July 16, 2008 9:48 PM PDT
Google Docs templates gallery and new features
With zero fanfare Google quietly slipped new features into their Docs suite. It's like CSI Silicon Valley when you use their tools.
Since switching to Google Apps Premier I am basically 100% browser-based for my email. But, for docs, spreadsheets etc. I can't seem to make the Google stuff work for me. Something just doesn't feel right about the GUIs, let alone the reduced functionality versus applications like Excel.
The new templates are not the most beautiful, but just having them available will make Google Apps a lot more appealing for non-techie business users. Beyond templates, users can now upload, preview and share PDFs, save files as PPT, drag and drop cells and use new chart types.
Despite the many hiccups I've had with Google Apps, the products are definitely getting better. And as MS Office continues to bloat and get weirder (that ribbon thing is cuckoo) the alternatives are closer to meeting broad needs.
Let us all dare to dream that anything from Google will ever graduate beyond Beta.
Via Lifehacker
Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @daveofdoom. 
I hope you weren't talking about ALL the templates. I've seen some people create art with a spreadsheet (http://my.opera.com/KayFour/blog/2007/08/30/excel-art) but I'm not sure what would qualify as a beautiful spreadsheet. I'd welcome any suggestions, though. :-)