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Wither the Desktop?
You're likely aware that one element in Google's strategy for world domination is something called Google Docs and Spreadsheets. It's being positioned as an alternative to Microsoft Office, providing much of the same
functionality (at least for word processing and spreadsheets) with no local software to install. You log in through your browser, create and edit documents, and save them on the Google servers. Easy
peasy. We'd read about the idea, but being battle-scarred Office users, didn't find it that compelling. Last week, we took a test drive, and can now report that it's pretty slick. You can upload existing
Office files, or start with a blank within the Google Docs workspace.
For a single user, it may not offer much beyond the convenience of anywhere/anytime access and automatic backup. But its power
in supporting collaborative activity was impressive. Essentially, we had two people in two different locations, talking to each other with Skype, looking at the same spreadsheet and changing it
simultaneously. Person A says, "Suppose we increase this factor." (the cell changes on both screens). Person B says, "Yes, and then we could alter this one" (it changes on both
screens). It was honestly like nothing we've done before. It was like playing a piece composed for piano and four hands.
Some say the future of computing will move beyond the desktop, and onto the
Web, and that PCs will become more like the computer terminals they replaced. Tools like this are moving us in that direction.
Another Wiki Heard From
Wikis seem to be showing up everywhere these days, and there’s one on the way that's designed to support international whistle blowing. It's called Wikileaks, and describes itself as an uncensorable mechanism for mass document leaking and analysis. There are currently 22 people involved, from China, Taiwan, the US, Australia, Europe, Russia, Tibet and South Africa. They believe in the power of "principled leaking," and think public scrutiny of otherwise secretive institutions is one way to drive ethical behavior. In fact, they hope Wikileaks may become the most powerful intelligence agency on earth -- an intelligence agency "of the people."
The interface will be much like that of the Wikipedia. Anyone can post, and anyone can edit. No technical skills are required. You can read more about it at their site, although they may have some information issues of their own. As of this morning, their FAQ predicted a launch date of February or March 2007...
Still, it's an interesting concept. Although not without its detractors, the Wikipedia has certainly established itself as a valuable source of information. And as Robert A. Heinlein told us, all evil feareth the light.
Introducing K Street Central
Last month, we announced a new look for the Knowledge Street website, and this month we have
something else for show and tell. It's an installation of Google Custom Search, directed at a selected family of web sites that relate to
Knowledge Management and Communications.
We got the idea while we were switching the site over to the Google search engine, and only a few days later, that idea was validated by David Weinberger in his JOHO newsletter. In this piece, he spoke about the "abundance of worthiness" on the Web, and suggested that the future of search might incorporate some form of social networking. That is,
people might want their searches to emphasize sites that had been rated highly by the tribe, instead of just looking at the entire Web. Something like this is happening with StumbleUpon, and also with the URL sharing concept of deli.cio.us, both of which we've mentioned in earlier issues of Directions. So we
floated the idea on some KM discussion lists, and as of today, are officially in the process of building such a tool.
On K Street Central's main page, you'll find the names of our contributors, links to the sites we're searching, and an email launcher to make a suggestion of your own. We've opted not
to let sites be entered directly through the web, but we'd be very happy to consider any you'd care to recommend.
The Cellphone Marches On
In the April 1 edition of The New York Times, there was a front page article that could almost
have been taken for an April Fool's joke. It said you could point your cell phone at the wrapping on a MacDonald's hamburger to learn its nutritional details. In fact, that's true, at least in Japan.
It seems the cell phone is becoming the technological equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife: a portable, pocket-sized gadget for connecting people on the go to the digital world. It's made possible by
the deployment of special bar codes that can be understood by cell phone cameras -- think of them as physical hyperlinks. In Japan, users can pull insurance quotes from the codes in magazine ads, or
download movie trailers from billboards. Drive past a house with a for-sale sign, and you can retrieve all the details you'd find in a printed listing. One of the most popular uses is a paperless airline
ticket. About 10% of the people flying All Nippon Airways use their phones to buy a ticket, and then board the plane by passing their cell phone over a scanner.
Phones in the US don't come with
the necessary software, although you may be able to download and install it, depending on your model. It won't be that interesting until the bar codes are in broad use, but you can check your own phone's
capabilities by pointing its browser at http://get.qode.com. You can read the original New York Times article here, but be warned that it's a piece of "Times Select" content. That means ya gotta pay for it!
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