Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
December 24, 2006

Volume 2, Number 28 — Sunday, December 24, 2006

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

3. Google Pack - A Free Software Assortment

Google, the makers of my favorite search engine, have expanded beyond the search frontier. For a while, they've been offering some neat software packages that are free to download and free to use, too.

One of the first things they made was a Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. Not only did it give an easy interface for searching Google, it provided an effective popup blocker — something that IE was sorely lacking.

They created a cool software package called Google Earth that is a 3D Earth browser. We can zoom from space to street level, even seeing details like cars in driveways and airplances on runways.

They bought a neat photo organizer called Picasa, which enables its users to find, edit and share photos easily.

Google Desktop indexes our hard drives and email to provide Google's legendary searchability of our own data.

Then, they added the Google Screensaver, which lets you use your collection of images and photos to create a full-screen photo screensaver or a photo collage screensaver.

And, best of all, Google finally combined all of these into one easy-to-download, easy-to-install free software package called Google Pack.

Google Pack is a great package of utilities and tools (let's not call them "toys" although they've got plenty of potential there, too!). With a photo album, better searching of your computer, popup blocking and integral Google searching for IE,

If you use Internet Explorer, you need the Google Toolbar for IE.

Of course, I recommend Firefox for general use. I use IE only when I need it for specific sites and to check web pages that I create.

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4. Reader Feedback

Subscriber Tommy Minton wrote recently:

Terry, thanks for your weekly "Terry's Computer Tips" e-mail edition newsletter.
[Nov.26th issue]

I found this weeks edition very informative as I have been having 2 of the problems you noted and offered the solution.

1st was the problem with the IE7 Menu Bar.

2nd was the HOWTO: Writing Files to CD's with Windows XP in the On-Line Issue.

My son-in-law and I both took an untold amount of time trying to transfer some files to a CD. Your suggestion seems to be "Made To Order" and I want to save the directions since we don't burn to a CD very often.

Carver Smith wrote to say