Google Apps For Dummies

by Ryan Teeter, Karl Barksdale

Google Apps are Web-based, low-cost (or free!) office productivity tools that do everything those expensive applications do — and you can access them from any computer with an Internet connection. Google Apps For Dummies boosts your "app-titude" by giving you the low-down on choosing, setting up, and using these nifty and powerful gadgets for work or play.

Whether you're an individual who wants to take advantage of iGoogle or an organization looking for an enterprise-wide training solution for users at all levels, this comprehensive, practical guide brings you up to speed with all of the basic information and advanced tips and tricks you need to make good use of every Google Apps's tool and capability. Discover how to:

Get productive fast with free or inexpensive Web-based apps Design your perfect Start Page layout Choose among the different editions Use Gmail and Google Talk Work with Google Docs and spreadsheet documents Create and collaborate on documents Import events into your calendar Build dazzling presentations Use Dashboard to create and manage user accounts Create a Web page with a unique domain setting

Google Apps are poised to shatter the primacy of the current way of working with PCs, saving businesses, schools, government agencies, and individuals big bucks on software, network infrastructure, and administration. Google Apps For Dummies is your key to making this revolutionary new approach work for you and your organization.

Genres: Nonfiction

478 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Google Apps for Dummies is a fairly detailed guide to the suite of Google applications: gmail, chat and google talk, calendar, presentation, docs, notebook, page creator, and the site administrator tools. I read this concurrently with Google Apps: The Missing Manual, and the Dummies book is better. It is more task-focused, more concise, and covers much the same ground as The Missing Manual.

The google apps all have simple, intuitive, and easy to use interfaces, so it is tempting to think that a book like this is not of much value. But because of the sheer number of apps, and the somewhat strange relationship between the google apps suite and individual applications, I think this book might be useful to someone who is setting up google apps for a domain. In any case, it is all too easy to develop a sort of 'target fixation' when using an application, and not notice significant features. This book can help avoid that.

[Laura C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I qualify for a "dummy" when it comes to my computer knowledge, so this is the book for me. I do think the authors of these books have forgotten the helpless level of incompetence many of us start with. Though I had have to read very carefully, I am gettting some exciting stuff out of it. For instance, I now know what a gadget is, and how to add one to my blog. I am also much more likely to click a tab, any tab, just to see what wonderful options will be offered me.

[Yin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the chapters 3 through 13 as a "general user" (as defined in the book). It is a great introduction for people who would like to start using most Google on-line tools, such as Gmail, Calendar, Presentations, etc. But it seems a little too easy for people who have already got their hands on Google, since you could easily explore on your own most of the things covered in the book.

[Brian]

Read Google Apps the missing manual http://www.librarything.com/work/5305... for a more thorough guide.