Googleries! Oui oui oui! Seven Google tools in French

1. Gmail electronic communication (use Gmail and its accoutrements) a. What? Free-of-cost communication tools (E-mail, plus…)b. How? Advice from Google on “how” and “why”: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/intl/en/about.htmlc. Why? To avoid spam, to use a clean/easy system, to gain easy access to Google’s features in

either (both?) English & another language, such as Frenchd. What happens? Instant accessibility to easy messaging + audio, video, IMs, etc.

2. Chrome navigation tool, available in more than one languagea. What: Navigation tool, similar to IE (Explorer), but more like Mozilla Firefox in Open Source nature,

updated & refined by users for speed & reliability, for Mac or PCb. How: Go here for quick, free (French) download: http://www.google.com/chrome/?hl=frc. Why: “Open Source” nature of the tool promotes continuous, effective updates and improvements

made by users. Also, one’s ‘Net-surfing is clean, uncluttered by advertising or demands to update. Too, “tabbed browsing” facilitates moves from one searched area to another.

d. What happens:

                                                   

Un navigateur Web rapide, à télécharger gratuitementGoogle Chrome ouvre les pages Web et les applications à une vitesse fulgurante.

Télécharger Google ChromeGratuit. S'installe en un clin d'œil.

Pour Windows XP, Windows Vista et Windows 7

Démarrage rapideGoogle Chrome se lance à la vitesse de l'éclair.Chargement rapideGoogle Chrome charge les pages Web en un instant.Recherche rapideEffectuez des recherches sur le Web directement à partir de la barre d'adresse.

3. iGoogle : “homepages” with iGoogle a. What: « Personalized » home page facilitating/expediting access to mail, news, schedules,

contacts, etc.b. How : For French iGoogle, go to : http://www.google.fr/ig#t_0c. Why : To customize the Web to one’s own specifications d. What happens : The resources that you have chosen as most useful/desirable/responsive to your

needs will format & update themselves as you wish

Définissez iGoogle comme votre page d'accueil pour un accès direct au moteur de recherche et bien plus encore

http://www.google.fr/ig

“tutorial” in English for using iGoogle best: http://www.howtodothings.com/computers/how-to-use-igoogle-to-its-fullest-potential

4. Google search: use Google as a search engine, in one or several languagesa. What? Search engine, like Yahoo, to find things onlineb. How? By typing in http://www.google.com …or else: .fr, .es, .it, .com.vn c. Why? Speed, accessibility to more data and less irrelevant nonsensed. What happens? Quick, easy, relevant suggestions populate your page

5. Listen, talk, share interactions Googlistically a. What? Free interaction “extras”, including audio, video, IM, photos, and + (“plus”)b. How? Starting with a free-access Gmail/Google “account”/address, use Google Talk

(http://www.google.com/talk ) or Picasa (http://picasa.google.com )c. Why? To permit multi-modal, enhanced communication, shareable & storabled. What happens? Mini-windows pop into the screen near the bottom of the page for talk, not blocking

other activity; in Picasa, instant free access to photos (you may define accessibility (e.g.: https://picasaweb.google.com/104628113650640749927/EphesusPergamonTroy?authkey=Gv1sRgCLiNq9Xxy8ukpgE#5616735104464285650 ); in + (“plus”), group chat in “circles”

6. Knowledge-sharing tools Knol, Blogger, Readera. What? Free blog, free encyclopedia-like resources collection (Knol); free links collection (Reader) b. How? From one account resource: https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount, or for Knol

(in French): http://knol.google.com/k; Blogger: http://www.blogger.com/home?pli=1; Reader: http://www.google.com/reader/view/#overview-page

c. Why? To customize and organize d. What happens? Options & accessibility can be monitored and multiplied

7. Presentation materials: Write it, calculate/organize, and present it without worrying about Microsofta. What? Writing, calculating, organizing tools that work beyond the rules of Office, Word, Excel, etc. b. How? From Gmail in-box page, at the top left, choose from among: Agenda, Documents, etc.c. Why? To profit from Open Source tools for expedited writing, calculating, presentingd. What happens? .pdf, documents, videos, images can be saved in cyberspace for modification or re-

formatting, etc. (e.g.: https://docs.google.com/?pli=1#home )