Google Apps

We've all heard of Google. In fact, Google has become a verb which means "to search the internet." But did you know that Google offers a lot more than just searching - a LOT more. Want to see how much more - go to Google.com and click the "more link in the top menu. Then scroll to the bottom and click the "even more . . ." link. You will be presented with a whole page of tools and applications that Google offers. Today we will focus on the group known as "Google Apps."
 
Google offers several versions or editions of Google Apps: Premier, Education, Standard, Government & Non-Profit. Today we will focus on the Standard Version and next week we will look at the Non-Profit edition - which offers a bit more. We set all of our web customers up with a Standard Google Apps account when they become Pittsburgh Tech Ministries website customers.
 

 The Standard Edition is available for free and includes Google Docs, Google Mail, Google Sites and Google Calendar. We all know we can get a free Gmail account but did you know you can use Gmail with your domain name? Google Apps Standard let you use Google mail for up to 50 users with your domain name for free. No need to move your email if you move your website. Its easy to add users and you can access your mail from you email program, the web or even your smart phone. Pgh Tech Ministries can help you set up your Gmail with your domain name - even if you aren't a subscriber (but we hope you will consider becoming one!)
 

 Google Docs offers you online word processing, spreadsheet, drawings and presentations. Because its web-based you can access it from any computer and multiple people can collaborate on a single document. No need to spend hundreds of dollars for office software when you have Google docs. That can be a big savings for small churches and non-profits!

 
Google Calendar lets you access your Calendar via the web, share it with others and even imbed it in your website. Its a lot easier to schedule things when everyone uses the same Calendar for work!
 
Google sites offers easy to use basic websites and wikis. It doesn't offer the same kind of support and extra features you'll get from Pgh Tech Ministries, but if you need a quick site for a special event - its great! You can also take advantage of the wiki feature for all sorts of projects