This is the first of a two-post series. Over the years, I have come across many tools, like RSS, that have greatly assisted me in my day-to-day computing. But for now I would just like to talk to you about the best that Google and Yahoo! have to offer in the way of free software and services… without the fluff.

(Yes, that means Google Earth will not be in the list. I suppose that if you are a frequent international traveller, you might actually NEED Google Earth.)

At any rate, out of all the free products and services from Google, these are the elite and I highly recommend them to everyone. They are, for the most part, available to all, regardless of operating system (PC, Mac, Linux… even others, but I won’t confuse you any further). Each is accompanied with a brief explanation of why I think you should use it.

Google Desktop: Mac users get spotlight. For everyone else, there’s Google Desktop. Google Desktop basically uses Google’s famed search engine to “index” everything on your computer. It then saves that information to a little program on your computer which can take the form of a little search box on your desktop or start bar, a bar along the side of your desktop that provides even more helpful information, or (my personal favorite) a tiny little icon on your system tray.

Once it has indexed for the first time, you simply double-tap the “ctrl” key to bring up the search box (or use the search box on your desktop or sidebar, if you chose that option). It will search every file, program, and folder, on your computer in real-time, with no waiting, as you type. I don’t remember the last time I had to browse my hard drive’s hundreds of folders, thanks to this little guy. Definitely one of the top free services available. Google asks nicely if it can use your file information for research purposes (non-public); if you refuse, it is kept completely private under a non-disclosure agreement.

Picasa: THE best program for managing the pictures on your computer! It even gives Apple’s iPhoto a run for it’s money (I wouldn’t trade in iPhoto just yet though). It’s freely available to all operating systems and allows you to easily sort through your pictures (no matter how many), fix red-eye or lighting problems, and quickly create emails, collages, online private albums, blog your pics, or screensavers from your photos with very little effort or computer proficiency. Oh yeah… did I mention that it’s FREE!?

Gmail: If you know me, and haven’t heard me raving about Gmail… you don’t know me. Gmail is a free email service that is web-hosted like Hotmail. But that is where the similarities end. Gmail is highly resistant to spam and has a fast and easy to use interface that rivals the likes of Microsoft Word and Outlook in functionality. It has a dynamic address book that auto-fills your “to:” fields as you type and lets you know if those people are online checking their Gmail as well. If they are, you can send them a quick chat message, right inside the browser.

One of the most impressive features is the storage space. Your average PAID email service, through your ISP, gives you 10-20 megabytes of storage… that will store somewhere between 100-200 emails, depending on how many attachments you receive (for me, it would fill up with 4-5 emails). Gmail gives you around 3,000 megabytes of space and it grows as they add more hardware! Even guys like me will virtually never run out of space. Which means no more “quota full” messages ever again! A+++++ for Gmail.


Google Maps: Ok, so some people like expedia or map quest. I won’t hold it against them… as long as they convert! Seriously, Google maps is the first innovative service since map quest started. Besides being utterly beautiful, compared to the competition, it remains intuitive and allows for special map views. See the intersection where your hotel is? Click the “Satellite” button to see the satellite photo of that location so you can see what the surroundings look like. Yes, Google Earth’s satellite shots are built in! Then click print and you’re good to go (or even bring it up on your phone).

This is just of the tip of the iceberg – the best of Google’s selection. If you like these, feel free to toy around with their other services. But these are the tools that have earned a place in my daily routine (well, maybe not the maps). The Blogger service is also Google and is what I am writing this article on right now. If you want to start a blog, use that . If not, I hope you’ll come back here anyways because tomorrow (or the next day) I will do the second part of this topic, focusing on Yahoo!’s offerings. By the way… I don’t get paid to do this. I just really like it!

Until then… so long!