The King of Pointland

A Minority of One

I suppose everybody has by now heard of Lipstick Lesbians for Ron Paul, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a Darfurian grass roots campaign in support of the Congressman and candidate from Texas's 14th district. Now Libertarian Janjaweed for Ron Paul on the other hand . . .

Microsoft World vs. Google World

Google Docs & Spreadsheets provides a nice way to store and edit documents and spreadsheets on the web, but sometimes I just want to store an arbitrary file (maybe a PDF or an mp3 or who knows what) and have it available later. If I'm feeling particularly motivated I'll fire up an scp client and copy the file somewhere, but if I'm in a rush I just use GMail and send it to myself as an attachment. It just takes less effort. But I wonder why Google doesn't have something like Xdrive, i.e. a simple web-based file system.

Today I played around with the beta of Windows Live Folders (thanks Upendra), which promises "Password-protected online file storage. Always available where you need it." Thanks Microsoft, that's just what I'm looking for! You guys rock! At least, that's what I thought until I started using it.

Granted, this a limited beta, and there are obvious enhancements which are probably on the way (like the ability to upload folders). But some features seem to have been intentionally designed in a way that pisses me off. In fact, I sent them some feedback, more or less what follows.

I want to add somebody to the list of people who can view a shared folder. Let's look at how this works in Microsoft World, and then in Google World.

In Microsoft World, I go to the "Change who has access to <Folder Name>" page. I pick the "People I choose..." radio button, and, hmmm, it says "There are no contacts in your address book." OK, how do I add them? Read FAQ. Oh, I need to add them to my Windows Messenger or Hotmail contact list, which requires me to use Hotmail or Windows Messenger (neither of which I do), leave the page I'm working with, set up an account or start the messenger client, follow some links or click some buttons, and, you know what, I'm tired just thinking about it. My friend can get the damned file himself, I don't feel like sharing it after all. Grumble.

In Google World, to share a Document I click "Share" and bingo there's a text box where I can type in some email addresses and then click "Invite Collaborators" and that's that.

Why make it so difficult, Microsoft?