41 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
41 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Good alternative to Microsoft Word that is cloud based?

by Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
31 replies
One of my goals is to do everything in the cloud so I can pretty much work from any computer and have all my work available.

I haven't yet stopped using MS Word. I'm used to it and when I've tried to use Google Docs, for instance, I have trouble formatting my documents to look right when I am done.

Is there a good alternative (free or paid) to MS Word that is cloud based that uses similar controls and formatting?
#alternative #based #cloud #good #microsoft #word
  • Profile picture of the author Bicycle Cat
    Wow, I must remember to read the whole thread before replying.
    Signature
    Information on Healthy Eating | Healthy Eating for Students[/SIZE]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2389791].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Scott Kennedy
    openoffice.org
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2389828].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    Hi,

    I've been looking at this for my android phone. Of Course it will be much better when droid comes out with a "pad."

    AlwaysOnPC for iPad, iPhone & Android: Word-, Excel- & Powerpoint ...
    Get a complete PC with over 40 apps Includes Word, Excel & Powerpoint- compatible Open

    George Wright, P.S. It's all web based. I would think they have something like this for a laptop too, but, haven't seen it. P.P.S. Well, up to now I've only read about this on my Droid. Reading the site above (the link above) I see they do have it for PC and Apple. Wow
    Signature
    "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2389885].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
      Originally Posted by Scott Kennedy View Post

      openoffice.org
      Thanks Scott, but I am specifically looking for something that runs in the cloud (i.e.: browser based) rather than on my computer. I have open office and recommend it myself, but it doesn't fit the bill of this.

      Originally Posted by SantiSantana View Post

      This is a great summary and review. Thanks!

      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      Hi,

      I've been looking at this for my android phone. Of Course it will be much better when droid comes out with a "pad."

      AlwaysOnPC for iPad, iPhone & Android: Word-, Excel- & Powerpoint ...
      Get a complete PC with over 40 apps Includes Word, Excel & Powerpoint- compatible Open
      Thanks George, I'll check this out as well. At first blush it looks as if you can run it from a PC, but the PC demo is designed to show you how it will look on your iPad, etc. Maybe not. I'll check it out.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2389928].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author samir141
      Hi,

      There are two alternatives to MS Word available as cloudbased services.

      1. Google mail (gmail) includes googlw docs that allow you to open word documents however the more advanced formatting in your workd doc may be lost.

      2. Zoho I much prefere this , im sure however google will buy this company before too long as the features are at least 5 years more mature that google apps.

      thanks
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2389934].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mikemac1
    I'll second samir141 and Google Docs.

    I use Gmail already so it's really convenient, just login to Gmail, select Documents and that's it.

    They have alternatives for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and a couple others that I haven;t used yet.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2389954].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    Google Docs.


    Quentin
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390163].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Kevin, when was the last time you tried Google Documents? After their latest update many of the formatting features work much better.

    I had similar problems in the past, but have not ran into anything recently.
    Signature
    Brain Drained...Signature Coming Soon!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390180].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Matt Blake
    Adobe BuzzWord is great too.

    I can't post the link since I don't have the required amount of posts but just Google "Buzzword" and you should find it.

    Plus it updates in real-time.

    -Matt
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390322].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Yeah, I've heard good things about Buzzword. Here's a good overview, although this video is 3 years old, so features have probably been added in the meantime...

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390369].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author InternetM39482
    Google Docs works pretty fine for me!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390375].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NewBeing
    Kevin, if you have a hotmail/live.com account they now have an Office part to that which has basic forms of Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

    Check out live.com, it may be what you are looking for.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390376].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
      Originally Posted by samir141 View Post

      Hi,

      There are two alternatives to MS Word available as cloudbased services.

      1. Google mail (gmail) includes googlw docs that allow you to open word documents however the more advanced formatting in your workd doc may be lost.

      2. Zoho I much prefere this , im sure however google will buy this company before too long as the features are at least 5 years more mature that google apps.

      thanks
      I've used Google Docs for several years and still use it every day. Maybe it's just me, but I can't figure out how to format documents properly compared to what I can do with Word or Open Office. It seems limited as to number of fonts, formatting choices, etc.

      Zoho looks pretty good. I may play around with it some. Thanks!

      Originally Posted by mikemac1 View Post

      I'll second samir141 and Google Docs.
      Originally Posted by Quentin View Post

      Google Docs.
      Originally Posted by KansasDragon View Post

      Kevin, when was the last time you tried Google Documents? After their latest update many of the formatting features work much better.
      Originally Posted by Swastik View Post

      Google Docs works pretty fine for me!
      Possibly I need to get a good tutorial. I would prefer to use Google Docs, but I need to be able to create better finished documents than I have been able to so far. I Googled for tutorials and in the first couple pages not much helpful came up--just how to create a document, etc. I'm going to have to put some time into checking it out I guess (unless one of you has a good tutorial you want to share????)

      Originally Posted by Matt Blake View Post

      Adobe BuzzWord is great too.
      Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

      Yeah, I've heard good things about Buzzword. Here's a good overview, although this video is 3 years old, so features have probably been added in the meantime...

      YouTube - Buzzword Demo / May 2007
      I'm definitely going to check out buzzword.

      Originally Posted by NewBeing View Post

      Kevin, if you have a hotmail/live.com account they now have an Office part to that which has basic forms of Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

      Check out live.com, it may be what you are looking for.
      I'll look at it. I haven't had a hotmail account in years.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2390627].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Have you ever considered flipping your theory completely on its head, sticking with Microsoft?

    Check this out, it may be EXACTLY what you REALLY want....


    Office Web Apps - Microsoft Office
    Signature
    Brain Drained...Signature Coming Soon!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2394753].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by KansasDragon View Post

      Have you ever considered flipping your theory completely on its head, sticking with Microsoft?

      Check this out, it may be EXACTLY what you REALLY want....

      Office Web Apps - Microsoft Office
      I was just about to post a scathing criticism of the complete and utter failure of anyone to mention this. My link is slightly different, though:

      Share Documents and Files Online | Create a Free Website | Microsoft Office Live
      Signature
      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2394825].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      I was just about to post a scathing criticism of the complete and utter failure of anyone to mention this. My link is slightly different, though:

      Share Documents and Files Online | Create a Free Website | Microsoft Office Live
      Originally Posted by KansasDragon View Post

      Have you ever considered flipping your theory completely on its head, sticking with Microsoft?

      Check this out, it may be EXACTLY what you REALLY want....


      Office Web Apps - Microsoft Office
      Kevin...you need to seriously check the above out. Microsoft recently rebuilt their online apps and it's impressive.

      -Jesus
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2394927].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dndoseller
    I really like all the Zoho apps. They have incredible suite of tools.
    Signature
    DanoSongs.com - Royalty Free Music for Marketing Videos

    No sign up required to try my music in your video.

    Just click to listen and download. No cost to try, only pay when you publish.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2394837].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    Dropbox is what you need.

    It creates a folder on your computer and once you drop something in the folder it creates a backup of the folder online. Now when you are on any other computer, you can access your files.

    Here's the link: Dropbox - Home - Online backup, file sync and sharing made easy.

    Hope it helps

    EDIT: It also offers 2 GB of free online storage so it's pretty amazing.
    Signature

    “The first draft of anything is shit.” ~Ernest Hemingway

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2394957].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Trucker
    holla,

    when we talk about ms word, i remember a number of upgrades which came up from office professional to premium in the platforms ms office 2007, now getting upto office 10.

    As an alternate, google has a leadership with office tools calling different kinda docs, spreadsheet, access script & many more. I truly love to use them & they all are loved because of their specialized features
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2394975].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author affiliatecoachlandon
    docs.com should be ok..havent used it myself tjho
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2395504].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
      Originally Posted by KansasDragon View Post

      Have you ever considered flipping your theory completely on its head, sticking with Microsoft?

      Check this out, it may be EXACTLY what you REALLY want....


      Office Web Apps - Microsoft Office
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      I was just about to post a scathing criticism of the complete and utter failure of anyone to mention this. My link is slightly different, though:

      Share Documents and Files Online | Create a Free Website | Microsoft Office Live
      Originally Posted by BlueSquares View Post

      Kevin...you need to seriously check the above out. Microsoft recently rebuilt their online apps and it's impressive.

      -Jesus
      Originally Posted by Trucker View Post

      holla,

      when we talk about ms word, i remember a number of upgrades which came up from office professional to premium in the platforms ms office 2007, now getting upto office 10.

      As an alternate, google has a leadership with office tools calling different kinda docs, spreadsheet, access script & many more. I truly love to use them & they all are loved because of their specialized features
      Thanks again!

      I'll try the MS Word live sync thingie. Sounds like it might work well. I need to check out whether you can open your Word files on a machine without Word installed. That might be an issue. I have a laptop without Word and I'll give it a whirl.

      Plus: My mother always told me to do whatever Jesus says.

      Originally Posted by dndoseller View Post

      I really like all the Zoho apps. They have incredible suite of tools.
      I tried out Zoho yesterday. It's TEH AWESOME.

      Originally Posted by Mohammad Afaq View Post

      Dropbox is what you need.

      It creates a folder on your computer and once you drop something in the folder it creates a backup of the folder online. Now when you are on any other computer, you can access your files.

      Here's the link: Dropbox - Home - Online backup, file sync and sharing made easy.

      Hope it helps

      EDIT: It also offers 2 GB of free online storage so it's pretty amazing.
      Thanks Mohammad. I've tried Dropbox before, but I hadn't used it simply as a virtual drive.

      Originally Posted by FastSuccess View Post

      Hi Kevin,

      If your goal is to do everything in the cloud and access/edit your documents from any computer, you should check out eyeOS:

      eyeOS - Cloud Computing Operating System | Web Desktop - RIA Framework - Web Office - your files and applications everywhere)

      Not only does it have a MS Word alternative (open office), but its actually an online operation system that's self hosted, open source & free. I use version 1.x stable and it works great.
      This looks pretty cool, but it looks like it requires a download to the machine to access it. I want to use something browser based so I can access it without having to modify the machine I am using.

      Originally Posted by affiliatecoachlandon View Post

      docs.com should be ok..havent used it myself tjho
      Thanks, I'll look at it.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2403611].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author FastSuccess
    This looks pretty cool, but it looks like it requires a download to the machine to access it. I want to use something browser based so I can access it without having to modify the machine I am using.
    You do not need to download anything to your computer its 100% web based. You do need some type of web hosting to install eyeOS. You can try out the demo here: Welcome to eyeos
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2405000].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
      Originally Posted by FastSuccess View Post

      You do not need to download anything to your computer its 100% web based. You do need some type of web hosting to install eyeOS. You can try out the demo here: Welcome to eyeos

      Interesting. I'll give it a look see.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2405815].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author cowboy123
        What I hate about GOOGLE DOCS is it's so clumsy just to copy a file. Argh.

        And you can't copy a folder's subfolders all at once. Gotta try this Zoho
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2422318].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dika
    Hi,

    Another cloud based OS, it has a basic word processor:

    icloud - Your friends, files and digital life on any computer
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2433288].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author power88
    Originally Posted by Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter View Post

    One of my goals is to do everything in the cloud so I can pretty much work from any computer and have all my work available.

    I haven't yet stopped using MS Word. I'm used to it and when I've tried to use Google Docs, for instance, I have trouble formatting my documents to look right when I am done.

    Is there a good alternative (free or paid) to MS Word that is cloud based that uses similar controls and formatting?
    Many technology journals give the edge to Buzzword. That's the one I use and I think it's great. Working in the cloud is definitely the future of computing. In fact, the future is pretty much here.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2959007].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JonMills
    Originally Posted by Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter View Post

    One of my goals is to do everything in the cloud so I can pretty much work from any computer and have all my work available.

    I haven't yet stopped using MS Word. I'm used to it and when I've tried to use Google Docs, for instance, I have trouble formatting my documents to look right when I am done.

    Is there a good alternative (free or paid) to MS Word that is cloud based that uses similar controls and formatting?
    \

    Sorry do you mean Mobile application?
    Signature
    http://www.thecopywriterwhisperer.com/ Persuasion at it's best!
    http://www.affiliateorganizer.com/ Organize your entire online business - Super affiliates give it the thumbs up!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2959012].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JaneMiller
      I recently used a free text editor from Nevron Software - it can be downloaded from https://docs.nevron.com/. There is also a free cloud version.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9366796].message }}

Trending Topics