Zadling's Google Blog

If you’re looking to spend $500 on a new gadget, you may be thinking what suits your needs better: the Google Chromebook or iPad 2. With the $499 Samsung 3G Chromebook, you’ll have free 3G internet access (up to 100 MB per month) for two years. With the $499 iPad 2, you’ll be limited to WiFi. If you want to upgrade to a 3G version, the iPad 2 starts at $629. You’ll then have to shell out $20 per month for the mobile 3G hotspot with a 2-year contract or $30 per month for a month-to-month plan with Verizon. With AT&T, 3G plans start at just $15.

With the Chromebook, there are no contracts and pay-as-you-go data plans are available. After you use your 100 MB of free data, you have several options.  You can opt for a $9.99 day pass, sign up for a $20 monthly plan for 1 GB of data, or buy an additional 3 GB of data for a one-time fee of $35. With the one-time $35 payment, you may have enough data to last you several months.

The Chromebook and iPad serve very different functions. Which is best for you depends on your needs. The iPad 2 is an entertainment device. The Chromebook is a computing device. If you’re playing games, casually browsing the news, and fooling around with apps, the iPad 2 is the way to go. If you need a mobile device to reply to several emails and browse websites, the Chromebook is the winner.

My main use for a new device is to be able to browse the internet and send emails when I’m on the go. As a website developer, I wouldn’t be able to edit websites on the go with the iPad since I would need a fully functional browser. If I need to respond to emails, replies wouldn’t exceed 10 words with the iPad. The Chromebook would suit my needs much better than the iPad 2 would.

So far the Chromebook looks to be a real winner. It’s the 3rd highest selling laptop on Amazon.com behind the Macbook Pro and Toshiba Satellite and they’re outselling Android tablets. So far reviews on the Chromebook are mixed. For people buying the device, they need to understand that it’s just a browser so you’re limited in what you can do with the computer. Editing Microsoft Office files requires use of Microsoft Office Web Apps and downloading your docs to your Sky Drive. However, the positives to stripping down the device to just the web is an 8 second boot time and 8.5 hour battery life.

I was browsing around the Google Docs blog to see if Google might have anything to say about the possibility of being able to edit Microsoft Word files directly in Google Docs. I was really hoping for some Microsoft Word functionality within Google Docs with the arrival of the Chromebook.  Unfortunately, I did not come across any information about that topic, but I did stumble upon some very neat features that have been added to Google Docs.

The last features that I am really fond of are the ability to now upload entire folders, drag-and-drop files for uploading, and pagination.

With the new Google Docs Android app, you’re now able to take a picture with your phone and have the text in the photo converted to a Google Doc. So the next time you stumble across a poster or book and just wished you could copy it verbatim, download the Google Docs app, snap a picture, and have it converted in no time.

Checkout out the screen shot below where you can select Create a new document from photo.

The Chromebook made its much anticipated debut on July 15, 2011 after the project was announced all the way back in 2009. It was originally supposed to debut in the fall of 2010. The device is just the web — literally a Chrome browser on a netbook — but it boasts an 8 second boot time. I thought Google was really onto something when I began diving into the details of the project back in December 2009. However, the jury is still out on this device.

When the device came out, I thought it was a bit pricey, but the manufacturers obviously want to milk the early adopters for what they’re worth before lowering the price. The Acer model starts at $349, while Samsung’s model runs $429 for Wi-Fi and $499 for built-in 3G. Google was suggesting that models would start at $299 when the project was first announced. I’m sure that the Acer price will drop to $299 this fall.

Here is one thing that makes the Samsung 3G Chromebook worth $499 for those who opt for the Samsung 3G model: up to 100 MB of free data for 2 years and pay-as-you-go data when you need it and it doesn’t require a contract. I’m curious to see if a 4G model would be available in the near future. 3G speeds are painfully slow. Although it would get the job done of checking email on the road or browsing some news, don’t expect to do much serious browsing with a 3G connection. Rumors are going around that a 4G Chromebook would be available around Christmas time, but that is just speculation.

Before grabbing a Chromebook, the key factor for me is the ability to edit Microsoft Office files. I love Google Docs and use it a lot, but I have to do all of my document creation in Microsoft Word because I need it’s functionality. Unfortunately, if you upload your Word Docs to Google Docs, you cannot edit the file unless you convert it into the Google Docs format. Then when you edit the Google Doc copy, it won’t update the Microsoft Word file, which is hugely annoying.

There is a Top 5 Chromebook myths article that states that the Chromebook can edit Microsoft Office files. Technically, it can edit office files if you convert it to Google Docs, but it won’t sync back with the previously existing file, which basically kills the point of it. The article states that you can also sync your files with Microsoft Web Apps. I’ve tried playing around with Microsoft Web Apps and it sucks. It doesn’t have the simple seamlessness of Google Docs.

If Google was going to wait this long to release the Chrombook, they should have figured out a way for DOC files to be editable right in Google Docs without having to convert the file into Google Docs format. Until that happens, I don’t see the Chromebook as being a threat to Microsoft.

Unfortunately, I still have to do a lot of work in Microsoft Office since I use a lot of custom headers, footers, and tables of contents. However, I still want the ability to always be able to access my documents from anywhere and have them backed up, which is why I store my documents in Google Docs. I previously used the OffiSync plugin to backup and sync my documents in Microsoft Office. The annoying part was not only saving the file to your hard drive but then having to open the tab in Microsoft Office to store a copy in Google Docs.

I always wished that OffiSync would be able to automatically sync my documents. Fortunately, Google Apps recently released the Google Cloud Connect Plugin. Now documents can be automatically synced with Google Docs. The plugin works great. You have the ability to choose whether to sync automatically or manually and you can change the sharing settings right in Microsoft Office. The only downside is the inability to add a document to a specific collection. Hopefully, Google will upgrade the plugin shortly to give you the ability to organize documents in collections right in Microsoft Office. Great work by Google.

We’ve been keeping a close eye on when Google Apps users would be able to upgrade their storage in Google Docs. Google Docs storage upgrade has been available for Google Accounts since this past May. However, until today, Google Apps users could not upgrade their Google Docs storage. This was driving me mad because I store tons of PDF documents in Google Docs, essentially using it as my server and I cannot work with 1 GB of storage.

Google announced months ago that extra storage would be available for Google Apps users. For those using their personal accounts, extra storage is affordable — just $5 a year for 20 GB. When Google announced that Google Apps users could upgrade their storage, they tried implementing it at much higher rates. What would run $5 a year for 20 GB for a normal Google Apps user would cost $70 under the price table that Google released for its Google Apps users.

This created a huge outburst and it was only a matter of time until the page was removed. However, we have a copy of the old proposed fee structure. It now looks like Google did the right thing, listed to their customers complaints, and have permitted Google Apps users to upgrade their Google Docs storage for the same price structure that it gives to personal accounts. The only difference now is that the extra storage cannot be applied to email boxes and only applies to Google Docs and Picasa accounts for Google Apps users.

Upgrade Your Google Apps Storage »

This past November Google rolled out a big update for Google Apps users by giving them the ability to use their Google Apps accounts as full-service Google Accounts. It seemed like a silly setup in retrospect. If your organization signed up with Google Apps, users had access to Gmail, Docs, Calendar, etc. However, they did not have access to other Google services such as Picasa, Blogger, and AdWords. If they wanted to use these services with their Google Apps email address, they had to create a personal Google account.

Google realized that this was slightly problematic and that they should open the gamut of all Google products to Google Apps users. Organizations that were already signed up could simply click a button and transition their organization to the new Google Apps setup that allows Google Apps users to use their Google Apps account as an account for all Google Apps services.

However, there was one slight problem. If a user already had a Google Apps account but then used their Google Apps email account as a personal Google account so they could use services such as Blogger, Picasa, and AdWords, the account was considered a “conflicting account” preventing them from being transfered to the new infrastructure.

Before a conflicting account can be transition to the new infrastructure, the account must change their email for their Google Apps account. Google provided some instructions here. Be warned that it may give you a bit of a headache, so if you want Zadling to take care of converting conflicting accounts so you can transition your users to the new Google Apps infrastructure, give me a buzz. Call us toll free 1-888-652-3135.

A lot of Google Apps users have been frustrated by the fact that they cannot upgrade their Google Docs storage from the 1 GB of space that each user is given. For users who use their personal Gmail account for Google Docs, they can upgrade their storage to as much as 16 TB and the prices are very affordable (20 GB is just $5 per year). All that has to be done to upgrade is going into Google Docs then Settings > Documents Settings and clicking Upgrade Storage. However, this feature to upgrade is not be available for Google Apps users, it’s just for personal Google accounts.

All across the Google Apps forums, users have been asking Google when they will be able to upgrade their Google Docs storage and the answer has always been “soon” or “in the near future.” It’s already been a year since they’ve responded that additional storage will be available soon. So what exactly is the deal? As I keep adding PDF documents to my Google Docs, my 1 GB allotment is closing and I will need to upgrade my storage soon.

Google recently came out with a support article again reiterating that Google Apps Business and Education users will be able to upgrade their Google Docs storage in the near future at a cost of $3.50/GB.  If you would like to be notified when additional storage is available, you can fill out this form. My guess is that you’ll be able to upgrade your storage within the next three months, but only time will tell and Google has not announced a release date for the move.

Here is a chart of the different tiers of storage that can be purchased. Pricing is on a yearly basis.

Google Docs revealed its new look to users yesterday. There are some things that I like and some things that I don’t like about it.

The purpose of the move was to improve organization by adding filters. For example, you can now filter documents by selecting just documents, just spreadsheets, just presentations, or just PDF files. That is nice.

Google Docs also added the preview pane. The preview pane is pretty useless for documents since you can’t see anything, but it’s incredibly useful for videos and pictures. It also has a pane where you can see who the document is shared with and which collection it is filed under.

Google is now referring to folders as “Collections” which is a combination of folders and labels in that a file can exist in multiple folders.

If you don’t like the new version, no worries, just click the old version link in the upper-right corner.

My only complaint is that there were nice dividers between files in the old version, while the new version doesn’t have a line between your files to separate them so it looks too condensed. I’m also not too keen on the new icons and think the older icons are more appealing.

The thing I liked best about the new Google Docs is the left pane now has a full scroll bar rather than the half scroll bar. Since I use a lot of different folders (now collections), I used to hate trying to scroll in the tiny window I was given. The new window makes it much easier to drag-and-drop files.

Google Docs also added a few new features such as a justify spacing, the ability to star documents right at the top of the doc you are working on, and improved sharing invitations.

What do you think of the new Google Docs?

I recently saw the YouTube switched to an iFrame for their embed code rahter than using the <object> tag.  I began to wonder why they did this. At first I didn’t like using the iFrame tag because when using WordPress, you have to paste the tag in the HTML view and if you toggle back to the Visual tab, you will lose the HTML iFrame code that you pasted.

It turns out the reason for the change has to do with HTML5. By using an iFrame, the YouTube video will be able to detect whether your browser supports HTML5 and if it does, the HTML5 version of the video will play rather than the Flash version.

The whole reason for this was so videos can be displayed on phones that don’t support Flash (the iPhone).

I just got Google TV for Christmas and the main reason was to stream Netflix. Netflix has made great strides to transition to more content available for streaming over the internet. Although there is a ton of content available, I’m still wishing there were a bit more TV shows, specifically Two and a Half Men. Although shows like The Office, 24, Dexter, Nip/Tuck, Law & Order, 30 Rock, Chappelle’s Show and Family Guy are available, shows such as Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Two and a Half Men, and The Good Wife are not available on Netflix yet.

For subscribers using just Netflix streaming, the cost is $7.99.  If you want both mailed DVDs and steaming, the cost is $9.99. I was pleased with the quality of the video, but was left wondering, when will more streaming content be available to Netflix? I guess this all depends on how many licensing deals Netflix can close with the studios. Earlier this month, Netflix announced a deal with ABC which boosted their streaming content. Every episode of Lost is now available. Other shows available include Srubs, Ugly Betty, and Desperate Housewives.

What about more movies? I was also disappointed with the movie selection on Netflix. Netflix has inked deals with several movie studios such as Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, and Universal. They also inked a deal with Epix, a movie site owned by Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. However, Netflix didn’t have a few movies that I was searching for such as The Hangover, Avatar, Inglorious Basterds,  Apocalypto, Goodfellas, The Godfather, Boiler Room, and a few other titles.

So when will Netflix have more streaming content? That will all depend on how many licensing deals they can sign. Netflix streaming is still in its inphancy and it’s made great progress. Expect more to come. If you want these titles, you’ll just have to wait for them to come in the mail.