How can Google create a better Word

Lots of people are talking about Microsoft vs. Google and about the Sun's angle. How and if Google can challenge Microsoft and its Office suite.

Moving Office to the Internet as-is does not make too much sense. However, looking at a particular application for example, Word, there are very interesting spins to word processing that may make a very compelling alternative (even if it will be less slick to write in; Word is slick indeed).

I envision a Word alternative that is built on the Wiki concept. It will be wysiwg (such as Social Text's one) and will allow me to create arbitrarily complex documents and possibly involve other people in writing them.

When I send a document to someone (a link really), I can send a read-only copy or a live link, or send a frozen version. Obviously, the storage would be on Google and search would be integrated so real folders would not be needed (labels would do).

Templates will make it very easy to start writing. Automatic versioning (wiki style) will do away with sorry accidents Word still has.

I see a private workspace as in Gmail for private documents as well as public one. I see this combined with the Google Groups to make in-between circles. For example, a circle for my kid's class where shared documents are accessible to class memebers, etc.

This idea (as all the idea of office on the net) has some thorny issues for enterprise use. For example security - how can an enterprise have its documents outside, even if limited for access by a known circle. Still, this is not so much different than what happens with SaleForce.com so it can be solved.

Frankly, I do not think there is so much a technological problem here. I suspect that the real problem is a sociological - getting people to this mode of thinking.

/d

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