Google Polishes Google Apps…

Google’s business campus on April 12 hosted over 400 CIOs and other IT pros from in the region of the world for the opening environment cloud computing seminar. The hunt massive used the occasion to appetizer the quicker, more fully-featured, HTML5-powered Google Docs that’s coming soon.

If the official blog is to be supposed, the changes coming to Google Docs are the effect of Google realizing that sure features just weren’t likely on their obtainable code infrastructure. By tearing out that infrastructure and rebuilding it, Google Docs can influence new technology to add to act and put up out new features quicker than ever.

For Google’s word processor, the new features are mainly built around group effort: the new Google Docs engine enables real-time character-by-character edits and the spreadsheet editor’s sidebar chat function. It’s also receiving improved document formatting, including real limits and tab stops better image plan, and better import/export loyalty.

Spreadsheets are getting a speed boost in addition to new features like cell editing, auto-complete, drag-and-drop columns, and simpler navigation between sheets.

Google has also released a standalone drawing editor, such that users can collaborate on charts, diagrams, or any other graphic and view the created files in the document list. It’s also possible to drop the shaped drawings directly into a Google document using their web clipboard tool.

The bad news that comes with this widespread Google Docs alteration is that the new editors don’t support Gears for offline access, though Google does say they hope to bring it back in the indistinct future.

For right now, the drawing tool be supposed to be available to all Google Docs users, with preview versions of the new editors coming out in the next few days.

Google typically rolls out new features and technologies in small chunks. A main upgrade like this merits a lot of attention – and I’m sure their rivals in Redmond are keeping very, very close tabs on the new Google Docs — particularly as Microsoft Office 2010 and Office Web near launch. Stay tuned.