lex parsimoniae

Google Apps trail MS Office, but for how long?

This morning, I read a blog post describing how to add page numbers to a Google Docs document.  The crux of the technique was to embed some HTML into your doc such that page numbers are generated when the doc is printed via PDF.  "That’s it!" I thought.  That’s why Google Apps aren’t ready to take down MS Office.

Then, this afternoon, I just happened (dumb luck, I swear) to use Google Docs to print a draft of an article I’m working on, and I saw this dialog with – you guessed it – an easy way to add page numbers.   And just like that, I saw the problem for Microsoft.  Google, it’s true, isn’t there yet, but they’re closing the gap — fast.

Microsoft is clearly working hard to neutralize the Google Docs threat with their Office Live Workspace, but I’ll bet they’re glancing nervously in their rear-view mirrors constantly.