iCochise - GoogleDocs Critique
Home Page: http://docs.google.com/
Description: Google Docs is a suite of online applications (services) that you sign up for and access on the internet. Included in the suite are applications for documents, spreadsheets, presentations and Google mail.
Cost: Free
Grade: C
Compare With: Zoho
Critique: Google Docs is one example of so-called "cloud computing" on the web. ("Cloud computing" is the term used to describe a system where a user's information is stored on the internet and accessed using web-based software.) The Google Docs suite is solid, but there are not as many applications as in Zoho, and each application is weaker than its counterpart in Zoho.
As an example, the toolbar in Google Writer looks like this:
Compare that to the toolbar found in Zoho's writer:
While a toolbar alone does not necessarily tell the full tale, it is at least indicative of the relative usefulness for each of the two writing applications.
Google has done a much better job at marketing their suite, so it is much more popular; however, it is not the best suite of tools available on the web.