In addition to AdSense, Google Apps, and other more ‘‘business oriented’’ products, Google offers a variety of other services that do everything from helping you to shop more efficiently online (Google Checkout), to letting you manage your photographs (Picasa). While many of the items presented in the following list may be more useful to you for recreational purposes, you might just find that they have applications in the workplace as well.
All of the utilities listed in this appendix are free (with the exception of Google Checkout). Many of Google’s services are still in the beta or ‘‘rough draft’’ stage when they are released to the public. But that doesn’t mean they’re not already powerful tools. Remember that you can always contact Google and let them know if you’ve encountered a bug in the beta version of a software program. Go to http://www.goog le.com/intl/en/options/ for a full listing of Google’s other product offerings.
Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/)
Google Earth is a downloadable software package that incorporates the Google search engine with satellite imagery, maps, terrain, and 3D buildings to create a threedimensional globe that can be navigated in real time. While the basic version is free, you can upgrade to more powerful versions:
- Google Earth: free
- Google Earth Plus: $20
- Google Earth Pro: $400
YouTube (http://youtube.com)
YouTube is a well-known online video repository where anyone has the ability to upload their own videos or watch videos uploaded by other users. Videos on YouTube can range anywhere from episodes of a syndicated television show, to political video blogs, to indie films, and everything in between. YouTube was started independently in 2005 and purchased by Google within a year of its launch after becoming far and away the most popular online video Web site. Although Google has struck deals with many media provider corporations allowing YouTube to exist in its current form, it is currently being sued by Viacom for copyright infringement.
Google Video (http://video.google.com)
Google had already built Google Video, its own online video Web site, before acquiring YouTube. Despite the two sites’ inherent similarities, Google has chosen not to dismantle its original proprietary version. Google Video has an interface reminiscent of Google Search, and now cross-references topic searches with YouTube.
Google Maps (http://maps.google.com)
Google Maps is a mapping program that allows you to navigate a map of the world (the United States is still the most comprehensively mapped country to date) using a ‘‘drag and drop’’ system that is both intuitive and efficient. It employs satellite imagery to allow you the choice of either viewing the terrain of interest, looking at an actual map, or viewing a hybrid of both. In addition to providing directions to and from a location, businesses can easily be searched in a chosen vicinity, with links to the establishment’s Web site built directly into the results.
Google Groups (http://groups.google.com/)
Google Groups is an online discussion group forum as well as a service for creating and accessing mailing lists. You can use Google Groups to find or create discussion forums organized around a particular topic, such as health, automobile repair, setting up your home audio, and thousands of other topics. You can then read and participate by posting messages to the ongoing conversations.
Google News (http://news.google.com/)
Google News is an automated news agregator the goal of which is to avoid human bias in the choice of news stories displayed. It is currently being provided in 12 different languages, and is divided into searchable categories for easy navigation. The Google News page can also be personalized through services such as Google Alerts, which sends you messages to your email account concerning news topics of choice.
Google Book Search (http://books.google.com/)
Google Book Search is an ambitious project that allows you to search, within the formidable number of books that Google has thus far scanned into its databases, much as you would through an Internet search engine. Books can be accessed in one of three ways: Full View, which allows you to download the entire text as a PDF document; Limited View, which permits you only to see portions of the book at any given time; and Snippet View, which displays only portions of the text containing your query. The differences between these result types are largely due to issues of ownership and copyright, and Google continues to weather fierce opposition to this project from certain parties. Google Books provides links to publishers and other information about the book you are searching, which is particularly helpful when only the Snippet View is available.
Picasa (http://picasa.google.com/)
Picasa is a downloadable software package that organizes digital photographs into albums. You can use Picasa to quickly and easily rename photos, organize them into folders, rate them, and even put a password lock on selected albums. Picasa has other features, as well, such as photo editing, creation of slide shows, and uploading photos to the Internet.
Google Checkout (http://checkout.google.com/)
Google Checkout is Google’s online payment processing service. It can make buying online simpler by allowing you to go through Google Checkout to make purchases at participating websites, rather than through a proprietary payment method for each site. Google Checkout also offers fraud protection and purchase tracking. eBay, which owns PayPal, another online payment service, apparently sees Google as a competitor, and has banned the use of Google Checkout on eBay.
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