Google Blogoscoped noticed that there was a presentation given by Google at KMWorld the other day, and while there they gave an inside look at some of the tools they use internally to stay productive. There’s really no need to to say that a lot of what they had to show were their own products, such as Google Docs, Calendar, and Gmail, but they also showed off some things that aren’t available to the public.
What’s even better is that if you look closely in the screenshots they provide you might even be able to catch a glimpse of some upcoming features that may or may not be released. Read on to see what I’m talking about…
–Google Ideas–
When a Google employee has an idea for the “next big thing” they don’t just keep it bottled up inside. Instead they submit it to an internal site where other Googlers can vote and comment on it:
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–Moma–
This is Google’s internal search engine, and it can even be used to search through a database of Google employees.
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–Google Docs–
And this is where those “new features” I was talking about come into play. Google Docs as you know is a public service that is available to anyone who wants it. Back in January there were some hints that offline access to Google Docs was going to be coming soon via Google Gears, and the screenshot below on the left appears to confirm that. In the upper-right corner there is a link that says Experimental Offline Access, which matches what we saw in January.
The screenshot on the right shows off what appears to be another Google Docs redesign. This time around they have created what appears to be a menu structure along the top (File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, and Table) instead of using the tab-like system currently implemented. Also, did you notice that the document is centered on the screen instead of taking up the full width?
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There’s really no telling when we might actually see these features make their way into Google Docs, but I’m hoping it is sooner rather than later.
–The Presentation–
Want to see what else was in the presentation? We’ve converted the presentation into an image which can be viewed here.
Looks like some good stuff – I’d be interested to see the top x suggestions given to Google for various services through their help centre – a Digg style interface for that would be excellent as well.
@Ryan:
Excellent post regarding Google’s presentation on innovation (Innovation = Discovery + Collaboration + Fun).
I’m convinced Google is one of the most creative and innovative companies around. Now I understand why.
Regards,
Omar.-
Oh please oh please answer this question..
How do I make my Google Docs look like theirs? This is probably simple but when I edit a document the document fills the entire screen and then when I export to .doc the margins are all screwed up. In the screenshot above it looks normal, like a print view in Word.
How do I get that? I looked through the settings and don’t see anything! Help!
Chris
I would love to see them open up the suggestions in a more public fashion where people can share their ideas and comment on each others. I’m guessing they don’t want to do that because it would likely result in a lot of spam.
That’s definitely true. A lot of things have definitely come out of them, but I feel that they are lacking in the marketing department a little. It’s like if I tell someone about Google Calendar they normally fall in love with it, but why is it that they haven’t heard about it before?
Sorry man, that’s what that section of the article was about. That layout must be something that they are currently testing, and there is no known way for us peons to get our hands on it.
Ryan:
This article very explicitly explains how far ahead Google is regarding its competitors. IMO, this can only be done by being creative and innovative in their core operations.
URL: [techcrunch.com]
Regards,
Omar.-