Apple and Google Working on More "New Things"

[MacRumors]

Marketwatch reports on comments made by Google's CEO Eric Schmidt Monday afternoon at a technology conference.

When asked about Apple and Google possibly working on a tablet-style computer, Schmidt stated that Apple and Google are "doing more and more things together. We have similar goals, similar competitors".

Schmidt current is a member of Apple's board of directors and spoke at the Macworld San Francisco Expo during the iPhone announcement.

[dante@sisna.com]

"Similar Competitors"

Sounds like a Microsoft Busting strategy.

Obviously Google Office is an alternative to MS Office for Apple.

[Zwhaler]

Id love to see Apple make a tablet, but I first want a 12 MBP.

[mgargan1]

googlebook next tuesday?

okay, i know i know... bad joke.

[iJawn108]

I'm thinking a google+apple .mac

[MCCFR]

Or, to put it another way, my enemy's enemy is my friend.

[J Radical]

Vague-tastic

I'd like to see google collaborate with apple in making their online wares work seemlessly with mac. Stuff like google maps integration with address book and more iphone esc stuff.

If .mac was shifted to google servers/services I'd be a happy chap. .mac is outrageously priced!

MS Office 07 is a product which is miles ahead of the open source alternatives, MS did a great job with it. If google wants to challenge an industry leading product in this area it would be best off collaborating with the open source movement, but thats a discussion that has little to do with the mac platform.

[ksgant]

I'd be happy with a google-toolbar for Safari...but a combination of google and .mac would be interesting too, though I don't see that happening.

[Frisco]

Originally Posted by J Radical

Vague-tastic
MS Office 07 is a product which is miles ahead of the open source alternatives, MS did a great job with it. If google wants to challenge an industry leading product in this area it would be best off collaborating with the open source movement, but thats a discussion that has little to do with the mac platform.

Office 2007 is a confusing piece of software. Very few companies will be upgrading any time soon.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by J Radical

If .mac was shifted to google servers/services I'd be a happy chap. .mac is outrageously priced!

MS Office 07 is a product which is miles ahead of the open source alternatives, MS did a great job with it. If google wants to challenge an industry leading product in this area it would be best off collaborating with the open source movement, but thats a discussion that has little to do with the mac platform.

Google and AOL both have tried to offer net storage services. It ould be fairly easy to make it smarter using an interface like .mac.

One of the main reasons Microsoft became successful was developing a network of installers, certified reps, bulk install contracts. It was viral.

Google and Apple couuld work toward that.

Rocketman

[mikeinternet]

let google take over the dotmac stuff. i get just about 3 gigs free with gmail.

and gDisk works cool. but it'd be great to have the same .mac integration for free.

[mikeinternet]

Originally Posted by iJawn108

I'm thinking a google+apple .mac

oops. i don't know how i missed that you beat me to it. but yea, i 2nd that.

[J Radical]

Originally Posted by Frisco

Office 2007 is a confusing piece of software. Very few companies will be upgrading any time soon.

If anything that speaks more of the success of the current office UI. MS monopolized what people expect from an office productivity suite in the same way they did with an operating system.

To say 2007 is confusing is ironic coming from an apple fan. Office 2007 is revolutionary, changing a product so radically took a lot of guts on the part of MS, and the results speak for themselves: reviewers have hailed it as a paradigm shift in how such software should work.

MS is a victim of it's size and user base. Office is an expensive piece of kit and the current incarnation suits most people just fine (much as is the case with vista) Apple has a different demographic and much smaller base and so has been able to move it's software along quickly.

This is totally off topic, my initial post was just addressing the notion of 'google office' being some kind of apple alternative. I use NeoOffice and like it, if money were no object I'd buy MS Office as its a better product.

The good news for open source is that file formats should become standardized in future allowing seamless interoperability between users. The bad news is that the development of open office is a much bigger undertaking than say that of developing a web browser (mozilla), and it's therefore difficult to envisage Open Office ever being better than the offering of a multi billion dollar monopoly.

Don't forget, an office suite is much more than a word processor.

[lazyrighteye]

I made similar comments a few weeks back, but I think Google may play a big role in Leopard's supposed "secret features."

Based on nothing but my own observations, I wonder if Google's online slew of office-type apps will make their way into the Apple stable?
Possible these could be Finder-based?

And others suggesting a Google + .Mac Voltron makes me grin.
Currently, .Mac is a joke in the bang for buck department, IMHO.

[Westside guy]

Originally Posted by lazyrighteye

I made similar comments a few weeks back, but I think Google may play a big role in Leopard's supposed "secret features."

Yes, I'm hoping for voice/video iChat compatibility with Google Talk.

[dante@sisna.com]

Originally Posted by J Radical

If anything that speaks more of the success of the current office UI. MS monopolized what people expect from an office productivity suite in the same way they did with an operating system.

To say 2007 is confusing is ironic coming from an apple fan. Office 2007 is revolutionary, changing a product so radically took a lot of guts on the part of MS, and the results speak for themselves: reviewers have hailed it as a paradigm shift in how such software should work.

MS is a victim of it's size and user base. Office is an expensive piece of kit and the current incarnation suits most people just fine (much as is the case with vista) Apple has a different demographic and much smaller base and so has been able to move it's software along quickly.

This is totally off topic, my initial post was just addressing the notion of 'google office' being some kind of apple alternative. I use NeoOffice and like it, if money were no object I'd buy MS Office as its a better product.

The good news for open source is that file formats should become standardized in future allowing seamless interoperability between users. The bad news is that the development of open office is a much bigger undertaking than say that of developing a web browser (mozilla), and it's therefore difficult to envisage Open Office ever being better than the offering of a multi billion dollar monopoly.

Don't forget, an office suite is much more than a word processor.

The majority of Mac and PC users use only a fraction of the features in an Office Suite: it will be fairly easy for open source alternatives to enter and compete with a comprehensive, but reduced feature set that the majority of office users will need.

[economist]

Apple TV + user created content (i.e. YouTube) could be a good play for Apple to go after the young market.

Apple is all about consuming your media as and when you want... this would play in very nicely... It could be the video equiv. of what apple has going for podcasting.

Just a conjecture.

[J Radical]

Originally Posted by dante@sisna.com

The majority of Mac and PC users use only a fraction of the features in an Office Suite: it will be fairly easy for open source alternatives to enter and compete with a comprehensive, but reduced feature set that the majority of office users will need.

You're absolutely right. The problem is that if people use it at work they'll want to use it at home. The other issue is that of students/children who will use MS office in school and from time to time will have to use the more sophisticated features of the software.

MS office is as pervasive as windows or google or the ipod, it's almost cultural in how far it has penetrated peoples mindsets.

The 'problem' now is that MS has come up with a deceptively simple and highly intuitive UI that powers what is an extremely advanced piece of software. Sound familiar?

iWork will hopefully move in the direction you've outlined and will please 20% of the 5% of people who use macs. The cultural change in this arena will have to take place in the PC/linux world. Which is perhaps where google will step in.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by J Radical

The good news for open source is that file formats should become standardized in future allowing seamless interoperability between users. The bad news is that the development of open office is a much bigger undertaking than say that of developing a web browser (mozilla), and it's therefore difficult to envisage Open Office ever being better than the offering of a multi billion dollar monopoly.

Don't forget, an office suite is much more than a word processor.

As Apple's iWork evolves it is quite possible some of the features, file formats and methodologies will translate. One thing that made Microsoft large was overtly copying its competitors. It seems turnabout is fair play.

So long as the code is unique, why not make sure there is a compatibility of features, hooks, and file formats? One of the key features of Microsoft Office is strong add-on and third party support. If all of those 3rd party apps work under a form of virtualization (like attorney pleading forms in the word processor for example), the number of switchers will increase.

Initially all that matters is the "trend is your friend".

Rocketman

I still say a used PMG5 is the fastest available device at the lowest cost for CS3 or 2 even if my in-topic posts were deleted. Pros have to wait till late spring for CS3. Pull the trigger on a PMG5. I said so.

[psychofreak]

I don't like the office ribbon system. It is great for some people, especially inexperienced people, who can now find what they want to do, without searching through menus...BUT, on a small laptop screen, the ribbon takes a LOT of screen real estate...

[EagerDragon]

Originally Posted by dante@sisna.com

"Similar Competitors"

Sounds like a Microsoft Busting strategy.

Obviously Google Office is an alternative to MS Office for Apple.

I have not tried any of the Google Office pieces, do they store and or sent the document to Google (web form based or web services based)?

If they do, that will limit its use since sensitive data is not allowed to leave most corporations. Then again I never used any of the Google products.

[mrthieme]

Maybe I'm missing something here, I understand the Google/.mac subject, I get the Google video/ tv connection, but what would Google have to do with Apple developing a tablet?

[MacAodh]

Originally Posted by Zwhaler

Id love to see Apple make a tablet, but I first want a 12 MBP.

Here here, 13inch just ain't small enough to carry around day to day

[Cybix]

get over the whole tablet thing, honestly, it's 90's style and completely washed up already.

pfft.

[Di9it8]

What about Picasa??