Week 8, Thing 18

I have been using Google Documents for quite a few years.  It has allowed me to collaborate and share with fellow students.  However, Zoho Writer seems to offer more to users than Google Docs.  Google offers a simple approach with not many tools to for advanced editing.  Zoho seems to have every tool a word processing program would offer.  Both sites are easy to navigate and offer "sharing" of documents, however in my opinion, Google's all inclusive website may appeal to users.

Although other websites may offer similar features and applications as Google, needing one user name to access your book lists, your online documents, your website (as seen in the Google Sites tutorial this week), your email, etc. is, in my opinion, more appealing.  I believe this all inclusiveness has aided in Google's success.

Back to the website of the hour, Zoho Writer.  Zoho Writer was impressive.  It offered an appealing simplistic screen with visual appeal.  It gave me the option of signing in using my Google name and password, quite a nice feature.  All these names and passwords are making me crazy!  I've resorted to writing them down, which may not be safe, but I can't possibly remember them all.  The Zoho created document describes the beneficial details of Zoho, highlighted one in particular that Google does not offer, exporting documents as pdf.  Great to know!

While exploring the site, I also learned a user can edit a document offline.  Once you do gain online access, the documents sync with the offline editing previously made.  Another fabulous feature!  With this feature in mind, students could easily create documents they can edit at home, at school, in a public library, etc.  This could be especially advantageous for undeserved families not able to provide their child with a USB or disk.  Students also can't use the excuse "I forgot my disc at home."

Though Zoho clearly beats out Google Docs, I will probably remain true to Google.  The online documents I create do not require the advanced options Zoho provides.