Web 2.0 and Google's mashup of products

What is Web 2.0? That term has a different meaning for the tech elite than the average consumer. There is one "world wide web" in a general sense, but there are migrations of products to the web in another specific sense. In effect, the openness of the Internet has created an world-changing equalizer, and that equalizer function is starting to show the signs of "shaking up" established industries. This is the basis for the countless Microsoft vs. Google comparisons that are seen almost daily in some form.

What about Office productivity software? You know -- Microsoft's second-largest revenue generator outside the venerable and ubiquitous Windows franchise? Is locally-installed software still needed for this purpose? For complex documents and calculations, there is a large argument that locally-installed software is still king, and will be for some time.

That's not to say that alternatives like OpenOffice are not competitors to Microsoft Office, because they are. To many OpenOffice is just as good as Microsoft Office, and its free. That's huge. But the brand and perceived universal compatibility that Microsoft Office has is overpowering, especially to IT departments charged with installing and maintaining all this stuff, not even counting the millions of home systems with Microsoft Office installed.

Will Google's offerings ever catch up to speed, usefulness, compatibility and universal access to the Microsoft office productivity universe? Some of the bases are already covered -- except one: you must be online to use many "Web 2.0" products and services, if not all of them. Are many of us connected 24/7? You bet we are, unless we're flying or on a mountaintop. Some say that's not healthy and some say it's required for today's business world. If you don't do it, your competitor will. Web 2.0 means online accessibility, all the time. I thought Web 1.0 was the same way, wasn't it?

Brian White has worked in various executive positions in technology and telecommunications and now focuses on editing and writing.