Thing #9: Online Collaboration Tools

This topic has more to it than some people may think. There have been a number of articles in magazines and newspapers lately on desktop apps vs. web apps. One recent article was by Julio Ojeda-Zapata in the Pioneer Press, titled Desktop vs. Webtop Quandary Doesn't Get Any Easier. 

Both Zoho Writer (ZW) and Google Docs (GD) are pretty basic word processors and are easy to use, particularly for people that are used to Word or another word processor. Google Docs looks like it has fewer features, but it would be useful if a person had other Google accounts--only one account & password, importing, etc.  Zoho Writer has much more flexibility and is part of many other "office suite" options.  

Some people may wonder why anyone would want to use a web app. Here are some reasons:

• Microsoft Word is an expensive program.  ZW and GD are free.
• Most people don't need the extensive features of a program such as MS Word.  A pared-down word processor is easier to learn for new users and may be quicker to use when it shows fewer editing options.
• Collaboration among two or more people is available with web apps (a "sharing" option).  With Word, unless a document is stored on a drive that's accessible to more than one person, documents would need to be emailed back & forth.
• If you need to access your documents from more than one computer, such as between work, home or while traveling, documents can be stored online and can be accessed on any online computer.
  
• Other file formats are compatible with web word processors.  This may not always be true of MS Word.
• If your computer fails, documents saved online will still be available since they're not attached to any one computer.

Documents can still be saved to your computer's hard drive, or they can be saved within the web word processor.  Documents can be read while offline.

There may be some disadvantages, though:  how long the "free" status is available is unknown; security of the  online documents is unknown; you currently have to be online to edit/post documents (you can be offline to view them); and file size of documents and/or images is restricted.

Desktop apps seem as if they would be more secure and flexible in terms of file size, but web apps offer some interesting and free alternatives.  Since I have a Mac, I may begin to use a web app for word processing in order for it to be compatible with PCs.