From previous posts you might remember my 'fanboi' status with regards to Google. I think the web-applications they make represent the cream of the crop with regard to both front-end functionality (Ajax, Web 2.0) and backend support (2GB+ for every gmail account isn't something to sneeze at)
So when I learned about Google Apps a while back I took notice but then decided it wasn't for me. You see, I had my own nifty Linux server that did everything for me: Mail, Web, etc. I like Linux, it makes me feel empowered.
However, there comes a point in one's life where one must admit defeat and recoup their losses. Linux has been good to me, but I haven't got the time and drive to maintain my own mailserver with any degree of proficiency right now. It takes a bit more than I can spend time on right now: making sure security is tight, keeping up with spam filtering trends, etc.
But most of all, I have a 'user' that uses the mailserver too: my lovely wife isn't a technophobe by any measure (she set up the PC when we moved it downstairs again), but when the mailserver (and the associated webmail apps) keep breaking down (partly due to my own incompetence), some frustration will show.
And to be honest I got fed up too: I've tried to find a good webmail package out there (Squirrelmail and Roundcube for example), but nothing really competes with the big boys out there: Google, Yahoo, AOL...
A small light started to shine at that point: what about Google Apps? Google Apps allows you to hijack some of the major functions your domain might need and host them on Google servers: Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Webpages, Chat and collaborative Word- and Spreadsheet documents. That's a lot!
The only prerequisite is that you have full control over your domain's DNS records. At a minimum, you need to be able to point your domain's MX records to google's servers. You also need to either be able to assign an CNAME record or upload an HTML file to show you have some control over the domain.
From there on in it's a breeze! You create users, each of which gets the familiar 2GB mail storage (that doesn't 'grow' like the normal gmail space does though) and any user can then use all of the functions you enable for your domain. The interfaces to these are all the ones you're used to if you've used any of those products individually before.
And it does take a lot of worry from your mind: Google has a reputation to uphold where stability is concerned, so I'm fairly confident my mail is safe. The spamfilter is one of the best I've seen around, so that is taken care of as well.
But most importantly the wife now has a stable platform for all her mails again. Long live Google and their apps!
4 comments:
Thnx for the hint/info/whatever. I know the situation (pretty similar on this side of the pond).
Made me think of what i'm using and i decided to switch the homegrown mash to a more stable service.
Now only convincing the misses to start using it ;)
As the non-technophobe wife I can heartily recommend Google. At least with this my mails go when I send them and don't just hang around on the screen to torment me.
Only downside is that the chat doesn't work on my work PC but that's something to do with the security at my end.
However, in terms of just being able to share things, like calendars and spreadsheets, I think it's great.
Google's apps are amazing, I'm a fan too. Integrating everything in to, let's say Blogger, takes a bit of work and having some software development experience helps a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it is a breeze. You'll see the results of my efforts once I release my wedding blog to the public... Huh? Did I say wedding? Yeah, I did :-)
Gratz!!! :) Looking forward to see you at the wedding!
Post a Comment