Google Docs

iWork, Office and Google Docs banned from German schools

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iWork
iWork could expose user data to U.S. authorities.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s iWork platform has been banned from German schools alongside Microsoft Office 365 and Google Docs.

Privacy regulators say that using the cloud-based services “exposes personal information about students and teachers.” They also suggest that the data might be accessed by U.S. authorities.

Kiwi for Gmail finally makes email manageable on the Mac [Review]

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Kiwi for Gmail on macOS. If you use Gmail, you should be using Kiwi on your Mac (or Windows PC).
If you use Gmail, you should be using Kiwi on your Mac (or Windows PC).
Screenshot: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Did you know that Gmail has more than 1.5 billion users? For a large portion of those users, email is something they must deal with on a regular basis — whether for work-related matters, personal communication or staying updated on the latest deals at their favorite retailers. Staying on top of your email can be a major pain, and even with all the smarts that Gmail offers, once you fall behind, it’s daunting to catch up.

Kiwi helps add a layer of convenience and intelligence to managing your Gmail and G Suite accounts on your Mac or Windows PC, all while offering the familiarity and comfort of Google’s mail platform.

Dropbox Paper wants to shred Slack and Google Docs

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There's a new collaboration tool in town. Will it survive?
There's a new collaboration tool in town. Will it survive?
Photo: Dropbox

Dropbox has just entered the competitive space of online collaboration software, and it hopes to overcome its late start with a simple, intuitive tool called Paper.

Currently in private beta, Dropbox’s Paper is part Google Docs and part Slack, which just goes to show you how late the company is — describing a new product with an already ubiquitous competitor is never a sure sign of success.

Google bets on productivity with slick new iOS apps

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Until today, you had to use the Dropbox-like Google Drive app or web interface to access Google Docs on iOS. But now Google has official apps to work on documents and spreadsheets, called Google Docs and Google Sheets. An app for presentations called Slides is coming soon.

You can view, edit, and share any documents or spreadsheets stored in your Google account through the apps. And unlike Office for iPad, everything is free.

Gmail, Google Drive & Other Google Services Go Down

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Having problems accessing Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and other Google services this morning? Don’t worry — you’re not the only one. Google is currently suffering a partial service outage which is making these service inaccessible for some users, but the company assures us that it is working on resolving the issues as quickly as possible.

Two Free Ways To Make Your PDF Files Editable [OS X Tips]

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Great options for free PDF document conversion.
Great options for free PDF document conversion.

PDF files are pretty much just pictures of documents. In point of fact, many of them are just that – scanned paper documents that are put into the PDF format, as it’s a fairly common one with free tools on all platforms. But what if you want to edit those PDF files? Or save them in a format that makes them easier to manage, like .doc or .docx files? There are many expensive options, like the fantastic Abbyy Fine Reader Express, available in the Mac App Store, but there are also two free, relatively painless ways to do this as well. Here’s how.

How-To Replace MobileMe Features That Apple Discontinued In iCloud [Feature]

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MobileMepic
MobileMe will be gone in less than a month. Here are the best MobileMe replacement options.
Photo: Apple

Apple began sending out MobileMe eviction notices last week. The notices remind anyone still using MobileMe that they have until the end of June to transition to iCloud and/or copy all data stored in their MobileMe accounts to their Mac or PC. Any files stored in MobileMe’s range of services that can’t be converted to iCloud will be deleted. If you opt not to use iCloud, all data in your MobileMe account will be deleted.

Although iCloud offers several advances over MobileMe, there are some MobileMe services that don’t have direct iCloud equivalents. These include MobileMe Galleries for sharing photos and videos, website creation using Apple’s iWeb, and iDisk remote storage and file sharing. File and information sync is available using iCloud, but the functionality is implemented a bit differently than in MobileMe.

There isn’t a single online service that delivers quite the same mix of features and functionality that Apple offered with MobileMe but by combining some apps and services, you can get pretty close to MobileMe’s feature set.

RocketDocs Makes Google Docs Editing More Mac-like

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RocketDocs brings Google Docs to your desktop and makes editing more Mac-like
RocketDocs brings Google Docs to your desktop and makes editing more Mac-like

One of the hallmarks of Google Docs (and now Google Drive) is that you can use it anywhere. Within reason, any device with a modern web browser can deliver some level of viewing, editing, and collaboration. On iOS devices, however, native Office-style apps like Quickoffice tend to deliver a somewhat better user experience and are capable of opening, editing, and syncing documents with your Google.

There’s a clear value for such capability on an iOS device in that most apps deliver a better experience than Google Docs running in mobile Safari. Is there a similar need on the desktop? Would a native app a better solution than using Chrome or Safari on your Mac? According to Mac/iOS developer Tricky Duck, the answer is yes.

Do We Really Need Office for iPad?

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It looks like Microsoft will be brining Office to the iPad, something that’s been the subject of speculation for a while. Although a photo showing Office on the iPad has surfaced, there are a lot of big questions surrounding it. When will it ship? How much will it cost? Which features will Microsoft incorporate from the desktop version of Office? How will it compare to Office on Windows 8 or Windows on Arm (WOA) tablets?

Then there’s another big question – does it even matter that Microsoft is creating an iPad version of Office?

The Dangers Lurking for Business In The Cloud

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Cloud-Computing

 

Today BYOD and the consumerization of IT aren’t just buzzwords on the horizon, they’re fact of business life and have begun transforming the workplace for millions of professionals. Many solutions exist to deal with managing user-owned mobile devices and integrating them to varying degrees with corporate resources and shared data – something that the explosion of cloud products is helping to drive. Many enterprise cloud solutions (public and private) exist to meet these demands while ensuring data management and security.

Unfortauntely, cloud solutions aren’t limited to the workplace and consumer cloud products including Apple’s iCloud, Dropbox, Box.net, Google Docs and many others have become staple parts of our daily lives. That’s great news for all of as consumers. It gives us access to our files and data anywhere at anytime on almost any device. But consumer cloud technologies pose a big headache for IT professionals who are responsible with keeping business and workplace data both readily available and appropriately secured.

Google Docs Are Now Editable On The iPhone and iPad

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Google’s Docs service is meant to make office documents easier, more accessible and more collaborative by bringing them into the cloud. Instead of needing to purchase or download an office software suite, you just go to a URL, load up the web application and you’re good to go.

It’s a fantastic product, but as the desktops and notebooks we used to compute on have gradually been replaced by mobile products like smartphones and tablets, Google Docs has fallen behind.

There’s great news today for users interested in bringing their Google Docs with them on their iPhone, though: Google has just announced that they’ve vastly improved the functionality of Google Docs on iOS, and you can now even edit your documents on your iPhone or iPad.

The secret sauce is Google’s new document editor, which supports editing within Mobile Safari, albeit with a few limitations. They’re in the process of rolling out the new document editor, and it’ll work on iOS 3.0+ devices, as well as Android 2.2 Froyo… now downloads required..