I love lamp. I also love google.
The only product I don’t love is android… And that’s because I’ve never tried it and I already have an iPhone ;o)
It amazes me that many people think of google only as a search engine and don’t know about their other products (some people are just now learning about google maps and gmail).
So, today, I’d like to bring some google products to surface. Here’s a list of google products that nobody knows about, and should know about:
1) Google Patents
If you’ve ever tried researching patents using the government’s site, you’ll feel like I did–back in the early 90′s. The search system was horrid, the site was ineffective and it just looked like something pulled out of archive.org.
2) Google Reader
This one is hot, and will probably be taken off the “unknown” list soon.
Explained extremely simply: in the past, if you found a cool blog, you signed up for their email distribution list. Only problem: after signing up for 20 blogs you like, you’re inbox will get flooded. That’s where rss came into play.
Instead of flooding your email, you simple head over to google reader and view topics. It’s like your personalized online newspaper.
3) Google Labs
This is google’s “technology playground,” as they put it. Simple widgets that are released in beta (but not ready for mainstream).
I’ve taken advantage of the ones for gmail. Specifically, “canned responses” (automatically generate a response to redundant emails from others).
3.5) Goog 411
Free 411. Enough said.
1-800-GOOG-411
Enjoi.