Google Apps Unseats Incumbent Microsoft Office in Washington, DC
ReadWriteWeb — ... Enter the dark horse Google Apps - the new platform for day-to-day business operations in DC - now that Vivek Kundra, Chief Technology Officer for the District of Columbia, has decided to switch the District's 38,000 employees from the installed Microsoft Office suite to the Web-based Google suite. ...

Cloud Computing and Vendor Lock-In
Dare Obasanjo aka Carnage4Life — ... Tim's post is about cloud platforms but I think it is useful to talk about avoiding lock-in when taking a bet on cloud based applications as well as when embracing cloud based platforms. This is especially true when you consider that moving from one application to another is a similar yet smaller scoped problem compared to moving from one Web development platform to another. So let's say your organization wants to move from a cloud based office suite like Google Apps for Business to Zoho. The first question you have to ask yourself is whether ...

Is That Cloud Turning Into A Minefield?
The Inquisitr » Technology — ... in the future you; or your company, wants to change cloud computing vendors? Just how far have the tendrils of your current provider weaved themselves into your corporate infrastructure? Just how badly locked in are you to that once seemingly benign could service that promised you the moon and stars? This is the question that Dare asked in his post as well today So let’s say your organization wants to move from a cloud based office suite like Google Apps for Business to Zoho. The first question you have to ask yourself is whether it ...

Google Apps certified SAS 70 Type II
D' Technology Weblog — ... An independent public accounting firm has verified the effectiveness of technical processes and controls for Google Apps, and Google Apps has satisfactorily completed a ...

10 Ways To Trick Out Your Netbook for Free [GigaOM]
GigaOM Network — ... is a lightweight, free and open source media player that will work on either a Windows or Linux netbook. It supports nearly every popular file format and is specifically designed for portability. Online Hosted Apps. Of course, one of the fundamental concepts behind netbooks is that you can use them with applications that are hosted online. If you don’t already use these, there are excellent, free choices from Zoho and Google Apps. Ulteo gives you 1GB of free online storage, and access to all of the OpenOffice ...

Google Apps Now Get ‘Labs’ Features
Daring Fireball — Dan Benjamin reports that Google Labs features are now appearing in most Google Apps accounts.  ★ 

There is an e-mail revolution underway; Google raises stakes against online Outlook
Between the Lines — ... , is going after Microsoft. It’s using e-mail to build an Outlook killer in the cloud. E-mail is still central to the page but other Google tools, notably calendar and docs, have joined chat on the main e-mail page in the form of sidebar widgets (now, available on both sides of the e-mail window. Contacts are built in to Gmail. And now, there’s Tasks. Google has been pushing Apps - which includes Gmail, Docs and more - as a way of doing business in the cloud in more cost-effective way. I can understand why Larry would be thrown off by the attention that Tasks is getting - ...

Google Docs Gadget for Google Desktop
D' Technology Weblog — Google has released a new Google Docs Gadget for Google Desktop that allows you to search and open your Google documents right from your desktop. And if you want to upload files to Google Docs, just drag them into the gadget. The gadget works with Linux and Windows versions of Google Desktop Gadgets. For those who use Google Apps at work, the gadget supports your work accounts as well. ...

2009 May Smile on Disruptive Startups [GigaOM]
GigaOM Network — ... are declining. Used office furniture is available for cheap on eBay and Craigslist. Software programs that used to be costly are free, thanks to Google Apps and (with many restrictions) Microsoft’s ...

Google Gets Serious About Resellers
TechCrunch — ... to resellers for its Google Apps suite of office services. Businesses who want to use Gmail, Google docs and other Google offices services in liu of Microsoft or other solutions will be able to sign up at Google or through any qualified value added reseller that chooses to carry the products. ...

And you can tell all your friends you work for Google
GMSV — ... “). Google Apps , the search sovereign’s cloud-based suite of messaging and collaboration services, is already being used by a million businesses, according to the company, with 3,000 more coming aboard each day. Now, to give it an extra push, Google ...

Google Puts The Squeeze On Free Apps
TechCrunch — ... Google says the vast majority of the 1 million businesses that use Google Apps opt for the free advertising supported version. To make the free option less attractive they’ve been quietly lowering the number of user accounts that can be associated with a free account. Now as businesses grow, they’ll be forced to move to the paid version much more quickly than before. ...

Streamline e-mail with Gmail
Macworld — ... for several reasons. First, Gmail lets you configure any number of additional From addresses—so you can send mail from, say, your me.com address through Gmail, and the recipient will never know the difference. Second, with a Google Apps account (available in free and premium paid editions), you can use your own domain with Gmail—something MobileMe, for example, does not offer. Third, Gmail offers outstanding spam protection that’s far better than the filters built into Mail or Entourage. Gmail can also automatically check multiple POP accounts (MobileMe checks only one, and ...

The Top 10 Reasons To Outsource Your Enterprise Email To Gmail Now
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs — ... top 10 list of reasons that should give any organization (and its CFO) pause for thought. 1. Your E-Mail Domain Contrary to what many believe, when an organization embraces Gmail as its corporate email solution, everyone in that organization gets to to keep their existing e-mail address. In other words, they don't have to accept a new address that's something like davidberlind@gmail.com. In order to keep your existing e-mail addresses, your organization must become a subscriber to Google Apps . 2. Who Said "Ain't nuthin' for free"? There are two primary Google Apps ...

Microsoft Online Services: Hosted Exchange and SharePoint [WebWorkerDaily]
GigaOM Network — ... However, for smaller companies and teams, Online Services is probably overkill, and there are plenty of other services that provide similar functionality — Google Apps for domains and ...

Intel To Launch Nehalem Server Processor
TechWeb — ... in the data center. In addition, Nehalem-based processors should help with the push toward cloud computing, which typically refers to the running of applications in an Internet server or downloading the software from the Internet each time it is used. Google Apps is an example of business applications delivered via cloud computing. Initially, Nehalem EP processors will primarily be available with four cores. Intel ...

Intel To Launch Nehalem Server Processor
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs — ... in the data center. In addition, Nehalem-based processors should help with the push toward cloud computing, which typically refers to the running of applications in an Internet server or downloading the software from the Internet each time it is used. Google Apps is an example of business applications delivered via cloud computing. Initially, Nehalem EP processors will primarily be available with four cores. Intel ...

Intel's Nehalem Server Chips Seen Aiding Virtualization
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs — ... from the Internet each time it is used. Google Apps is an example of business applications delivered via cloud computing. Virtualization and cloud computing are seen by the industry as big drivers for future server demand. Cloud computing is still in its infancy, and the former is starting to take off. Analyst firm Gartner ...

Intel's Nehalem Server Chips Seen Aiding Virtualization
TechWeb — ... from the Internet each time it is used. Google Apps is an example of business applications delivered via cloud computing. Virtualization and cloud computing are seen by the industry as big drivers for future server demand. Cloud computing is still in its infancy, and the former is starting to take off. Analyst firm Gartner ...

Gmail themes finally come to Google Apps
Download Squad — Filed under: Design, E-mail, Google, WebWhen Google introduced themes for Gmail, users who run Google Apps on their own domains figured it would just be a matter of time before they got themes too. After a few months of anticipation -- and frequent postings on message boards, Google Groups, and even Yahoo! Answers -- their wish is finally granted. Themes for Google Apps have now started rolling out. Not all users have themes yet -- my own domain included -- but here's where to look to enable them. In Gmail for Google Apps, ...

Google Apps Connector Plugs into BlackBerry Enterprise Server
IntoMobile - Cell Phone News, Information, and Analysis — Google Apps has been a way for businesses to use the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Services you all know and love for, y’know, real work. Now they’re plugging into BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Enterprise Server, RIM’s back-end that handles companies’ BlackBerry data. Although e-mail is the main thing, Google Calendar and Contacts will also be synced to your work BlackBerry with this new Google Apps Connector. On a related note, Google will also be releasing Google Maps as a BES install pack for those who want to roll it out ...

Business spending on cloud computing rises to $9.6 billion in 2009, up 22%
Between the Lines — ... One of the fastest growing segments of the SaaS market is Office Suites, which is growing from $136 million in 2008 to $512 million in 2009. This means more companies are experimenting with solutions such as Google Apps and ...

MindTouch Releases Collaborative Desktop Suite
ReadWriteWeb — ... This point could be convincingly countered by Google, which has been promoting its premier suite applications as suitable and scalable for large enterprises. As ...

Google Syncs Google Apps With Outloook
Technologizer — ... I’m at a Google Apps press event at San Francisco’s Clift hotel, where Google execs are talking up Google Apps as a Microsoft Office alternative for big companies. They’re bragging about their productivity apps (one rep just said that Gmail is the world’s best e-mail app, period) and touting large companies that have deployed Apps to thousands of users. But the morning’s big news involves something Google is doing to help companies keep on using part of Office–namely Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook. It’s a piece of software ...

Google and Microsoft sitting in a tree...
ReadWriteWeb — ... But love? Not so much. Google, intent on building its enterprise channel, has recognized that many Outlook users - particularly enterprise users - aren't ready to make the leap to the cloud and to Google Apps. But maybe, just maybe, Google Apps Sync will woo them. ...

Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook Announced
ReadWriteWeb — ... But love? Not so much. Google, intent on building its enterprise channel, has recognized that many Outlook users - particularly enterprise users - aren't ready to make the leap to the cloud and to Google Apps. But maybe, just maybe, Google Apps Sync is what it will take to woo them. ...

About That Virgin-Google Collaboration
Know It All — ... brain-teasers they could tackle. What they found was an impossibly random and detailed procession of questions asking them to match a lab animal to a type of maze, or identify the movie in which an obscure quote appeared, or determine the connection between a set of apparently disconnected items. That may not sound like a scavenger hunt, but this is where the cloud computing plug comes into play: You see, the answers to all of the questions could be retrieved using one of several Google Apps made available to players. Those apps--Gmail, Picasa, Google Docs, or even the ...

Google To Announce Major Identity Initiative for 1 Million+ Companies and Schools
ReadWriteWeb — Google plans to announce in coming weeks that it is turning each of the one million plus Google Apps customer domains into an OpenID provider, enabling millions of people to log in to OpenID-supporting websites with their work, school or organization ID. "For these organizations," Google Security Product Manager Eric Sachs wrote on the public OpenID Board mailing list this morning, "Google Apps can now become an identity and data hub for multiple SaaS providers." Sachs appeared to believe his email was not being posted to a public board; he asked ...

Google and open source finally kill Clippy
Open Source — ... That’s leaving serious money on the table. Admittedly, the definition of Office has changed over the years. To Microsoft, Office is the entry point into a host of products — databases, design products, management products — which lead to five-figure server licenses for things like SharePoint, available only when bought in volume. Why did Microsoft cut the bottom rung off this ladder? Because it had to. OpenOffice.org and online alternatives like Google Apps and Zoho have made Office unprofitable at the consumer level. Besides, as ...

Google Calendar Labs with ‘Next Meeting, Free or Busy, World Clock’ and more features introduced
D' Technology Weblog — ... their Labs in Google Calendar. Google Calendar Labs will not only make it possible for Google to release experimental Calendar features early and often to users, but the new Calendar API will also let Google Apps enterprise customers extend calendaring capabilities in highly specialized and custom ways that meet the needs of their business and employees. For Google Apps domains that have the "Turn on new features" option checked in the Google Apps Control panel, users can see the new Labs page in "Settings" upon ...

Microsoft Gets Serious About Office in the Clouds
Internet Evolution: — ... discussed all the Web apps' features, but they won't be as "rich" as the client software. For example, the updated PowerPoint in Office 2010 will include a more advanced set of transitions and animations. Some of those features won't be available on the Web version. Corporations requiring the most advanced features for some or all Office applications will have to purchase client/server licenses. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if the Web products were better than, for example, Google Apps . One hint is Microsoft says it wants documents on the Web to look pretty much the same ...

Put Your Microsoft Office Data Into the Cloud Now [WebWorkerDaily]
GigaOM Network — ... If you’re running Office 2003 or Office 2007 and you can’t wait for Office Web, there are some applications available that can help you get your Microsoft Office data into the cloud, via Google Apps or ...

Gotchas in the Cloud: 4 Traps for the Unwary
SitePoint — ... Here at SitePoint we’ve offloaded heaps of time- and resource-hungry business systems to the magical cloud, and we’re hardly alone. Cloud solutions are cheap, plentiful, and mostly reliable. It seems as if everyone’s migrating their mail to Google Apps, hosting stuff on  ...

Microsoft’s Mobile Office Comes to Nokia’s Symbian
dailywireless.org — ... that reach to 200 million Nokia smartphones was a natural for us,” said Microsoft corporate vice president Takeshi Numoto. The BlackBerry has created the market for mobile e-mail, and its dominant position in the corporate sector, especially in North America, has protected it from Nokia’s attempts to crack the market in recent years. The alliance also aims to counter Google’s recent move to free online software, like Google Apps, target Microsoft’s business customers, and Apple’s popular ...

Corporate BlackBerrys to get Google Apps syncing
Webware.com — ... On Friday, Google announced that some functionality in Google Apps, its suite of premium enterprise-level applications, will now give company-issued BlackBerrys some push and sync functionality. ...

Motorola Mobile Devices ditches Microsoft Office for Google Apps
PhoneArea.net — ... ) Apps as the company’s collaboration/communication platform . The move will net Google another 20,000 users of its enterprise Google Apps service, and should help lower Motorola’s operating costs. ...

Motorola Mobile Devices ditches Microsoft Office for Google Apps
IntoMobile - Cell Phone News, Information, and Analysis — ... ) Apps as the company’s collaboration/communication platform . The move will net Google another 20,000 users of its enterprise Google Apps service, and should help lower Motorola’s operating costs. ...

Virtualization and the cloud: Tech, talk to converge
Webware.com — ... That's a bit misleading, as the interest in cloud computing is often taken out of context, and when you bring virtualization into the picture, that interest seems to remain exploratory rather than strategic. Amazing innovation is happening in both public- and private-cloud offerings, and the overwhelmingly positive response to cloud computing--in particular to Amazon's top-notch Elastic Compute Cloud, Simple Storage Service, and related offerings, as well as Google Apps and the first generation of software-as-a-service superstars, such as ...

Microsoft's latest Linux lies
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols's blog — ... ? If I want online applications, most people use the free or commercial version of Google Apps . In addition, the slide claims that you can't run Windows games on Linux. That's funny — I run Guild Wars all the time on Linux, and most other Windows games, such as World of Warcraft, also run fine on Linux, thanks to ...

Office Web Apps Technical Preview: A First Look [WebWorkerDaily]
GigaOM Network — ... I’ve been using Google Apps for a while now, using Google Docs for light word processing and spreadsheet jockeying. While I like Google Apps, I find it to be a bit on the minimalist side when it comes to the user interface and functionality. However, for the tasks I use it for, it does a fine job because I don’t need power user features. ...

Google ready to unleash spiders and expose your Google Docs
The Next Web — ... Google just announced in an email to Google App admins that starting “in a few weeks” Google Docs published and shared to users outside of one’s domain and linked to from a public website will be crawled, indexed and appear in Google search results. “This is a very exciting change as your published docs linked to from public websites will reach a much wider audience of people,” said Google in its announcement. ...

Trick Out Google Apps for Your Domain [Google Apps]
Lifehacker — ... and it puts Google services behind it. If you've got a regular Google Account and you@gmail.com email address, that's cool you can forward mail for you@yourdomain.com address to and from it. But Google Apps lets you create and manage several users associated with your domain and enable various services for them. Google Apps (for your domain) comes in several flavors: Standard Edition (free for individuals and non-affiliated groups, what we're going to cover here), Premier Edition (for businesses), Non-Profit Edition , Education Edition , and ...

Nimbuzz: Voice, Social Networking and Instant Messaging in One [WebWorkerDaily]
GigaOM Network — ... be remedied in upcoming versions. In order to make voice calls, the phone number to be dialed must be entered into your device’s address book in full international format — like +1 (555) 555-1212. However, one can’t edit this data directly from Nimbuzz. The client supports only one account per service, so if you have, say, two Google Talk accounts, you must pick one. Nimbuzz does not yet support GTalk for Google Apps accounts. I was recently required to change my GTalk password due to ...