers. These players see cloud-based media services both as a way to increase attachment to their platforms and a means to extend and amplify their broader strategic goals. For this report we profile Apple, Google and Amazon, specifically. Each is pursuing a distinct approach to storing media in the cloud, and this report examines those strategies as well as the future prospects for each company.

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Google Docs goes offline while Drive comes to iOS

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:11:38 +0000

The hits keep coming from day two of Google I/O: The company announced Google Docs finally works offline, allowing users to edit docs without a connection to the web. Apple iPhones, iPods and iPod touch devices not only got the Chrome browser earlier in the day, but also gain a native Google Drive application, which was improved for all platforms with integrated search features.

To use offline document editing in Google Docs, users will have to enable in it the applications settings while online. Docs will then download local copies of all documents for editing without a connection. Once that step is complete, edits can take place offline and when Docs senses that a connection is available, it will automatically sync the changed documents with the files in Google’s cloud.

Of course, Google Docs is going away in favor of Google Drive: Google recently announced the change in an effort put file storage and editing capabilities under one name. But there’s more to Google Drive than just the name and iOS device owners can start to take advantage of Google’s storage service with a native iOS app for Drive. There is one caveat: It’s just a file viewer for now.

All Google Drive users gain a nifty new feature: A vastly improved search function. On stage at Google I/O, the company demonstrated this and it was impressive. About two dozen PDF files of scanned images were shown in a Google Drive account and none were labeled. Yet one out of the bunch was a shipping receipt.

A quick search for “certified mail” pulled up the proper image thanks to optical scanning recognition of the file contents, making Google Drive much more useful and easier to use: Why label what you don’t have to?

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Google hit with patent claim over Google Drive

Jeff John Roberts — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:00:17 +0000

The growing popularity of cloud technology is attracting not just users but patent lawsuits too. The latest example is a suit filed against Google that claims the company’s Drive and Docs products violate a 1999 software patent.

In a suit filed in Houston federal court, Superspeed LLC claims it owns technology that allows multiple computers to quickly access a common disk at the same time. As an example, it cites a bank that has different computers for loans and customer service that all need to access the same credit records.

Superspeed says its software accelerates this process through “caching” techniques:

Superspeed’s software helps overcome this problem by permitting data “caching” in a shared-disk cluster network. “Caching” accelerates data processing operations by making a copy of frequently accessed data in the random access memory (or “RAM”) of the individual computer that is using the data. A computer can access data in RAM approximately two- hundred-thousand times faster than data on a hard disk. As a result, caching can increase performance dramatically, particularly when the computer must repeatedly access the same block of data.

The company is seeking an injunction against Google and demanding that the search giant pay it a reasonable royalty. Google Drive and Google Docs are just two of a growing number of products offered by companies that allow users to store their data on remote servers. (See Om’s description of Google Drive here).

The complaint is based on US Patent 5918244 which was issued in May of 1999 to a company called EEC Systems. These type of software patents have been a source of ongoing controversy in the technology sector and led to criticism of the US Patent Office for issuing too many patents. In recent years, the Supreme Court has been paring back the type of inventions eligible for patent protection and in May ordered the country’s patent appeals court to reconsider a patent for placing advertisements in the middle of a video clip.

Here’s a copy of the complaint:

Google Drive Patent Copy

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How scribbling on an iPad makes your work life easier

Erica Ogg — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:18:27 +0000

If you spend a lot of time writing in the margins of reports, editing presentations, or filling out endless forms, there’s something you should know: You should be using a tablet for all of these things. Here are four apps to get you on your way.

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Google Docs for Android adds real-time collaboration

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:51:54 +0000

Android smartphone and tablet owners can collaborate on documents from their devices with the updated version of Google Docs for Android, released on Wednesday. The software, supporting Android 2.1 devices and up, adds the same real-time collaboration found in the full web version of Google Docs on a laptop or desktop.

This real-time interaction in documents is another example of how mobile devices allow people to work together from practically any connected location. With the new Google Docs, owners of a document can invite others to view or even edit a document. Different authors input appears in various colors to identify who is writing or changing what text.

Google also tweaked the application interface to better support smaller screen and added improved formatting options:

“For example, you can pinch to zoom and focus on a specific paragraph or see the whole document at a glance. We also added rich text formatting so you can do things like create a quick bullet list, add color to your documents, or just bold something important.”

Google Docs on mobile devices hasn’t evolved nearly as quickly as the full web version so this new update, found in the Android Market, will be a welcome addition to Android smartphones and tablets. I suspect that we’ll see a faster update cycle on the mobile version going forward as well; now that smartphone adoption is in full swing, Google has to improve its productivity tools for a more mobile population.

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Google Drive already referenced in Google Docs code

Janko Roettgers — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:45:15 +0000

Updated. Google is close to rolling out its cloud storage product, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which stated that the offering is “expected to launch in the coming weeks or months.” The actual launch could happen rather sooner than later, judging from some references to the product that have shown up in the HTML code of Google Docs.

The code, which can be viewed with any browser, shows a button labeled “Add to My Drive,” but the button itself is currently not visible to end users within Google Docs. Notable about this is the capitalization of “My Drive” — The Journal reported that the product will simply be branded as Drive, but this suggests that at least the personal storage component of it may actually be called My Drive.

It’s unclear when exactly Google added the button to the Google Docs code. A quick Google search revealed that the Spanish Tecno-Net blog stumbled across the code snippet as well some time last month.

Update: Traces of the product apparently popped up in Google Docs as early as last September, as one commenter pointed out below. Also, take a look at some of the rather interesting things reader Brian Ussery has unearthed.

Image courtesy (CC-BY-SA) of Flickr user Sebastian Fuss.

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A plea for a better Google Docs

Erica Ogg — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:00:57 +0000

Google Docs users unite! Most of us who work with Google’s online suite of productivity applications have or will at some point get frustrated with Google Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations et al. After polling coworkers and GigaOM readers recently, and going over the responses, it’s clear the product we know and like could be so much better (and useful!) with more attention from its creator. Herewith is our manifesto:

WHEREAS Google Docs is a free service that is convenient, a practical necessity in online collaboration and widely used;
WHEREAS the service can also be unreliable, unpredictable and capable of inducing keyboard-mashing fits of frustration;
WE PROPOSE taking into account the requests of some of the most avid and vocal users. As suggested by GigaOM readers over the last few weeks, we ask for:

Better folder permissions management
The ability to insert cut cells
Better selection of functions in Spreadsheets like what you’d find in Microsoft Excel
The ability to toggle between rows and columns
Multiple criteria for sorting spreadsheets
Scheduled backups
Reliable sharing
Improved drag-and-drop functionality
Fewer menus and toolbars and a larger viewing pane in the browser
Better document navigation
Automatic paragraph numbering
The ability to view in outline-only format
Editable style sheets
The ability to insert shape options
No limits on importing data
Better integration with desktop applications
Faster overall performance, especially when importing complex spreadsheets
And please, please above all: play well with Powerpoint.

OK, OK, so maybe we’re being a little demanding for users of a free service. But it’s only because we use Google Docs so often and it’s such an ingrained part of our work days that we want it to fit more smoothly into our work flows. While these are some specific requests from readers and staff, there are larger issues which probably need to change before any of the particular complaints above are addressed.

As Steve K told us in his plea for simplicity:

“Google has the tools to remake FileMaker and have the results pop out on various pages to be shared in different ways without a degree in computer science to set it up. There’s my wish.”

This is a theme in Google products: They sometimes come off as being made by engineers for engineers. They might have that gee-whiz factor for the more technically minded, but for regular people just trying to get work done and who don’t want or have time to figure out the best workarounds and shortcuts, it would be much appreciated if all the features in Google Docs were accessible and easy to find and understand.

The second issue also goes to the core of Google, which is hands-off by nature. As GigaOM commenter John put it:

“For me the difficulty is trying to understand how serious they are about any of their technologies beyond search. I am working with the app scripting stuff and its pretty unclear if it is really under development and/or actually being supported. Compared to the alternatives it seems like things happen when they get around to it. Most of their technologies seem to have a half-life of a year or less. I am constantly asking myself if its [sic] really worth investing my time when its [sic] likely to be “retired” at any moment.”

It’s true that productivity apps online are very clearly not Google’s primary business. But as it continues to sell its Google Apps suite, which includes Google Docs, to giant enterprises and public agencies, it seems like it should pay attention to the functionality and reliability of Docs and providing better support. Developers also gripe that Google is really not all that into its developer tools.

And though Google has in recent years been all over the map with its online initiatives, there are hopeful signs they’re beginning to focus attention and resources: CEO Larry Page is cleaning house and getting rid of failed projects like Google Wave and other extracurricular initiatives. This could be good news for Docs users if it means increased focus on well-liked and heavily used products.

For more about the future of online collaboration tools and the changing nature of the workplace, be sure to get a ticket to our Net:Work conference on Dec. 8 in San Francisco.

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