Changing the internet! (google.com)

Member Name: Gav86

Product:	google.com
Date:	09/10/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The range and quality of their services

Disadvantages: Some items, such as maps, have been copied, and bettered in small ways

So i don't think there is anyone with access to a computer who doesnt
know of Google. Founded in 1998, it started off with a basic search
engine, which is now the biggest in the world.

The Google home page is simple, clean and to the point. Here it where
you put your words, press a button, out pops your results. Its
straight to the point and it doesn't throw adverts and videos in your
face. Its also lightning fast, throwing back thousands of search
results in a tiny amount of time, which are all presented in order of
relevance. Simple, effective and very popular.

I used to use another search engine for my homepage and for all my
searching, but since the advent of the little Google search box in the
corner of Firefox, and more of my online needs being through Google, i
now use Google search, and i'm very happy for it!

The Google Logo on the homepage occasionally changes, and its quite
interesting to see why sometimes. Its obvious at times, with a
Christmas or summer theme. But every now and again it is celebrating
someone or something. The other day, for example, the Google logo was
a barcode which spelt the word, to celebrate the anniversary of its
invention.

Its the other services that Google offer that are making it more and
more crucial in my everyday life.

Googlemail is fast becoming the internet mail provider of choice for
many people. The mail service is feature packed and easy to use.
Options include email forwarding, integration with other Google
services, 'labs' features such as toys and add-ons and a clear email
folder and organisation system.

Google Maps is another one of their bigger services. It lets you look
at any place in the world - in map view and in satellite view.
Satellite view is a big draw here as the photos are very detailed and
you can take a look at anything. It will bring up points of interest,
photos and information for all places on the maps too which is cool!
Type in 2 locations and you can get detailed directions between the 2,
get it printed and you don't even need a map!
And who doesn't like wandering around the streets in Street View?!
Competitors, such as Microsoft's Bing Maps, sometimes have higher
quality images, and cool features such as 'Birds Eye View'

Google Earth is an expansion of this, with a full 3D model of Earth
which you can spin around and zoom in. Some added little toys here
though are the abilities to look under the sea and in space, and track
flight times. They keep adding more and more!

They also own Youtube, another of the biggest sites on the planet. You
can now see how big Google is actually getting!

Image search works much like standard web search, but gives you
thousands of pictures instead of web links.

So far, i use all of these services and do not have a bad thing to say
about any of them!

Google Documents is very cool. Its like a suite of Office software.
but online. So you can do your work and access it from anywhere in the
world!
Then Calendar and chat. Both are closely linked to the Google Mail
accounts and can be synced anywhere.

You then start looking at the other services they offer...
Checkout, Alerts, Books, Finance, News, toolbar, translate, reader,
sketchup, desktop search... i could keep listing for a long time!

Google Labs is a good place to visit. Its where all of their newer
items that maybe aren't quite finished or aren't too popular yet are
located. There are sometimes some useful little tools hidden away in
here!

I used to think what Google could do next.
Then Chrome appeared. A full featured internet browser which rivals
Firefox and Safari.
Then they invented Android. The operating system now being used on
dozens of smart phones. Its quick, easy and very satisfying to use.

And the future?!
They want to create yet another basic operating system based on Chrome
to run on Netbooks.
And if that wasn't enough, they have started to reinvent how we
interact with each other online with the creation of Google Wave, now
in Beta.
It is a real time messenger, email, IRC, image sharing, map sharing,
word processing, conferencing, social networking tool. It looks
incredibly useful, and if it becomes mainstream, it could render many
things we use now obsolete!

I don't really have much of a bad word to say about Google.
They have been voted many times as one of the best places to work in
the world and as the most powerful brand in the world.
Not small talk.

Lets see what else they can give us in the future.

Summary: A full suite of everything you would ever need online