Other online "office" apps

Some competitors to Google Apps, MS Office, Open Office, et al:

Desktoptwo: Not just "office apps" in a browser window, this brings the "whole desktop" to the browser. Essentially seems like the early stages of a WebOS environment, no screen shots available for the office functionality, but other options (MP3 player, RSS Reader, E-mail, etc) look pretty usable. Seems worth checking out, but might involve subscription fees for storage beyond 1 GB.

Ajax13: Includes ajaxWrite, ajaxSketch, ajaxXLS, ajaxPresents, and ajaxTunes. The "look and feel" is very similar to desktop apps, design seems intuitive and appealing to the eye, and most important, the tools are free. The XLS spreadsheet program was not accessible at the time of this writing, but the "learn more" page for it did mention that the primary tool was a spreadsheet *viewer*, while their *editing* application is still in development. The Presents tool seems nice, though it runs a bit slow on this G3 iBook. Ajax13 is also in the process of developing AjaxO.S., which would appear to compete directly with the above-mentioned Desktoptwo.

Coming soon: Presentations for Google Apps

Yesterday Google announced that they've acquired Tonic Systems in order to fold their presentation making, showing, and conversion programs into the Google Apps team of products. Unfortunately I had not played with Tonic's solutions prior to this announcement, and now their website is essentially reduced to a Google acquisition FAQ. So, I'll just have to wait patiently until this summer (the expected "due date") to start becoming familiar with this new option. All I've been able to determine at this point is that Tonic's software was all JAVA-based, and that the presentation element of Google Apps will continue the trend they've started with Docs and Spreadsheets by allowing for shared editing and extensive collaboration.