About

Welcome on Google Apps Manual.

This blog intends to fill a void: a manual for aspiring Google Apps administrators who are getting lost.

What is lacking

Presently, there is no manual that I know of. There are several books, but mostly out-of-date (understandable given how fast Google evolves) and they are made of paper, not of electrons; they are not free either.

There is a lot of ressources on Googleverse. Most of this information is targeted toward latest evolution, but I have yet to find a consolidated document. Same goes for concise documents, or document to accompany beginners.

Finally, there is no Google Apps certification as of now. Microsoft certification exist (I am currently following one for Windows server 2008), as well as for Apple (but less and less people are interested into it, and for good reason). But not Google Apps certification yet, apart from the specific training for Educators). Google said they are planning to set up some, but this is still a work in progress.

Enter GoogleAppsManual.com

Goals of this blog are manifold:

• Latest tricks section. The usual “look-what-they-just-released” thing. Other sites will be better than GoogleAppsManual.com at this, so this will be a section meant for convenience, not for exhaustivity. Rumours shall be absent, too.
• Consolidated dossiers section. Made up of both my experience and the compilation of trick from the previous section
• Walkthrough section. Meant for newcomers. The ultimate goal is that people redirect newbies to this section when setting up now Google Apps domain.

English and Blogger

I am French and love French language and history and all (well, far from a blind love, but digress). Still, I decided to write in English and on Blogger. Why so?

Fist because of the audience, of course. But also because, when it comes to system administration, English is a best practice. English => more results in Google => faster response time => happier users. Despite my admiration (and occasional ramblings) toward English, I know my proficiency is somewhat accented (particularly when it comes to idiotisms and phrasial verbs); please native, correct me!

As for Blogger, this is because I consider blogging about Google shall be done with Google tools, no matter if you like them or not (I do not like Blogger, I prefer a self-hosted Drupal). On top of that, using a hosted solution also prevents wasting time and money on plugin and SEO (I know I could achieve a better result with custom-designed site, but the added complication is not worth it for me)

One more thing: don't expect any page to stand still. If I can find a way to rephrase, simplify or complement a post, I will and I won't warn you. See it as my own personal Google Apps wikibook. So you know.

By now, you should now I am a talkative kind of guy. Sorry about that. I'll try to be shorter in the future posts.