Google Adds Microsoft Word, Excel Editing To Latest Chrome OS Build 72
An anonymous reader writes "Google has added native Microsoft Office file editing to the dev channel for Chrome OS. The addition means Chrome OS users on the latest build of the company's browser-based operating system can now experiment with editing Microsoft Word and Excel files. The dev channel for Chrome OS is updated once or twice weekly. Since the feature has made it in there, it's likely to show up in the beta channel, and then eventually the stable channel. Today's news that Google is already working on editing, and not just viewing, Microsoft Office documents in Chrome OS is very interesting because of the potential. Maybe by the end of year, the functionality will make it into the Chrome browser, too."
Editing... (Score:1)
Does not mean creating, so if you need to change a few numbers without actually needing to make a spreadsheet you are in luck
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Does not mean creating
In this case, it's actually supposed to mean precisely that.
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I'm not sure but the article talks about QuickOffice, which like Google Docs is a proprietary product.
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Yes, but QuickOffice only works with Microsoft Office documents, a format Google doesn't own. Do you think they would rather see people using QuickOffice to make Microsoft Office documents, or Google Docs to make Google Docs? QuickOffice is just there to provide the support that is neccessary by today's standards, but probably nothing more.
I think it should be mentioned that google picked up quickoffice recently(after quickoffice lost it's big license deals), so they own it.
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Google going for the jugular! (Score:3)
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We're talking of Chrome OS here, it's the operative system of the Chromebooks.
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I'm one of those people who are a bit ambivalent about our preferred browsers; I was a late-ish adopter of Chrome (and Chromium) after Firefox, and occasionally I swap back and forth. Currently I'm back with Firefox on my computer, and Chrome on my phone. But if the Chrome browser gets padded out with a WP/spreadsheet pac
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Its worth noting that the new editor is, like the existing Chrome Office Viewer, a Native Client app resulting from porting QuickOffice that is installed-by-default on the supported builds of Chrome OS. I would suspect that, if it "makes it into Chrome browser", it will do so as an app on the Chrome Web Store that Chrome br
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But if the Chrome browser gets padded out with a WP/spreadsheet package, it's very unlikely that I'll ever use it again.
If you open it in a new window, you can pretend they are separate products.
Common misconception (Score:2)
Only the download size is getting "padded" & that's automatic in the background. Unless you request the editor, that DLL, it won't load. Ram & Start-up should be unaffected.
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Uhm...
Maybe by the end of year, the functionality will make it into the Chrome browser, too."
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Not so fast! All MS has to do is to tweak Google's targeted file formats. It's worked in the past... don't see why it won't work yet again.
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http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-376.htm [ecma-international.org]
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That doesn't mean anything, Microsoft is not compliant with the standard.
I'm not kidding, MS dumped a bunch of lame "documentation" on the comitteee then when the committee tried to tidy up some of the incredible amounts of stupidity in it, MS just ignored them. MS has the most compliant implementation, but no full implementation exists.
I know all that, but that does not change the fact that they can't change important parts of the specs willy-nilly, like the guy I replied to suggested.
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DoSpacingLikeWord95
How does that work again?
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If Google gets this onto enough devices, then little by little they will dictate the de-facto standard for OOXML, i.e., how it's "really" supposed to work and render beyond the ECMA paperwork, and Microsoft will have to make sure that their programs will be Google compatible. Google might just have enough market share to fully commoditize word processors and spread sheets, something that OO/LO started but did not get beyond the tipping point.
Re:Google going for the jugular! (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't understand. What does this do that Google Docs/Drive doesn't already do?
Will this get us pixel-perfect wysiwyg editing of Microsoft Documents?
Somehow, I doubt it. Google Docs/Drive doesn't even get that right for PDF documents. I doubt it will get that right for Microsoft Word Documents, which by design are much much worst than PDF documents.
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It's interesting if it's part of Chromium since that would mean it's open source. Google Docs is unfortunately proprietary, so it's kind of useless if you want to use free software.
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That was my first thought too, but I don't see it in the Chromium code base.
The change that is refered to in the article is just enabling the use of the application. Which might mean probably it's just available in ChromeOS (and later in Chrome).
Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place...
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Probably not; heck, even Microsoft Office isn't pixel-perfect wysiwig.
OTOH, QuickOffice, which is what Google is porting to NaCl to do this, is a higher-fidelity editor for the Microsoft Office formats than import-to-Docs, edit, export-as-Office.
Re:Google going for the jugular! (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't understand. What does this do that Google Docs/Drive doesn't already do?
Will this get us pixel-perfect wysiwyg editing of Microsoft Documents?
Somehow, I doubt it. Google Docs/Drive doesn't even get that right for PDF documents. I doubt it will get that right for Microsoft Word Documents, which by design are much much worst than PDF documents.
This is Google. They like to make redundant products where they'll get the main concept right but half a half-assed implementation which gets improved for a few iterations before it's abandoned and eventually taken off the market for a somewhat inferior alternative with more social networking features and less core functionality.
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Or adding bloat. Good grief, I want a web browser to be a web browser. This is why we can't have nice things. Because as soon as someone gets a great product, they have to keep screwing with it until they ruin it...FIREFOX...GNOME.
How about using the right tool for the right job??? Imagine that. A web browser to browse with, and a bloated office product to edit bloated office files.
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Not just for the web anymore (Score:5, Funny)
Seems google is inventing Gemacs?
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Can't wait for the yVi release
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Umm, you're aware this is about Chrome OS the operating system, not the web browser, right? TFT.
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Actually, its about a Native Client extension for the Chrome browser that is currently only available for (and bundled with) the dev channel of Chrome OS.
Even better: Change MS Office's default format (Score:4, Interesting)
If I were Google, I'd bankroll efforts to develop software that would change MS office's default file formats to "something sensible", in addition to championing efforts to have this capability enabled in every office installation. That would surely produce interesting responses.
Re: Even better: Change MS Office's default format (Score:5, Insightful)
What is more sensible than the MS Office Open XML standard (ISO/IEC 29500)?
An open format.
Office Open XML is an XML mapping of the Microsoft Office binary format. It's less open than a Pyongyang bank on beloved leader's birthday.
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> It's less open than a Pyongyang bank on beloved leader's birthday.
Oh yeah, it's sooooo closed that "SoftMaker Office 2010 is able to read and write .DOCX and .XLSX files in its word processor and spreadsheet applications. LibreOffice supports reading and writing Office Open XML files. OpenOffice.org from version 3.0 has been able to import Office Open XML files. Version 3.2 improves this feature with read support even for password-protected Office Open XML files. The Go-oo fork of OpenOffice.org could
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It would have taken less time to understand the ac's point than to type all that drivel. Mavis Beacon would be proud though.
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If you read the ISO spec, you'd realize it's not really open (it makes references to MSO's former binary format, which isn't open).
Also, MS's implementation diverges from the ISO specs (not sure about 2013, though. I didn't even know 2013 was out).
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And why would Google do this?
Balloon internet means millions of people get Internet access. The
Can it read mail yet? (Score:1)
Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail.
-- Jamie Zawinski
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Except this is an operating system, (Chrome OS), we're talking about. Or at least its application bundle.
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That's a very odd definition. Given that basically every OS ever sold has included applications.
Every OS has always included bundled apps. That's not an anti-monopoly problem.
It is an antimonopoly problem if you engage in unfair competition by bundling apps for which there is an existing competitive market with a monopoly
One more nail to MS' (Score:2)
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Which this seems to be non of them.
This particular solution isn't an open format and the implementation doesn't seem to be open source software as far as I can see.
Maybe eventually it will be.
Eggs, too, as in eggzadurate. (Score:1, Funny)
Excel editing! This is impressive -- I created a spreadsheet in Excel of my shopping list (hot dogs, buns, tp) yesterday and when I saved it it was over 2 gigabytes. If Chrome can handle that, wow!
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For the clueless, certain global cell format changes force Excel to instantiate all the virtual cells way off to the ends of the Earth, resulting in hundred+ MB saves.
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