I ♥ Google

Can I just say that I love Google? Really, I do! I know, that sounds like something Seth would say, not me...BUT, I have finally realized that he may be right...just this once. :) They have everything so simplified and so tied together that no one else can compare. I log into my Google account, and everything is there! My Gmail account is super clean, and my other email accounts are tied into it...and now I have multiple inboxes for each account! Smashing. Also, inside my Google account is my Blogger account, my YouTube account, and my Flickr account. They are all tied together, and I can communicate with these programs at any time...no more remembering all those different logins.

I also have a Google Reader, where I can suscribe to RSS feeds to accounts that I would like to visit more often, but never seem to get around to it. (There is a button right over there ---> that you can click on if you want to know every time I post a new blog!) This tool knows which websites I like, and keeps track of every post that is made to their site. For example, I like to read the NYTimes Health section, and every time an article is published, it is added to my RSS account. Whenever I go to this tool, I can catch up on everything I've missed...whether it's been a day or a month.

Google also has its own calendar, and when you get an email or invitation to an event, it prompts you to add it to your calendar. I also have added Seth to my calendar, so we can see what we both have scheduled at any given time. This completely takes away conflicting appointments.

On top of it all, Gmail (which is my primary use with Google) is really user-friendly. To start an email, I just press my "c" button (for compose), and it opens up a new window! I press "r" for reply, "f" for forward. Really...I think the creators are geniuses! Let's see...what else? Oh, every time I log into Gmail, it automatically logs me into my chat which tells me which other Gmail users are online, as well as my AIM contacts. AND, they now have video chat which is really cool if you have friends or family out of town, and have a spare web cam lying around. :)

I have my incoming messages labeled and color-coded, so that when they come in, I know exactly what they are about before I even open them. This makes my inbox very organized, which I most definitely am NOT. Their Spam filter is superb...I never get trash delivered to my inbox.

Three other features that I love about Google Picasa, Google Earth, and Google Chrome.

• Picasa is a photo-editing program, kind of like Adobe Photoshop, but much easier and FREE. I use this to edit all of our photos, and they look professional by the time I finish.
• If you haven't used Google Earth, you should really try it...like today. It's like actually visiting a city online...there is even a street view so you can see EXACTLY where a specific building is located. What's even more useful, is you can search for whatever you may be looking for in a particular city. While in Chicago, we searched for "pizza" and found - Giordano's AND Gino's East. (Seth and I have differing opinions on which was better, but we found the TWO best. LoL) There are many other uses for this program, but this is the one I have used most often.
  
• Google Chrome is their new web browser...I have only begun finding all the benefits to using this. One of which is that on your home page is a window for your 9 most visited website. Super cool.

Last, but not least, is their new information number. (800) GOOG-411 is free, easy, and quick. I programmed the number into my cell phone under "Information" and have used it 10 times or more in the last month. No per-use fee, and no worries about being directed to the wrong location. It gives you multiple choice if there is more than one location. Pretty freakin' awesome.

So, does this sound enough like a commercial? :)