Monday, September 27, 2010

Free Microsoft Office and Google Docs

Recently, I've been using free online versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and I am very impressed with the functionality provided. I have used Google Docs, which you can access with any free Google account, and also Microsoft Office, which is accessible with any free Hotmail account. Both companies' free offerings are very similar. The beauty of cloud computing is that I can access my documents from any computer and not have to carry around a flash drive. I still am wary of putting sensitive and private information online in case my accounts are ever hacked. The online versions also lend themselves to collaborative access. You can share your documents with others and see who else is viewing or working on them. The cynic in me wonders how long these companies will offer these services for free. If cloud computing reaches the tipping point, it wouldn't surprise me if they started charging for access.

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