Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) continues to subtly press its office productivity software into the hands of the masses, consumers and businesses. And yet, the company continues to say it is not targeting, as a whole, Microsoft's Office franchise, which requires a decent chunk of cash to purchase as well as installation on a PC (or network) to function.

Google's Gmail (email), Calendar (scheduling), Docs (word precessing) and Spreadsheet (calculations) require nothing but a web browser and an internet connection, while giving many "light" users the same capabilities as the Microsoft Office package. All for free. Will Google's services remain free? Who knows. One thing is clear -- it's incredibly difficult to give something away for free, then start charging for it in the future.

Google is now packing its services for internet service providers (ISPs) and other web-based portals what have millions of customers as a way to get that package of productivity software out into the hands of even more users. Its Google Apps Partner Edition packages all of the above-mentioned applications and more to give Google internet partners a complete bevy of web-based applications they can offer customers as a value-added service. Google even offers a pay edition ("Premier") that promises guaranteed availability and more email storage than its free editions. Will customers pay for the upgrade? These efforts are icebreakers for Google in seeing if it can create a revenue model off service subscriptions and outside advertising.

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.

So, in addition to launching Google Spreadsheet this week, is Google readying another industry assault with its Picasa photo-editing and sharing program? Doubtful, as it has a long ways to go to catch Flickr, recently acquired by competitor Yahoo!. Flickr, in my opinion, is the epitome of a good, web-based shared photo application. Photos can be tagged for easy search and retrieval, and the site is clean and uncluttered -- making it easy to use even to the novice.

On the flip side (somewhat), Google's Picasa is a local-based application that is also just as easy to use and features a slick, easy-to-use interface that makes most other photo-editing programs looks incredible complicated by comparison. But, it's not really web-based (beyond the integration with Google's www.blogger.com), and it's not really a direct competitor to Flickr.

Of course, the next big thing from Google – a spreadsheet – is not new. After all, spreadsheets were one of the first key applications for the PC during the 1980s.

Yet, the Google Spreadsheet is very important, as the company is attempting to turn software into a service that lives on the Internet, not something that has to be purchased and installed.

Don't worry, Wall Street analysts will not dump their Microsoft Excel for the free Google alternative. Then again, this is not the vision for Google; rather, it provides a simple-to-use product. This is not to say it is simplistic. Actually, Google Spreadsheet has a comprehensive set of functions for math, finance and statistics. You can also import Excel spreadsheets (you will not lose the formatting in the process).

However, there are no charts; no printing; and no use of the right mouse button.

The response to Google's recent online spreadsheet application has been fierce and swift. Blogsters from around the world have chimed in with comments reflecting that this is a full-frontal assault to Microsoft (it is) to Google taking away Microsoft's cash cow (yep, I agree) to Google Spreadsheet being the everyman-version of Excel -- a spreadsheet for normal people (again, it is).

I signed up early to get on the waiting list for Google Spreadsheet so I could break it down here. As of this morning, Google officially invited me in to look at Google Spreadsheet, and so far, it works and looks great. It's fast and eerily mimics a full-blown desktop spreadsheet application such as Microsoft Excel. The menus are even very close to Excel.

Google spreadsheets? That's the next salvo in the battle of Microsoft v. Google. Ever since Lotus 1-2-3 was taken down by Microsoft Excel in the mid-nineties, Microsoft has handily dominated the land of spreadsheets. Google will be introducing a new spreadsheet program tomorrow, in a limited release. The company will be accepting signups at 9 a.m. EDT tomorrow on its Google Labs web site.

Thanks to the news, GOOG recovered a bit from its $5.00 drop today in after hours trading, but Microsoft didn't seem to have an equal and opposite affect, also up a bit after a $0.26 drop.