Users who participate in the Google Apps for Your Domain service from Google have a new option available, a custom start page for members of the organization.

This centralized start page shows the visitor their Gmail and Google Calendar information, plus customized content as provided by the administrator. Mike Horowitz, a product manager for Google Apps for Your Domain, wrote about the new service at Google's Official blog:

With this, organizations can provide a dynamic and unique-to-you central access point for essential information. Setting it up is quick and easy -- much like setting up a Google Personalized Homepage -- but with custom logos, colors and your organization's own content, in addition to modules from our gadget library. Then each of your users can take your organization's default page and change it up so it's just right for them.
Google combined Gmail, Calendar, Google Talk, and Page Creator to form the initial Apps offering in August. Some thought this would be the opening salvo in a full-fledged online productivity suite that would compete with Microsoft, but even with the combination of Google's Spreadsheets and the Writely word processor that has not materialized.

The newly-debuted customization option provides the Domain Apps administrator an Ajax interface for creating the start page. Organization logos and design, along with Google services, can be dragged and dropped onto the page.

Admins can further customize what users will see on the start page by adding more content, including text, images, HTML code, and RSS feeds. Modules and Google Gadgets can be placed as desired, and the admin can switch around content to suit changing needs.

Google said at the Domain Apps launch it was working on a premium version, with pricing and features to be announced. Also, since Google tends to roll out updates to its products roughly every couple of months, we expect to see Docs & Spreadsheets integrated into Apps at some point.

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Tag: Google

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