Google Apps – new Game to play

Google is building a radically different way of working that can shatter the primacy of the current methods and reduce the need for all the tired, old office productivity software on your hard drive. Google provides most of the apps for free or at a fraction of the cost of traditional software.
Google Apps is a powerful set of tools that Google has bundled together to meet the needs of businesses, schools, government agencies, and other  organizations of any size. You can use Google Apps as a powerful digital communications infrastructure for your business or school that Google maintains for you. (Very sweet.) The key Google Apps are

1. Gmail: An e-mail app based on Google’s popular Gmail platform. This version lets you use your organization’s domain, such as user@ yourdomain.com.
2. Calendar: A calendar and scheduling app that allows easy collaboration.
3. Talk: Instant messaging, available directly from within Gmail or as a standalone software application. Talk also allows voice calls, voice mail, and file sharing.
4. Docs: A simple, yet powerful, set of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation apps.
5. The Start Page: An app that you can personalize by adding gadgets to access any or all of the other Google Apps, as well as news, weather reports, entertainment information, and more from one place.

In addition to the apps themselves, Google provides some powerful tools for administrators in the Google Apps Dashboard. Features for administrators include

1. Web page creation tools
2. Domain settings
3. Advanced tools, including administrative support and migration tools
4. Individual apps settings
5. Custom Web addresses for your Google Apps
6. Phone-based support tools