Google Apps for Business is no more free

Posted by BA on Dec 8, 2012 in Google, Google Apps, Internet | 0 comments

I’ve been using Google Apps for business for quite some time. It’s an amazing service especially when it comes for free. This includes your own domain configured with Google mail, Google docs, Google Calendar and a number of Google services. Today we got email from Google intimating that this services is no more available for free. If you have a business and a domain name, you can still get this service for as low as $5 per user per month. You can find more details here: http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/pricing.html

Existing customers like me don’t have to panic yet, though you never know how it unfolds in near future. Existing Google apps accounts will continue to function as usual.

There’s a good news for educational institutions though. If you are a university or college with a .edu domain, you can still get this amazing service for free. Get your educational institution ported over to Google Apps using this quick link.

Done with the Google account dilemma

Posted by BA on May 15, 2011 in Gmail, Google, Google Apps, Google Maps, Google Voice | 0 comments

I’m sure there are many of you out there who have gone through the Google Account dilemma when using a Google Apps account. Google Apps is a service that allows you to use many of Google’s main services with your own domain or with your company domain. I use it with basitali.com as well. My email @basitali.com essentially was a GMail like address that could sign for Google Talk, Google Maps and many other services.

Apparently, Google had not decided what to do with such Google Apps account with many of these services. So, when signing up for Picasa for example, you can use a)  A Gmail account, b) A Google account with google apps email address, c) Any other email address.

Now, I was having conflicting accounts as Google defines and finally the day has come. From 16th May, all your services that you are using with  your Google Apps email address which may be considered as a Google Apps account or considered as a non Google email address, both will be merged.

Google has planned to make the transition as smooth as possible, but there are still some rough areas. I’ll be blogging more about them as the things happen.

So far I have moved all my services to the Google Apps account email address and the services are no more available with a non Google Apps address now. Transition which did not work or was not allowed were:

* Now Google Voice automatic transition available yet

* No Gmail transition possibilities yet

I’ll keep updating this post as I get to see more problems or issues regarding this service. You can read more about this transition here: http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=183605

How Google Apps can help in classrooms

Posted by BA on Oct 5, 2010 in Communication, Google, Google Apps, Internet, Technology, Training | 1 comment

When I was in school, the Internet did not exist at all. I’m really happy for some of the kids if not all of them, to have access to the tools that prepare them for the future. While I go down the memory lane to thank all my teachers, I want you to please watch this video shared by Google discussing how Google apps can help school children to learn better and how they can be beneficial for the teachers in the classrooms.

Once you have seen above video, I want all you thinkers to suggest, how can we use technology in our schools in Pakistan, where access to technology is scarce and drive to bring the change is very low. I don’t say that the traditional teaching methods are incorrect, but we need to bring the change, jump ans skip the techniques being used in recent past by the modern school systems and to adopt the latest teaching and learning methodologies in our classrooms.  What do you think?