One of Google's most popular services is Gmail. Gmail is, like many others, a free email service that anyone in the world can sign up for. You can select your own email name that ends with the domain gmail.com.
The User Interface of Gmail is what brings it above all other free email services I've tried. (Hotmail, Yahoo, and even Windows Live Mail come to mind) Although it's based around the basic File system that the others are, (Inbox, Outbox, Spam, Drafts, Deleted, etc.), Gmail's email display is what puts it above the rest. Each email has the standard Subject displayed, but once you read the email, you see that Gmail's display is amazing. Instead of just showing the one email that you were sent, Gmail displays all emails sent in the "Conversation", both from you and to you.
I also really enjoyed the idea of Widgets that you can add to your Gmail homepage. Google offers you a number of Widgets and Add Ons to add to your Gmail page. A Contacts list, Preview Emails, Links, Contact marking, and more make the Gmail experience more fun and more user-friendly.
I personally enjoy using Mail Goggles, an Add On by Google. It makes you do Math of a pre-settable difficulty in order to send email late at night. Although it's intended to keep people from drunk mailing, I use it to make my late evenings more interesting. Check it, and Gmail, out if you haven't!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Post 3.0: Blogger
Today I'd like to talk about a feature owned by Google that you're already somewhat familiar with if you are reading this blog. This, of course, is Blogger, Google's blogging tool. Blogger is a free service where anyone with a Google Account can set up a blog and start posting.
The interface of Blogger is relatively simple and laid back. It's very easy to post a new blog in a matter of minutes. You can also easily add posts or edit your old posts on your existing blog. The editing can be done in a basic Microsoft Wrod style way, or you can edit strictly through HTML. I appreciate the ability to switch between formats and take advantage of my HTML knowledge.
The templates employed by Blogger are all relatively simple, but you can creat your own to be as advanced as you wish. The same goes for Widgets or Add Ons. There are a number of helpful Widgets you can put on your Blog; Google also offers the choice of using your own script.
I enjoy using Blogger, but I think it is one thing that Google could definitely improve. It feels almost too basic to me, and seems like it's missing many features that would be helpful. My suggestion to Google is to creat a team and research other Blog sites to see what they can add to make the Blogger experience more enjoyable.
The interface of Blogger is relatively simple and laid back. It's very easy to post a new blog in a matter of minutes. You can also easily add posts or edit your old posts on your existing blog. The editing can be done in a basic Microsoft Wrod style way, or you can edit strictly through HTML. I appreciate the ability to switch between formats and take advantage of my HTML knowledge.
The templates employed by Blogger are all relatively simple, but you can creat your own to be as advanced as you wish. The same goes for Widgets or Add Ons. There are a number of helpful Widgets you can put on your Blog; Google also offers the choice of using your own script.
I enjoy using Blogger, but I think it is one thing that Google could definitely improve. It feels almost too basic to me, and seems like it's missing many features that would be helpful. My suggestion to Google is to creat a team and research other Blog sites to see what they can add to make the Blogger experience more enjoyable.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Post 2.0: Google Docs
The first Google develepoment that I want to talk about is Google Docs. The idea behind Google Docs is pretty simple: take projects and documents, and host them on the web. With Google Docs, tyou can create a document, edit it, and then invite friends or coworkers to help edit and continue work. Instead of attaching files to an email, you send an email directing people to an editable file. When one person makes an edit, the others see the changes immediately.
When I first downloaded the desktop client for Google Docs, I was skeptical. It seemed like a less user friendly Microsoft Office to me. As soon as I started editing, though, I found that was not the case. The ease of use and simplicity of the program is directly comparable to Microsoft Office, and is sometimes even simpler to use. I like the basic interface and simple editing process, both of which have gotten more complicated with newer versions of Office.
As a student, the primary use I see for this technology is with working on class projects. I really hated being forced to either finish projects at school or leave all of the work to one group member. With Google Docs, I can Upload a file from the school's computer, edit it with my group members onine, export as a PowerPoint, and then turn it in to our teacher. Although I'm just a student, I see this process being easily repeated in a business setting to ensure that a presentation runs smoothly.
Some handy features I saw that you can't as easily use when based on a home computer were video embedding from the web, usage of web hosted images, and an easy way to access all the files that a particular group of people are working on. With all these features, I definitely plan on making the switch completely to Google Docs from Microsoft Office. I highly recommend you check it out and do the same!
When I first downloaded the desktop client for Google Docs, I was skeptical. It seemed like a less user friendly Microsoft Office to me. As soon as I started editing, though, I found that was not the case. The ease of use and simplicity of the program is directly comparable to Microsoft Office, and is sometimes even simpler to use. I like the basic interface and simple editing process, both of which have gotten more complicated with newer versions of Office.
As a student, the primary use I see for this technology is with working on class projects. I really hated being forced to either finish projects at school or leave all of the work to one group member. With Google Docs, I can Upload a file from the school's computer, edit it with my group members onine, export as a PowerPoint, and then turn it in to our teacher. Although I'm just a student, I see this process being easily repeated in a business setting to ensure that a presentation runs smoothly.
Some handy features I saw that you can't as easily use when based on a home computer were video embedding from the web, usage of web hosted images, and an easy way to access all the files that a particular group of people are working on. With all these features, I definitely plan on making the switch completely to Google Docs from Microsoft Office. I highly recommend you check it out and do the same!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
First Post
Blogging to me had always been a boring and tedious thing. I tried it a few times, but updating so often seemed like it would just get difficult, and I just quit after a couple of posts. After actually reading a whole bunch of Blogs, I realized that I don't have to write a whole story in each of my posts. That's the smaller scale approach I've decided to take with this Blog.
I use Facebook, I use Twitter, and of course, I use email. All of that writing happens throughout the course of my day. I thought to myself that if I took a little time out of doing nothing each day, and put it into writing, I'd havbe a good length of writing for a blog. The focus I'm going to put behind this Blog is technology and the Web, but I may make a little comment about world and U.S. news as well.
I'm going to start out by talking about how I'm now a Google fanboy. I've looked into a lot of what Google is doing right now, and I'm excited to see what they could release. For the first few Posts, I'm going to talk about specific Google developments that I like. Check back in the next couple of days to see my first Post about Google.
I use Facebook, I use Twitter, and of course, I use email. All of that writing happens throughout the course of my day. I thought to myself that if I took a little time out of doing nothing each day, and put it into writing, I'd havbe a good length of writing for a blog. The focus I'm going to put behind this Blog is technology and the Web, but I may make a little comment about world and U.S. news as well.
I'm going to start out by talking about how I'm now a Google fanboy. I've looked into a lot of what Google is doing right now, and I'm excited to see what they could release. For the first few Posts, I'm going to talk about specific Google developments that I like. Check back in the next couple of days to see my first Post about Google.
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