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Google Buys Web-Based Word Processor

March 10, 2006
The word is that Google has purchased a small company that makes a Web-based word processor -- potentially freeing consumers from the iron grasp of Microsoft, whose Word program has become the de facto standard.

Google said late Thursday it had purchased Upstartle LLC, a small company that produces a service called Writely.com, a Web-based word processing program that lets users create, edit and share documents online.

Although it sometimes denies it, Google is clearly moving towards providing a slimmed-down version of Microsoft's Office program bundle as a Web-based program, most likely supported by the ubiquitous Google ads that are its primary source of revenue.

The assumption is that users would not have to load any program onto their computer to use Google's version of Writely. The program would work entirely through the user's Web browser.

There are several major benefits to consumers if the service develops as expected:

• It would be free, supported entirely by advertising, just as Google's search engine, e-mail and other services are;
• It would not take up any hard-drive space on the user's computer;
• It would be entirely "portable" -- accessible from any computer.

Upstartle, based in Portola Valley, Calif., has four employees and was founded in late 2004. Google has closed registration of new users until it moves the program to its network.

The G-Drive

The G-people are also widely reported to be working on something called the "G-Drive" -- massive online storage of all your personal files. This would make it possible for consumers to work from anywhere, using any machine, without carrying their files around with them.

This is not a new concept for business users, who are accustomed to working off of network drives but, although a few companies offer such services, they tend to be expensive and tricky for non-technical users.

Besides being portable and freeing users of the need to keep their hard drive running smoothly, Google is expected to promote the G-Drive as being much safer than one's own computer, as it would be more rigorously protected from viruses, disk errors and other calamities.

If all this worries Microsoft, it's trying not to show it. "We welcome competition in the marketplace and believe it is healthy for the industry as a whole and good for customers," said Erik Ryan, a senior marketing manager in Microsoft's Office group, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Microsoft Office software suite sells for about $294.00. It is part of Microsoft's "Information Worker" division, which in fiscal 2005 delivered $11 billion in revenue and $7.9 billion in operating income.

On the browser front, Google is reported to be supplying software to the Mozilla Foundations' open-source Firefox browser that would help protect users against "phishing" expeditions, often used in identity theft schemes.

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