Google Pack

High-quality free software from Google in one big pack for all you XP folks.

http://pack.google.com

~Ulrika~

Thanks Ulrika

What's the name for this sort of "slim" approach to software? Some websites use the aesthetic: like very clean fonts, a sparse layout, sort of a stripped-down "just the features you're going to use, and if you want more you can add them as extensions or whatever" methodology. Does it have a name?

Some nifty stuff in the Google Pack, altho I was, for some reason, expecting a productivity application suite like Microsoft Office to be included. I wonder what Google's take on something like that would be.

Hmm. Spartan?

Nothing FREE about Norton's Anti-virus. Infact after your 6 month introductory virus signature updates, it will continue to remind you that you need to pay for the latest updates. I have no complaints otherwise.

"Spartan" ironically makes me think of an Apple, which makes me think of Macintosh computers.

I don't like Norton Antivirus very much. One reason is their sluggishness to provide updates. I find that particular inclusion to be odd.

Thanx, looking forward to that!

Oooo, thanks for the links! I was just reading about the Google Pack in the newspaper this afternoon.

Anybody who wants an open source office suite should check out Open Office. I've been using it for a year and find it fulfills most of my needs quite nicely. The only complaint I have is that its spreadsheet program isn't as full-featured as MS Excel, so I can't make it function more like a database as I could with Excel... or at least I haven't figured out how, yet.

I'm curious to see what Google will do, though they do seem to be spreading themselves a bit thin. Also, I can't help but get the nagging feeling that a productivity suite from them will be tracking and storing information. I like Google, but their growth is concerning. Little convenient applications here and there are a great way to hook people on their services, but concerns remain about what Google will do with all that data. The involvement of Sun also leaves me cold - they are not exactly stellar when it comes to application development. StarOffice is nice, but it ultimately leaves me with the feeling that they are trying so hard to copy Microsoft Office when instead they should focus on innovating. An Office clone may be impressive from a price standpoint, but from a technology standpoint it just seems derivative.

I downloaded and installed that a few days ago, its good for me since what I mostly use MSOffice for is the Word Processing part of it. Now I can probably get rid of MSOffice so I won't have to pay for it since my trial for it has just ended a few days ago.

We're wanting to roll out Open Office where I work, so I loaded it on my laptop this summer and left off MS Office. I took about 2 weeks of moderate usage to get the feel of it and now I don't even notice.

Although, I sometimes forget to save things in MS format before e-mailing them to other people. I then get calls from them wanting to know what they're supposed to do with an OSD file.

I think they already throwing people and money at open office, but it's most likely not ready for that sort of prime time pushing.
http://news.com.com/Google+throws+bodies+at+OpenOffice/2100-7344_3-5920762.html
Also, yes, the inclusion of Norton is kinda lame, considering there are perfectly good free alts, such as AVG.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Minimal(ism)?

If you get something to wipe the traces it was installed (or rebuild Windows, which I like to do every 6 months anyway) you can install it again and have it for another 6. I still prefer AVG though, Norton's too slow and intrusive.

I was kinda worried when I saw it was windows only, but then I saw that all this stuff (or similar), is included in the Mac OS-X system anyway.

The only exceptions are the two extras you have to be insane to install (Norton Anti-Virus & Adobe Acrobat), and the 3-D earth thingie. (too bad about that one )

Yes. Picassa (and its screensaver) is almost a complete clone of iPhoto.

Google working on a version of Google Earth for MacOS as we type.

~Ulrika~

I've been digging Writely when business requirements don't require Word.

There is also Zoho which I don't have that much experience with but lets you save files to pdf and doc.

I don't really want another stand-alone application, however if that's the way things will always be than I think the blogging/publishing extension of Flock are promising.

Even though it's alpha, I'm loving Flock btw. It makes Mozilla feel like a dinosaur

you must also really look forward to trips to the dentist :>

Yah, writely's pretty cool, and I think it can export .doc, so it can play ok with Word.

I actually find rebuilding Windows quite relaxing, plus it has the benefit of forcing me to tidy my desktop.

I do quite like going to the dentist though; I've inherited pretty good teeth so going to the dentist just means getting a good clean.

The solution.

I signed up for writely today so SDF members in N'burg could work on a platform for the upcoming elections collaboratively. It's a fantastic program. Thanks for posting it here.

~Ulrika~

Okay... I took a look at this page. Looking at the list of software included, I either already have it or I don't want it.

Google Earth - 3D Earth browser looks like a toy, no real intrest *shrug*

Google Desktop - Desktop companion just what I need, more garbage in my system tray eating resources and doing nothing useful

Picasa - Photo organizer there are a bazillion free photo organizers and editors around, is this one better? I've just been putting my photos into folders to organize them and using gimp for editing, since that's what I'm used to. Should I switch?

Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer - Search toolbar I don't use IE

Google Pack Screensaver - Photo screensaver windows comes with a screen saver to show photos from your hard drive, probably not as many bells and whistles, but then when I'm at my comp I don't usually stare at the screensaver and when I'm away it doesn't matter what it shows. I have my screen saver set to none and the powersave option taken to about 10 mins. Why burn electricity when no one is in the room?


Additional Software Included
Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar - Web browser already have this and use it

Ad-Aware SE Personal - Antispyware utility already have this and use it

Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition - Antivirus utility I used Norton for a while, but it was such a dog I changed to a different one. Biggest complaint: you can't choose the day/time when it does a system scan, its either on or off.

Adobe Reader 7 - PDF reader already have this and use it


Am I turning into a luddite?

Zuzu - Google Desktop's actually a search engine for your PC that indexes not only filenames but, in many cases, their contents, and your email too.

And Google Earth's awesome fun if you like exploring in SL - so many pretty mountain ranges and valleys to look at.

Other than that I agree though, it's either stuff I don't want or stuff I've got.