Scott Granneman

Google Apps is very much a work in progress, and the poor integration between Apps and other Google products only adds to the confusion. Scott Granneman did a good job of navigating these treacherous waters to produce a guide that is both as up-to-date as possible and useful for figuring out how to work around Apps' shortcomings. I found Appendix B (Dealing with Multiple Accounts) particularly useful. I also enjoyed Granneman's casual (and sometimes brutally honest, though overall optimistic) tone.

The downside is that he does a poor job of tying everything together. It also has a bit of a cookie-cutter feel, repeating boilerplate text and sometimes substantive content from chapter to chapter. While this makes the book thicker than necessary and more of a chore to wade through the first time, it may make it marginally more useful as a reference.

While this isn't an elegant book, it's the best I've seen so far on Google Apps. Until ongoing changes to the service make it obsolete, or a better book comes along, this is the one I recommend.

[2009-08-10]… (altro)

If your like me, always trying new things online you end up with a lot of information streams. I have some 5 e-mail addresses, a couple of websites, wikis, several calendars and address books I have to keep in sync, many e-mail clients (apple mail, thunderbird) and this blog.

When I came across this book: Google Apps, Deciphered, I started to learn about living in The Cloud and it’s benefits. Cloud Computing refers to Internet-centric software and services that are outsourced to someone else and in this case to Google. Everything is on the servers of google and you can access it from anywhere with a browser when connected to the Internet.

Other advantages of cloud computing with Google: it’s free or cheap, for 50 dollars a year you get support, back up, up time of 99%, just to name a few. Other advantages are platform and browser agnostic, constant improvements, someone els is responsible for the hardware, reliability, you can share your information.

After reading some chapters I liked the book. It is not just a bunch of information gathered from websites and FAQ. The author obviously has tried it himself. As he states in his preface: this book isn’t for the absolute beginner to Google Apps. He assumes you have the basic down and you’re looking for something more. So I decided to go along. You have to start with a domain name or you can get a new domain name via Google. That’s what I did. The book is very clear and instructive. It not only supports your decisions but it is also a hands on guide. He has been there, done it.

Each chapter has very good suggestions for further reading. Especially Gmail is very handy. Setting it up was a breeze, next directing other email addresses to this new email address was simple. The book shows you how to use labels and filters. For instance I use this filter to easily find emailed presentations: Has the words: filename:pps has:attachment Apply the label Presentations. I bought Spanning Sync to sync iCal and Addressbook from Apple with Contacts and Calendars. Busy building the website, will probably let you know when it’s finished.

The first part of the book is about migrating your email, contacts and calendars, actually these chapters are very good. Next, all the parts of Google App are explained: Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Sites, Google Docs. After explaining and advising about the proper set up the author does a very good job in explaining how to integrate these Google Apps with other software and services. The last chapters are about Goolge Talk, Google video, security, recovery and backing up.

No draw backs?
Sure, Google Sites is very primitive, you can’t make a start page (like iGoogle), you have to install software for notifications, Google Docs is still developing but that goes for most of the App services. I hope that Google will keep improving these services. According to the author they will. I had some fun time trying it all out and hope it will increase my productivity.… (altro)

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Google Apps Deciphered
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What is it about
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I expected the book to cover the Google App-Engine. However, it is really about the suite of services available from Google through an Apps account. I was dimly aware that Google offers web based software to do word processing and spreadsheets (and more). I felt no need to pay attention since I had Open Office. Combined with ssh I could access my office computer from anywhere on the net.

Google Apps are really targeted at replacing office servers. Your Apps account is tied into your domain configuration. Google Mail (GMail) provides your email services. Calendar, shared documents, and web pages are also handled by Google. The book covers:
* the details for setting an Apps acount
* configuring name servers
* migrating your existing files and accounts
* configuring and using the different services

The Good
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There are some screen shots showing forms and buttons with details about where to click. Fortunately these are held to a minimum. The book explains what the screens mean while providing useful pointers about how the data gets used. The DNS details are more than adequate. Chapters end with a list of links providing more detail and the latest documentation.

Some of the services have pitfalls, bugs, and weaknesses. These are pointed out in the text. While the author (Scott Granneman) is enthusiastic about Google Apps, he is pretty frank about the weaknesses.::

"...Start Page has a long way to go before it matures into something truly practical."

The index runs 32 pages and worked well for everything I tried to find.

The Bad
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Like so many technical books today, it seems a bit rushed. There are a few references to material that are either not present or got moved to different locations. I did not find any significant typos.

The author has a website that is intended to supplement the book. He made some entries in November, 2008, but it has been quiet since then.

The Bottom Line
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This book is invaluable to anyone looking to integrate Google Apps into a organization's infrastructure. I put it to use when I got a call looking to register a domain for a new business. I helped her open a Google Apps account and configured the name server. Now she has the beginnings of a web presence with no upfront investment. If you are serious about helping your organization use Google Apps, or you want to provide Google Apps assistance to others, I think you will find this book to be a great help.… (altro)