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Free Programs, Tools & Services from Google

      Bonnie Marona wrote that she and her husband work on a spreadsheet from two different locations and wonders if there is something easier than passing it back and forth via email.

      Well, that's what Google Spreadsheets was designed for – allowing multiple users to work on a file that remains online, but which can be downloaded by any user at any time and be saved to his or her PC.

      This free application can be found at docs.google.com, where a word processing and presentation program are also available. The applications are compatible with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint respectively.

      Another handy free tool is Google Calendar at calendar.google.com. This application can also be collaborated on from multiple computers. Mary and I use it constantly to schedule appointments and other time-sensitive events. Well, Mary does the scheduling, and I check it periodically to see what’s coming up.

      Another reader asked about Google’s email service. She wants to distribute a weekly bulletin and asked why I use this service to send out my own newsletter.

      Well, I started emailing a newsletter years ago using Outlook Express. At first there were only a few dozen recipients, and things went well. Then my ISP, which handles my Outlook Express accounts, began limiting the number of newsletters that could be sent in a single mailing. Additionally, some of my readers’ ISPs began blocking the newsletters as suspected spam.

Google's Gmail

      Well, I tried various Web-based email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo, but they were even more restrictive. The bottom line was that only Google’s Gmail makes it relatively easy to send out the newsletters.

      Nonetheless, I still prefer Outlook Express for creating folders to organize all my email, both outgoing and incoming. Well, Google makes this easy. Gmail allows users to forward all incoming messages to one’s Outlook Express account. As for outgoing (such as my newsletter) I simply send a copy to my Gmail address, donedrington@gmail.com, which returns a copy to my OE account.

      Another reason I prefer receiving all incoming messages via Gmail is that Google does the absolute best job of filtering out junk mail. Very little spam ever finds its way to my OE account.

However, not all of Google’s enterprises have been a success. A reader in Fallbrook wrote that he’s been using www.hello.com to share family photos with out-of-state relatives. He found the service especially helpful because he’s on dial-up, which is otherwise painfully slow at transmitting photos. Well, Google has discontinued "Hello," but several other online photo-sharing services are available, with Flickr.com reputed to be the favorite.

All the social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, also allow members to freely upload photos for others to view and/or download.

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