---
title: "My thoughts on Google Calendar and Web Office"
date: 2006-04-13
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2006"
    url: "/tag/2006.md"
---

# My thoughts on Google Calendar and Web Office

Tonight Google unveiled [its online Calendar](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://calendar.google.com/). As usual whenever Google releases a product these days, it prompted me to ponder the Google Office 🙂 I’m convinced it’s around the corner, so I decided to check Google’s progress on this ‘Moby Dick’ – the Great Web Office! [More on my ZDNet blog](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=158), but here’s the table I came up with:

**Web Office Element****Does Google have it?****Status**EmailYes – [Gmail](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://gmail.google.com/)The best and most innovative web email system around. Gmail recently turned 2 years old, so it’s a mature and dependable product (despite *still* having the ‘beta’ label!).CalendarYes – [Google Calendar](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://calendar.google.com/)Brand new, but looking good and playing nicely with Gmail already.Web processingYes – [Writely](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://www.writely.com/) and whatever else Google has been cooking up behind closed doorsEarly stages – Writely was the best of breed among web-based word processors in [my recent review](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=123), but it’s still very early in the innings for word processing on the Web.SpreadsheetNot that we know ofThere are some great solutions on the open market currently: [JotSpot Tracker](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://tracker.jot.com/), [NumSum](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://www.numsum.com/), [iRows](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://www.irows.com/). Perhaps a Writely-like acquisition is on the cards from Google in this space, unless Google is working on their own app.Presentations (i.e. Powerpoint competitor)Not that we know ofI didn’t uncover many web-based presentation apps in my [Best of Breed post](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=123), but I was informed afterwards that a few folks are working on it.Database (i.e. Access equivalent)Maybe – [Google Base](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://base.google.com/)?Google Base is Google’s [growing](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=153) database of structured data, so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they’ll use it for this purpose in a Web Office suite.Web design[Google Page Creator](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://pages.google.com/)Well, it’s [a start](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=124)…Project ManagementNot that we know ofYour guess is as good as mine.RSS[Google Reader](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://reader.google.com/)A solid product that will likely be integrated into Gmail at some point – as Yahoo has done with RSS and Microsoft will in Vista.Desktop management[Google Desktop](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://desktop.google.com/)OK not technically an ‘office’ application, but Google Desktop – which integrates search on the Web with desktop – will be a key part of any Google Web Office system.\[[Read more at ZDNet…](https://web.archive.org/web/20100712134947/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=158)\]

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/my_thoughts_on.php))*