Google applications on Mac OS X

Most of us have e-mail account with companies that are not Internet Service Providers (ISP's). Until about 2-3 years ago, the most popular choices were either Microsoft's Hotmail, or Yahoo Mail.
At that time, neither of these services were offering compelling features for my requirements. Mailbox size was very limited, as well as file attachment sizes. Spam was a major issue, especially with Hotmail, and advertisement was heavily featured.

Google Mail (Gmail)
It was Google that made a drastic change. Since it introduced Gmail (Google Mail) with simple yet elegant interface, ample storage space (1 Gb at the rollout date, and always increasing), newsgroup-styled e-mail structure (i.e. you can easily see conversation history) and subtle advertisement, I have been using is as my primary mailbox.

It doesn't end there. Google has been very good in continuously improving Gmail feature set - for example, Contacts options have received a facelift, mailbox size is now over 6 Gb (I use around 50 Mb) and Gmail is now integrated with Google Talk chat application.
Safari 3 Mac browser works reasonably well with Gmail. E-mail functionality is present, shortcuts also work OK, Google Talk works too. Google is now experimenting with "New Layout" which provides nicer looks for Gmail Contacts, but searching for contacts in Safari doesn't work when creating a new e-mail. Hope this gets resolved soon.

Google Reader
Satisfied with Gmail and reading often about other Google web applications, I've decided to try out Google Reader (a RSS feed reader), as the concept of reading latest entries from a whole bunch of different sites at one place certainly made sense. First Google Reader version was rubbish, so Google engineers went back to the drawing board and came up with an application that meets all my criteria. It works well too in Safari. Google is also regularly releasing updates, as it tries to integrate Reader with their other web applications.
Only feature missing from Google Reader is the ability to rename custom-made labels that host a specific feeds. This seemingly simple feature is not available, and the only choice users have is to create a new label with proper name, move feeds from old to new label, and then delete the old label.

Google Notebook
With Gmail and Reader in everyday use, I felt much more confident in trying out other Google offerings. Based on a recommendation, I checked out Google Notebook. Idea behind this web application is that is can be used as a sort of permanent web clipboard, a place you can write your notes and to-do items, all organized in different Notes.

Although Google Notebook is out of beta, it does have some problems. Worst offender is that it doesn't work in Safari. On other browsers, when editing entries, cursor can sometimes jump to different places. There is no Undo feature. It would also be nice for Google Notebook to have a feature where entries in Google Calendar can be made from notes. I really hope Google addresses these shortcomings soon.

Google Docs
As Internet access has become so prevalent in today's world on all kind of devices, it made me thinking about how cool would it be to have some essential documents and / or spreadsheets available online, instead of carrying around a USB memory stick and wonder if the computer that you will have will have a compliant version of Microsoft Office in order to open or edit those files.

Since broadband has become quite popular, so did the online applications that mimic the functionality of a typical offline application such as Microsoft Word or Excel. So, I tried Google Docs, which contains an online word processor and spreadsheet. Compared to Word and Excel, Google Docs offers a fairly small set of features. However, I belong to one of those users that utilize less than 5% of Word or Excel features, so this didn't bother me - initially at least.
I found two "killer" features that suit my needs perfectly. First one is the backup - all my documents are available at any time, and I don't have to worry about complicated file sync or backup procedures.

2nd feature is document sharing. Thanks to Google Docs tight integration with GMail, documents can be shared with user(s) that is present in your GMail contact list. You can also decide what access level you want these users to have to your document. Best of all, in centralised document screen, Google Docs clearly shows who has access to documents and to which ones. Also, Revisions option available in Google Docs clearly shows who did the editing and what has been modified.

There are some issues with Google applications that I hope get resolved quickly. As I am a Apple Mac user, my default browser is Safari. Some applications, such as Google Notebook, simply don't work in Safari. It also suffers from minor editing glitches (i.e. when typing) in Internet Explorer 7 on PC's. Google Docs occassionaly gets stucked into "Saving..." mode when editing a document or spreadsheet and you can't do anything until the message dissapears. And what about putting basic tables features in Google Docs word processing part ?

What features should Google consider to be included in the future updates ? There is no integration between Google Docs or Notebook with another Google service, Blogger. Easy way to import pictures from Google Picasa
would be a nice addition too. Compatibility with certain browsers should be improved.

Overall, Google online applications are coming out nicely. It is clear that Google is aiming to create a "suite" for home and small business users that is free, offers reasonable Microsoft Office compatibility, and saves them from complex backup and collaboration solutions that are currentlu available on the market.