April 30th, 2007 by Greg Steward
Once you have a Google account, you can use some of Google’s services.
I have been very happy with Gmail. I look at my email at the web site first, sometimes replying from the web site. The remainder I download to my computer using Thunderbird, a free email client in the Mozilla family.
When you have a Google account, you can create a customized home page at Google. You can create six different pages. I have one page that let’s me preview my email, has links to some of my essential web pages, previews the various blogs I find useful, etc. You can customize the pages by adding “gadgets.” What is nice is that I can log onto this customized page from any computer that has web access.
Other services I use are:
Google Doc – Allows you to create, edit, and share online documents, spreadsheets, and presentation. There are numerous examples of how I use Google Docs to collaborate with others.
Calendar – Each of our family members has a calendar and we share them with each other. You can select one or more calendars to display at any time to keep track of each others’ schedules. You can also add in “Public” calendars, such as US Holidays and, for me, PSU’s Academic Calendar. Also, we have a calendar for my Mom that each of the siblings can access to view or enter appointments, etc.
There are really too many talk about. Take a look for yourself at some of the other Google services. A third-party has created a comprehensive list of Google Services.
April 30th, 2007 by Greg Steward
Many people have used Google as a search engine. But Google has been adding many services and to use these services, you must have a Google account.
Q: What is a Google account?
A: A Google account is the way to sign in to the Google services you are using. A Google account enables you to sign in to multiple Google services with one email address and password. It also stores your settings for those various services.
Q: I am already on some Google Group email lists. Don’t I already have a Google account?
A: Not necessarily. You can join a Google Group via email without having a Google Account. Or someone can put you on a Google group email list just by adding your email address to the list. But if you want to access any of the Google Group’s websites (of which you are a member), you will have to sign in; that requires a Google account. (It will also require you to set up a Google account using the same email address to which the Google Group is sending email.)
Q: How can I determine if I already have a Google Account?
A: You can get help regarding this at Google Accounts Help Page.
Q: What information is need to set up a Google Account?
The primary piece of information used with a Google account is your user name. Your user name is an email address, any email address (that belongs to you). Google uses an email address as your ID. (Some Google services do require you to have a Gmail email address; I don’t have a list of which services require that.)
The other required piece of information is a password. You create a password when you set up your Google account. If you are using a non-gmail email address, you can, if you want, use the same password you use when you log into your mail server (e.g. Yahoo, Hotmail, etc); that is your choice.
In addition, you will enter a first name and last name, and optionally (but a good idea), a nick name. Mine is “Greg Steward.” Cleaver, huh?
NOTE: Again, remember that if you are currently a member of a Google Group, you must set up your Google account using that same email address. Otherwise you won’t be able to access the Groups website even though you receive emails from the group.
Q: Should I get a Gmail address?
A: My suggestion is to get a Gmail address and then use that as your Google account user name. That way you are ready to use any of Google’s services. You can set up your Gmail account to forward any email to your preferred email address if you don’t want to use Gmail.
Again, if you do decide to start using a Gmail email address, you will need to subscribe to any Google groups with the Gmail address unless you want to have multiple Google accounts. But that makes life very complicated.
Q: How do I set up a Google account?
A: If you want to use a Gmail email as your Google ID, sign up for a Gmail address if you don’t already have one. That will establish your Google account.
The Google Accounts page allows you to sign in to Google. If you don’t already have a Google account, you can create one by selecting the link that says, “Create an account now.”
Q: Where can I get more information about Google Accounts?
A: There is a good Google Accounts Help Page. There is also a page for getting started.
April 14th, 2007 by Greg Steward
In addition to having your primary email address, I suggest having two additional email addresses.
1) The first additional email address would before subscribing to email lists or websites where there is a concern that it might generate an unknown quantity of undesired email.
2) The second additional email address would be for use on commercial websites where you place orders and they need an email address to send confirmations.
Here is a suggestion for creating an email name. When I first created a Gmail account (Google’s email), I used gregsteward (at gmail.com). Within a few minutes I started getting spam. I had heard that spammers have dictionaries of names in a database and that they automatically spew forth spam to email addresses constructed from those names. Spammers were already sending spam to gregsteward (at gmail.com).
That’s when I came up with gs777bs (at gmail.com, and hotmail.com, and aol.com). I use my gmail for my primary account and I use the other two for the above mentioned purposes.
April 14th, 2007 by Greg Steward
If your software budget is small (like mine) you might like have a concise guide to some good freeware out there.
Gizmo Richard has a good site with a link to his 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities. If you sign up for his newsletter, you will get access to a list that has an additional 56+ recommendations.
I don’t provide any tech support, so use at your own discretion.
Concerned about putting your email address on email lists? Here is a suggestion.
April 14th, 2007 by Greg Steward
From the ESV Blog
The ESV Literary Study Bible approaches the Bible as literature and shows how the application of literary tools of analysis helps tremendously in reading and understanding the Bible. Readers are introduced to the literary features of each book of the Bible and to each section within each book.
While traditional Bibles are reference books, this is truly a reader’s Bible. The format (single-column, black-letter, 8.5-point text, no section headings) and commentary make it ideal for private devotional reading, for preachers and Bible teachers, and for use in group Bible studies.
Download a 16-page brochure (1.3MB PDF) with sample pages from The Literary Study Bible.