Google Apps: The Missing Manual

Reviewed by Robert Pritchett

Author: Nancy Conner

O'Reilly

Pouge Press

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596515799/index.html

Released: May 2008

Pages: 740

$40 USD

ISBN: 9780596515799

Requirements: A robust online connection.

Strengths: Enables those who want to "break free" of Microsoft Office.

Weaknesses: The book may be there, but Google Apps (not the book) still needs a little tempering in the fire to be battle-hardened. And there is the issue of ownership and privacy…

Introduction

This comprehensive and easy-to-follow new book teaches you how to use the new web-based applications from Google that are providing a viable alternative to Microsoft Office for many businesses. While Google's office suite shows a lot of promise, navigating what you can and can't do and -- more importantly -- understanding how to do it isn't always easy. With this book, you can get the most out of Google web-based business suite.

What I Learned

Yes, Google Apps is a "work in progress" as a viable possibility in using it as an "office Applications" Suite almost rivaling Microsoft Office, but not quite there yet.

If you have a Google Gmail account it can be use interactively with "Docs and Spreadsheets" and "Google Calendar".

Banking on the Internet as being the computer, Google is basically enabling the mindset to move from desktop to Internet-based computing.

Since there is no "book" on use, this one fills the bill.

Did you know there was also a Google Talk? How about creating a Wiki using Google? How about online sharing and collaboration?

This sounds an awful lot like what we already have for the Mac community and the Macintosh, but Google is enabling the same kind of thinking out onto the Internet for non-Mac folks to also experience.

And then you can "Blog" post the files ("labels" in Google-speak) after they are ready to publish.

It isn't all sweetness and honey yet, but it is pretty darned close.

And it is essentially "free".

The book has 5 parts covering the productivity suite, creating slide shows, using Gmail and Google Talk, tracking schedules with Google Calendar, creating iGoogle web pages, doing one-click web design with Page Creator, customizing domains and administering and managing apps, creating Google Sites for teaming and looking at the Google Solutions Marketplace and Google APIs. The Appendix looks at keyboard shortcuts.

Conclusions

If you want to collaborate in real time on documents you can now online.

Recommendations

What have you got to loose besides privacy? You might want to look a little closer at the usage rights and privileges from Google. What you put out there will not be your own. Really. Just a word to the wise, okay?