Why Google Docs, Apple MobileMe, won't do everything
Since switching to Mac, Adam Turner has become a Google Docs convert. But he's found it won't cover all his backup/email needs, and neither will Apple's solution.
Google and Apple continue to beef up their online services, but am I ready to trust one provider with everything?
Living in the cloud gives me the freedom to sit down at any computer and pick up working where I left off. As well as a productivity tool it's also an insurance policy. If everything went up in flames and I was left with nothing but the shirt on my back, I could sit down at any online computer and it would be business as usual.
Six months ago, when I switched from Windows to Mac, I wasn't happy with the Mac-based backup solutions. I decided to switch to Google Docs for writing my articles, rather than using a desktop word processor, and I haven't looked back.
Google Docs offers me the flexibility of platform-agnostic universal access, with my documents stored in an enterprise-grade data centre, and I even have access to my revision history.
I wanted to completely abandon desktop applications, but I found that online apps can't match the advanced features of their desktop cousins - particularly when it comes to pop-up notifications in email and calendar clients.
Google Docs also lacks some of the advanced features found in desktop word processors, but my requirements are pretty basic so Google Docs does that job. The compromise for other applications has been to use Apple's Mail, Calendar and Address Book in sync with platform-agnostic online Google services.
The obvious temptation is to use Gmail as well, in conjunction with a desktop IMAP client, but I'm reluctant to turn my back on Fastmail.fm - which has served me well for 18 months. I switched to the Australian-run Fastmail, from Gmail, because at the time Gmail didn't offer IMAP access. I discovered that large online POP3 inboxes are a nightmare when recovering from a hard drive failure, so I vowed to stick with IMAP.
Now Gmail offers IMAP, plus it has a bigger inbox and it's free. Then there's Zoho, a more fully-featured competitor to Google Apps, which is also free and now has an email service in beta.
Meanwhile Apple's MobileMe has appeared on the scene. Admittedly it got off to a disastrous start, but I'm really taken by the ability to wirelessly sync calendar and contact details between my MacBook and my iPhone. I've got until my 60 day MobileMe trial expires to see if I can find a free tool that does the same job.
If I end up paying for MobileMe I'll be tempted to save money and use MobileMe's email service as well, or switch back to Gmail. It's an urge I intend to fight because Fastmail is an email specialist.
Fastmail offers a few more advanced features than the others, but real the decider is customer service. I've always found Fastmail's customer service to be excellent - it obviously needs to look after its customers to stop them defecting to Gmail or MobileMe.
Gmail, MobileMe and Fastmail also offer web hosting, plus MobileMe and Fastmail offer online storage. Again I'm paying separate specialists for these services - Quadra Hosting for my websites (also Australian-run) and Mozy/Jungle Disk for online storage (I'm still trying to decide which is best for me).
The reason why I'm paying for online services that I already get from other providers is that, like Fastmail, these providers are specialists in their fields and offer a high level of advanced features and customer service. When a service is reliable and meets my needs, I'm not prepared to rock the boat just to save a few dollars.
Living in the cloud has revolutionised the way I work, but using best-of-breed services means I don't have to settle for a one size fits all solution.
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