1) Even after watching the videos on Wave and Buzz, I'm still not sure I see the need for them. Wave seems like it has possibilities, but only if everyone I know also has Wave. If I have Wave and no one else I know has Wave, then Wave isn't very practical. I did like that you could drag files straight from your computer desktop into Wave, but if I have no one to share those files with, what's the point?
Buzz seems too much like Twitter and Facebook status updates to me. I already have Twitter (which I use) and Facebook (which I rarely update), and having one extra thing seems like far too much work. Is my life really that important that everyone I know has to see what I'm up to on three different sites?
2) As of now, I do not have a phone that is web capable, so I don't use any Google Mobile apps. If I did have a phone that could connect to the Internet, I'd probably use the apps for maps (because I get lost a lot), Gmail (because I'm a compulsive email checker) and Calendar (so I always know my schedule). Until I get that phone...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
the web according to google #87: google reader
1) Although I don't use any application that only serves as a feed reader, I do have feeds associated with my personal blog. I find this very convenient because I'm already checking that part of my blog all the time to see what my friends have posted, and can see feeds from other sites at the same time. But since the focus of this post is Google Reader, I did take the tour (which was very very short). I don't think I'll ever feel inclined to get blog feeds through Google Reader, but I can see how it would be convenient for people who want to consolidate all their blogs into one feed.
When I was doing the tour, Google had sample feeds, one of which was a photographer's post about visiting a ghost town on a tiny island off the coast of Japan. I highly recommend this post.
2) All the blogs I follow have feeds. Currently, some of my favorite feeds are for Go Fug Yourself, Cute Overload, and Lolcats. Cute pictures, snarky commentary, and cats with poor grammar. What could be better?
When I was doing the tour, Google had sample feeds, one of which was a photographer's post about visiting a ghost town on a tiny island off the coast of Japan. I highly recommend this post.
2) All the blogs I follow have feeds. Currently, some of my favorite feeds are for Go Fug Yourself, Cute Overload, and Lolcats. Cute pictures, snarky commentary, and cats with poor grammar. What could be better?
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
the web according to google #86: calendar and documents
1) I already use Google Calendar at home and at work. My personal calendar includes everything important: birthdays and holidays, work items, due dates for bills, etc. At work, we use the calendar to enter vacation days, programs, etc for all the staff in a particular department. This consolidates all important information in one place and makes scheduling much more convenient.
2) I also already use Google Docs at home and at work. At work we use this feature (along with Google Sites) to upload the desk schedule and make it viewable to all staff members. Personally, I don't think Google Docs is as functional as Microsoft Word, but I still use it because anything I do is accessible from any computer with the Internet. I mainly use this for uploading things that I change frequently, like my list of books read. It's convenient and sometimes convenience is more important than all the fancy bells and whistles (many of which Google Docs lacks).
2) I also already use Google Docs at home and at work. At work we use this feature (along with Google Sites) to upload the desk schedule and make it viewable to all staff members. Personally, I don't think Google Docs is as functional as Microsoft Word, but I still use it because anything I do is accessible from any computer with the Internet. I mainly use this for uploading things that I change frequently, like my list of books read. It's convenient and sometimes convenience is more important than all the fancy bells and whistles (many of which Google Docs lacks).
the web according to google #85: resistance is futile
As I mentioned previously in the post about search engines, I don't generally use Google as my primary search engine. Actually, at the library I mostly use the Live Search at the top of the Internet Explorer window because it is convenient. Today (er, when I started writing this post weeks and weeks ago), however, I will be using Google for every search? Why? Because you can play Pac-Man on the Google search page. How awesome is that?
1) On a regular basis, I use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Blogger and YouTube. I know what you're thinking: That's a lot of Google products for someone who doesn't actually like Google and thinks the company is trying to take over the world. (They are.) I use Gmail because it has the most pleasing interface of all the email clients I've seen. I use Google Docs because it easily allows me to access the same document from my home computer and from work, without carrying around a flash drive. The same for Google Calendar. (Although, last week my calendar was down for 5 days. I was not pleased and it has made me consider finding another calendar option.) I use Google Maps because it easily allows me to modify the route given. I only use Google Sites and Blogger because of work, but I love YouTube a lot.
2) I browsed through Google Labs, but I honestly didn't find anything on there that seems like it will make my life easier because it exists. The new Gmail options they're working on won't change anything about how I use Gmail now, and it's the same for all the other Google features. I don't know if I'm just missing the cool features, but it all seemed very unnecessary.
3) Google Books is an interesting feature that I'm not sure I would use all that often. I find it annoying that a good portion of the books are only available in limited preview. What's the point? If I'm going to go to the trouble of reading a book online, it's probably because I need it immediately and can't find a physical copy. A limited preview is not useful in that circumstance. I probably won't ever take advantage of Google Books until the books I actually want to read are available in full. However, I did enjoy scrolling through the magazines Google Books has cataloged. I particularly liked looking through back issues of Life. I wasn't aware that this site had magazines, so finding a wide array of choices was a pleasant surprise.
1) On a regular basis, I use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Blogger and YouTube. I know what you're thinking: That's a lot of Google products for someone who doesn't actually like Google and thinks the company is trying to take over the world. (They are.) I use Gmail because it has the most pleasing interface of all the email clients I've seen. I use Google Docs because it easily allows me to access the same document from my home computer and from work, without carrying around a flash drive. The same for Google Calendar. (Although, last week my calendar was down for 5 days. I was not pleased and it has made me consider finding another calendar option.) I use Google Maps because it easily allows me to modify the route given. I only use Google Sites and Blogger because of work, but I love YouTube a lot.
2) I browsed through Google Labs, but I honestly didn't find anything on there that seems like it will make my life easier because it exists. The new Gmail options they're working on won't change anything about how I use Gmail now, and it's the same for all the other Google features. I don't know if I'm just missing the cool features, but it all seemed very unnecessary.
3) Google Books is an interesting feature that I'm not sure I would use all that often. I find it annoying that a good portion of the books are only available in limited preview. What's the point? If I'm going to go to the trouble of reading a book online, it's probably because I need it immediately and can't find a physical copy. A limited preview is not useful in that circumstance. I probably won't ever take advantage of Google Books until the books I actually want to read are available in full. However, I did enjoy scrolling through the magazines Google Books has cataloged. I particularly liked looking through back issues of Life. I wasn't aware that this site had magazines, so finding a wide array of choices was a pleasant surprise.
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