All Things Google...

Google has been very busy of late. It seems like almost every week there is a new service being announced. Of course, being one of the biggest and most widely known dotcom companies generates a lot of newsprint of its own, but the great folks at Google do wheel out an inordinate amount of new things on a regular basis. Everyone knows that if you are looking for something, anything, on the internet, Google is a good start. If what you are looking for is contained in a scholarly report, Google Scholar might be more refined. Likewise, Google Book Search is trying to compile a complete database of all books ever written, so that you may search through them. Ambitious, and immensely cool. You will be able to read things, from the comfort of your own home, that you would never have seen otherwise. If you're into reading and RSS, and want to stay on top of your subscriptions from any computer that has a web browser, then sign up and import your subscriptions into Google Reader. Maybe you write your own book(s). Submit them to Google Print and promote them for free. Or what if you wish to search for images on the internet : Google Images can sure help you there. Search or submit videos for others to see? Go to Google Video. Search blogs ? Google Blogs has got you covered. Want to write your own blog? Try the free Blogger. Interested in a particular topic. Either create a group of like-minded enthusiasts, or search for one at Google Groups. Want to stay up-to-date with what is happening in the world? Read Google News. Want to do this from your mobile phone? Google Mobile can help. Peruse the latest mail-order catalogs or search for something in them? Google Catalogs. Trying to compare prices on things you would like to buy, and get the best deal? Try Froogle. Then go to Google Local and find exactly where that store is physically located, as well as getting driving directions to get there. How about searching through free classified listings and other user-generated content, like recipes or anything that anyone wants to have available to the wider internet community? Google Base. Want to know what 馬鹿 means in English ? Try Google Language Tools. Want to have a look at your house or place of business or anything on earth via satellite? Go to Google Earth. How about keeping all of your email forever and forever, for free. Google Mail (GMail) is up to 2.6 Gb and counting... More than enough for anyone's immediate needs. How about staying in touch with all of those chat buddies? Check out Google Talk. Trying to organise all the digital snapshots you have on your computer? Let Google's Picasa help you with that. Want some of this info constantly available and updated on your desktop ? Get the Google Desktop. Or add the Google Toolbar to IE or Firefox, giving you many more cool options in those browsers. About the one thing I can fault Google for, as an avid Mac-user, is that most of these downloads are only available for PC-users. Shame, shame, shame... But I understand that improvements in this are in the pipeline... Wow, what a company... And they have many more things in the works. Some insights interesting developments, like Click-to-Call AdWords, and even steps into the world of 'venture capital', so to speak.