While I was away on my month long holiday in France, Google announced to the world that they were launching their own Operating System, Chrome, in the near future. This did not exactly come as a shock to me, and I had been anticipating the announcement for some time now. Still, for someone in the industry I’m in and for the majority of end users out there, this means happy times ahead.
For years now, I have been using whatever Google throws our way for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is generally great products that they release, and secondly, they are usually free products apart from Adwords which I am only too happy to pay for. Google is so much more than just a Search Engine, and now it’s time for you to realise just what you may have been missing out on for the last few years and get on the bandwagon before the demise of Microsoft as we know it.
Let me continue and share with you just a couple of Google applications I have been using for the last year or three.
- Google Mail, or Gmail. Apart from the Google Search Engine, my introduction to the extras. Gmail is amazing, and I do not think my life would be the same without it. This is Browser based software, so you can log into any computer and have all the same features that you are familiar with. Gmail contains so many extras that I could write an entire post or three on, although I will just mention a couple like chat and video conferencing.
- Google Docs. Once I found this, it was the writing on the wall that Google was taking on Microsoft Office. With the upgrade of Office 2007 on my PC, I had been waiting 1 – 2 minutes for any Office Application such as Word or Excel to open. Google Docs allow you to open any document through the browser, instantly. That’s not all, you can grant others access and do real time collaboration too. You have to try it out to see how great it is.
- Google Friend Connect. Social Media is all the rage right now, and for good reason too. So where have Google been hiding the whole time? Google Friend Connect is the powerhouse application they have been working on in the background, that will see many other Social Networks bound together using this app. I could go on and on about this one, although I will dedicate entire posts to this in time. Learn to use it now and put it on your own blog, you will thank me soon enough.
I could go on, although now I want to show you a video by Chris Lang, a Google Authority if you will. In this clip he will talk about the introduction of Chrome OS and browser based software and applications. No point me re-inventing the wheel now is there. I like his straight shooting style and he is way ahead of any crowd when it comes to Google. He sounds like he smokes forty a day, don’t hold that against him though !!
I use many Google online tools and a Firefox Browser. With the Firefox addons that are available, I rarely have to use any software these days that I need to install on my local machine. As times goes by, local software will become less and less for the home user and even many business users. In fact, I can see businesses as a leading force in web based applications. Look at the cost savings and real time uses.
So there you have it, I could not have added much myself about the new Google OS and the browser based computer. Microsoft were the innovators for so long, although nothing lasts forever. What Google are doing now is adding a tonne more value to the human population and even more. Think about it, where would you be without Google Street View to stalk your ex lover? (Just kidding BTW) I’m kind of bagging Microsoft to an extent, although you can not dismiss where they brought us to, Google will just lead for the next however many years, and in time, another player will come along.
As usualy, you comments are most welcome.
Tags: Chris Lang, Chrome, Google Friend Connect, Google OS, Microsoft
