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Box.net acquired a young company last October called Increo Solutions. The company allows users to view content of most any file and the ability to share and embed files across the Web.

Today, Box.net is announcing the integration of these features. Users will be able to upload and view most any file inside the Box.net environment. This is a feature similar to what Google Docs provides.

What appears to be a bit different is the embedded viewer, which allows people to share and embed all types of files anywhere on the Web.That feature will be available over the next few weeks.

Google is extending Google Docs, allowing any kind of file to be uploaded up to 250 MB in size.

The move signifies how Google Docs is now a storage service as much as a collaboration platform. Enterprise customers may now store large files on Google Docs for free or a small cost. Additionally, the documents may be backed up using third-party applications.

Google Apps is adding Google Groups to its enterprise suite of applications, another example of Google's commitment to developing an online application environment that is compelling enough for users to move off the Windows platform.

Google Groups has to this point been a consumer service. As part of Google Apps, it now integrates with Google Docs, Google Calendar, GMail, Google Sites and Google Video.

When a service shows similarities to Google Docs, we expect there to be some key differentiating factors. Otherwise, the new service provider runs the risk of being perceived as trying to ride the coat tails of the leader. 

Zoho is now offering full integration with Google Apps, allowing users to seamlessly access Google Docs from within the Zoho environment.  

Zoho already provides integration with Google Apps via sign in. But this is the first time full access to Google Web Apps is available through Zoho applications. It's another move by Zoho to compete with the giants of the business through integrations that allow for interplay across multiple platforms. 

The Google executive in charge of Google Enterprise is talking smack about Microsoft Office, saying that firms will be able to get rid of the software suite in one year's time.

Man, those are some fighting words. The remarks came from Dave Girouard, president of Google's enterprise division, in an interview with ZDNet Asia.

Almost three years ago, Lee and Sachi LeFever created their first video to explain RSS.

They called the video RSS in Plain English. They used paper cut outs to explain the XML format. It became an instant hit. Tens of thousands of people watched it. Today their company, Common Craft, make all sorts of custom videos. They've built a business around explaining concepts.

Their latest video explains cloud computing.

In Google Docs, you can collaborate with other people when you are working online. Making edits to a document while offline can be an issue as the syncing capabilities get a bit tricky when you reconnect.

The DocVerse team knows the challenges of working on deeply collaborative technologies. The founders came from Microsoft where they worked on Sharepoint and SQL.

The French Government's public finance department will switch 130,000 desktop PC's to Mozilla's email and calendar applications. Mozilla's Thunderbird email service, Lightning Calendar and an open-source groupware will replace IBM Lotus Notes and Microsoft Office.

The move signals how more government agencies from around the world are dropping enterprise accounts with major vendors to cut down on costs and get better license agreements.They are turning to open-source providers and companies like Google that can offer email and services such as Google Docs.

With no fanfare or as much as an official announcement, Google has taken an important step in making users' Google Docs more open and portable.

As of today, several bloggers have reported seeing this new feature, which allows users to grab all their Google Docs and batch export them as a zip file. Files can be exported in a number of formats, including Microsoft Office and Open Office formats. Users can also choose to export only certain types of docs, e.g., spreadsheets and slide decks only.