Last week saw the roll-out of a new version of Google Docs and Spreadsheets. One of the biggest changes was the announcement of "Folders". People were apparently confused by the old tagging paradigm, so they've replaced tags with folders. Makes sense from a usability point of view, but it's not until you realize that you can place a document in multiple folders that it clicks that this is just tagging with a different user interface metaphor. They simply stuff all the files in a database, and retrieve them by query, with a folder view layered on top.
The Register reported this under the provocative headline Google flirts with online OS. Indeed, it's very reminiscent of Microsoft's designs for Cairo's Object File System (never shipped) and the Windows Vista WinFS (never shipped). The Register might not be that wrong. After all, Google is already shipping one OS-like component for Windows… Google Gears.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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Now if we could just see a Gears enabled Doc & Spreadsheets…