Truth is stranger than fiction.

I’ve been using Google Docs for years, and I love it.  I never have to worry about my 2 biggest pet peeves in document collaboration:  (1) sending HUGE attachments by email and (2) version control of multiple edits by multiple people.

But the problem is I can’t convince people to switch.  It’s the same with email.  People just love control of their offline email using Outlook or Entourage.  Yes, fat client software does have its benefits, like sorting, adding extra labels, and with calendar and tasks, some even use Outlook as their bare bones CRM.  Especially when offline.  (Plugins for Outlook such as Xobni or Gist enhance the Outlook experience.  CloudMagic for Gmail is another great once, since Etacts is no longer available)

Same with office productivity software.  People love their fat client local installations of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications, and I can’t blame them.

So what are we going to do?  This is 2011, the decade of Cloud Computing!

Enter Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office

The solution is to download Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office for collaborating Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents with friends and coworkers.  Google Cloud Connect allows you to share, backup, and simultaneously edit these documents all the while syncing to the Google Cloud.

Google Cloud Connect is a free plugin that improves Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 on Windows PCs and adds simultaneous collaboration, revision history, cloud sync, unique URLs and simple sharing to the Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications.

Requirements:  Google Cloud Connect will work with Windows XP with .NET Framework 2.0, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.  Supported versions include Microsoft Office 2003, Office 2007, or Office 2010.

Sorry, no Mac support yet.

Here is the video from Google: