Google Docs

Recently I had the chance to use some of Google's applications. The company I now work for keeps all of our spreadsheets and documents in Google Docs. I had heard about Google Docs before, but had never really taken a look. I have always used Microsoft Office or OpenOffice.org for such tasks and didn't see the need to switch. It has been almost a month now and I still don't see a reason to switch.

Google is an innovative company that has managed to do one or two things right. They remind me of the Microsoft of a decade ago. Microsoft has never been good at getting the right product out the door the first time. However, they continue to refine it until it is a great product. Look at Windows. There were versions 1.0 and 2.0, but nobody really adopted it until version 3.0. Even then, it was quickly followed by 3.1 which fixed a lot of problems. So it would not surprise me that even though I am not a big fan of Google Docs right now, that may change.

The primary difference between Microsoft Office and and Google Docs is that you need to install the Microsoft product on your computer while you use Google Docs on the web. If you are always connected to the Internet, then it isn't much of an issue to run your word processing or spreadsheet software on the web. However, what happens when you are not connected to the Internet? Perhaps you have hiked to a secluded spot in the forest to work on your version of "The Great American Novel." Google Docs isn't going to work for you.

The advantage of running software on the web is that it is much easier to share documents. You don't have to worry about attaching a spreadsheet to an e-mail so a friend or colleague can go over your numbers. Furthermore, if you update your document, it is updated immediately for everyone you have shared it with.

As for functionality, there is no comparison. Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org are much more feature rich than Google Docs. When I was explaining this to someone, he mentioned that it will only take some time before Google Docs catches up. While there may be some truth to this, there is only so much you can do with a web-based application. At least for the foreseeable future.

A New Job

After several years of consulting, I have finally taken a job with a new company which happens to be based in Los Angeles. This means I am spending most of my time in sunny California. I have to say the weather is a lot warmer than back in Utah. The downside is that it is really cutting into my skiing.

My new job is as the database expert and administrator for a development team. We are using PostgreSQL and so I was a natural fit for the position. With any new project, there is some low-hanging fruit that is easy to implement and this job is no different.

PostgreSQL is a great open-source database and there are a lot of tools to make it better. One thing you can do to help increase performance is connection pooling with the help of pgbouncer or pgpool. Connection pooling is like keeping a phone line open to your best friend and never hanging up. If you have something to say, just talk. There is no delay while you wait for your friend to answer the ringing phone.

We decided to try pgbouncer because it has slightly better performance than pgpool (but doesn't do nearly as much). It took only fifteen minutes to install and we are already seeing huge performance improvements with our application. I like it when you can spend a few minutes and do something that has such a huge impact. The only problem is keeping it up.