Ever have a tough time finding the most current version of a document on your PC? One both you and your co-workers have been working on for weeks? Even worse, you’ve made some changes and decide that an older version just works better, but no one saved it!. Cloud computing to the rescue. Cloud computing is a fancy name for software in the network. Google (and others) offer cloud computing for many common applications like word processing, spreadsheets and presentation software. In the case of Google Docs all the applications are even capable of outputting Microsoft Office compatible documents. Some key benefits of using a service like Google Docs are:
- One version of the document in one location everyone can find (if you have the ID & PW)
- Previsioning (you can recall older versions of the document!)
- Concurrent editing (you and several others can work on a document, spreadsheet or presentation together)
- No upgrading of the application to worry about.
There are many other companies out there that offer online programs for free and fee other than Google docs and they are definitely worth a try.
