Zoho does it again
I’ve not updated this blog for a while, so I’m hoping this will be the first of some more regularly updated material.
I had mentioned Zoho earlier. With a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation tool, they were a nice contender in the online tools arena. I even noticed when they started adding lots more modules, like a database, project manager, and chat. However, they have really won me over now, by being the first on the online tools that I’m aware of to offer (free*) synchronization with Microsoft Office. The Zoho plugin allows you to edit your text or spreadsheets in either Zoho’s online service or Word/Excel. Good job, Zoho!
They are also working on an independent offline editor. Offline viewing is already available via Google Gears. No Microsoft Office required, just the Google Gears download. Very intriguing. Plus Zoho offers plugins for IE and Firefox to view documents in Writer (doc), Sheet (xls), or Show (ppt).
And I’m checking out the Notebook. Not only can you do web clipping (like Google’s Notebook), but you can incorporate documents and other Zoho services, add audio and video (like YouTube), record(!) audio and video, and use the built in chat or Skype. And all of this can be edited collaboratively and be published for public viewing (with comments, too.) I’m going to experiment with this for doing online presentations. (Oh, and did I mention that they’ve got a Web Conferencing module, too?)
(*Thinkfree will be offering an online/offline sync, but it looks like you’ll have to pay for it.)
