Google Spreadsheets now allows anyone to collaborate on a file WITHOUT LOGGING IN (emphasis Google). No kidding. Setup a spreadsheet. Post the link. And watch the collaborators trickle in.

The fine folks at Google Operating System have already setup an example for us. Check it out while there is still significant activity. And think of the possibilities for your specific business…

Kai-Fu Lee on Cloud Computing [Google Operating System]

This is also a good time to mention Microsoft’s Live Mesh announcement from Ray Ozzie.  Similar concepts…different approach.

With the success of Microsoft Office comes that awkward stage in technology when some of us are using Docx files and others are using the tried and true Doc file. What’s the difference? Docx files are generated by Office 2007 and Doc files are generated by older versions. This isn’t an issue unless you are still running an older version in which case you cannot open Docx files with a handy double-click of the mouse.

Here are your options:

1. Install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for 2007 File Formats. Here are the instructions from Microsoft. Good luck with that.

2. Using an online converter. There are plenty of them out there. Here is an example Google search. One that pops to my mind is Zamzar. Clean interface. Quick conversions. Move on with your life.

So, while we sit in technology limbo with half of us using Office 2007 and half of us using an older version of Microsoft Office we will have to deal with file compatibility issues. Make your life easier and use one of the options detailed above if you find yourself in a jam.

Using a jailbroken iPhone (Don’t tell Steve, ok?) I have added the Snapture, Capture and iFlickr applications.  Snapture enhances the camera on the phone and provides a few extra features geared towards increasing photo quality.  Capture allows me to take screenshots of anything being displayed on the phone.  Both are easy to use and incredibly handy.  iFlickr allows me to send photos directly to Flickr (and subsequently to the new photostream on the right hand side).

Very nice!  Now….if I could only figure out how to stream live video from my iPhone using Qik.  That would be perfect.

ShipGooder [link]

What am I talking about?

I remember the location of items on the internet and not so much the details of those items. “I read an article about that on the Wall Street Journal site.” “They posted about that on LifeHacker the other day.” These are common remarks. What did the post or the article say specifically? Good question. I’ll need to reference that item again to remember ;)

Here is a useful tip for remembering where you have been on the internet (with the usual privacy caveat, of course):

Use Google Web History Without Installing A Toolbar

And here is a realization that our email inbox is the original social network:

Yahoo’s Plan For A Smarter In-Box

“Your order has been shipped. Your tracking number is 3456234256893462. Please logon to the [Carrier X] website to track this shipment.”

Me too! Use Track My Shipments to help streamline your shipment tracking information under one website. I’m thinking that this is an ideal service for all of you eBay power sellers out there.

Featured Greasemonkey User Script: Add Multiple, Address-Specific HTML Signatures to New Gmail

Here is the 30,000 foot view:

Today, home technology has outpaced enterprise technology, leaving employees frustrated by the inadequacy of the technology they use at work. As a result, employees are demanding more because of their ever-increasing familiarity and comfort level with technology. It’s an emerging phenomenon Accenture has called “user-determined computing.”

Interesting. So what Accenture is saying is something that we have known all along (see my related post here). Business users have so many tools at their disposal that it is almost impossible for a lumbering IT organization to keep up with the pace of change.

So, as business users what do we do? Keep innovating, of course! Now lets talk about what the IT department can do to keep up.

My solution would let employees have at it. Allow them generally unrestricted access to the internet (NOTE: It is appropriate to filter gambling and prOn….any other filters and you are just fooling yourself). After that, the most commonly used tools (ie. the best in class) will filter to the top. Herein lies the problem. Over time employees will create accounts on these web-based applications that capture important business information. Control over access to these tools is limited so what happens when an employee leaves? Can you access their Basecamp site? Or their Jott list? Or their Google Adsense account? This could be a significant problem if not properly controlled. I’m still waiting for a vendor solution that would allow corporate IT departments to manage user access to web-based tools…NOT “restrict” but “manage”. Centralized administration of access to popular web-based tools is necessary to ensure that business data does not leave with the employee.

Sounds like a perfect opportunity for the Open ID movement.