710 Chances are you've used Google to search the Web. Who hasn't? Google has become a verb (you can look it up in Webster's), as in, "I googled the girlfriend I dumped in high school; now she's CEO of SuperMegaCorp." Yet the big news from Google recently is that it's putting programs online - the kind you used to have to install in your personal computer - and the vast majority are free.

Indeed, Google Apps, which includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and other office productivity programs, now poses serious competition to Microsoft Office's dominant position on business desktop applications. And Google Apps gives everyone plenty of bonus reasons to switch - collaborate on documents with others at the same time, whip up a web page stocked with downloadable files, and work on it all from any web-connected computer. About the only thing Google doesnít offer is an authoritative, reader-friendly guide like Nancy Conner's "Google Apps: The Missing Manual" (O'Reilly Media, $39.99).

"Google's individual programs, like Gmail and Google Docs, have been popular with people since they launched," notes Conner. "But more and more businesses--over half a million of them--are now putting Google Apps to work for their organization."

"My book can help anyone interested in using individual applications for personal use or as employees," she adds. "Administrators setting up a Google Apps account for their organization will find detailed chapters on how to set up and manage a Google Apps account across the enterprise."

"Google Apps: The Missing Manual" teaches you how to:

- Use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and quickly create word processing files, spreadsheets, and slideshow presentations.
- Share and co-edit files - including revision histories and instant notifications every time a change gets made.
- Move your files back and forth between Google Apps and Microsoft Office.
- Set up and manage your entire organizationís switch to Google Apps.
- Create a wiki - an editable, collaborative website.

Of course, as remarkable as these applications are, Google's office suite is definitely a work-in-progress. Navigating what you can and can't do and--more importantly--understanding how to do this isn't always easy. And good luck finding enough help online. Thankfully, "Google Apps: The Missing Manual" makes getting the most out of this increasingly useful part of the Google empire much, much easier.

Author Nancy Conner has a PhD in English from Brown University and has taught writing, including technical writing, to college students for more than a dozen years. She is currently a freelance copyeditor, specializing in technical books covering topics ranging from the MS Office suite to programming languages to advanced network security.

For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596515799/

Google Apps: The Missing Manual
Nancy Conner
ISBN: 9780596515799,
$39,99 US

1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
http://www.oreilly.com
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472

The book that should have been in the box, warm, witty, and jargon-free, Missing Manuals have enough clarity for the novice, and enough depth and detail for the power user.

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