(excerpt from talkincloud.com)The headline really says it all: TalkinCloud has learned — and Google has confirmed — Google has introduced a pilot program that enables select resellers to offer the Google Chromebook cloud-based laptops to their customers.Google has been promising some kind of channel play around Chromebooks since before they were officially launched earlier in 2011. TalkinCloud has consistently tracked the product’s progress through the enterprise space, but always through the lens that no, Google still hadn’t followed through. But now, thanks to a CRN report, we know Google has launched that program underneath our noses. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from mashable.com)

Google has announced a host of new features for Google+, including the ability to use Google+ from a Google Apps account.

When Google made Google+ available to all users earlier this fall, people who use Google Apps for work or personal use were left out in the cold. This was frustrating for many users, who, like me, use Google Apps to control the email account on their own domain name.

Domain administrators can manually turn on Google+ for an organization now and users who have chosen to automatically enable new services will get access in the next few days. Google detailed the change on the Google Enterprise Blog. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from fdlreporter.com)

A lot has changed in the way teachers teach and kids learn.

Educators and students are adapting to all the new high-tech means of communicating: blogs, Facebook, email accounts and educational networks like Google, Moodle and My Big Campus.

"Social networking is becoming the norm," said Mayville High School Principal Lee Zarnot.

In his rural school district, students in third through 12th grade are set up with Google gmail accounts and teachers are perusing students' work electronically.

For example, a student could be working on an essay in a Google document at the same time a teacher is editing the work.

"There's a big push to use Google apps these days. There's so much you can do through sharing homework assignments, reports and tests," Zarnott said. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from digitaljournal.com)Legiant, a leading provider of time and attendance software, today announced the release of Legiant Express for the Google Apps Marketplace™. Now the 4 million businesses who use Google Apps™ can utilize Legiant Express to track their time and attendance. Legiant Express provides organizations with a quick and user-friendly solution to manage employee timecards, schedules, and leave requests.

“Our goal with Legiant Express is to help small business owners better manage their workforce,” said Walter Ross, CEO. “By adding Legiant Express to the Google Apps Marketplace, we are providing businesses with a time and attendance system they can have up and running in a matter of hours, instead of weeks or months. Plus, features like single sign-on and the GPS employee map truly set us apart from other solutions.”

A 30-day, risk-free trial of Legiant Express is currently available on the Google Apps Marketplace. Legiant Express is an excellent entry-level solution for organizations with simple requirements that are ready to automate time and attendance immediately. Legiant Express is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, which requires no servers or software to be installed on the users’ network. However, a variety of data collection devices can be integrated with Legiant Express, including biometric fingerprint readers, proximity badge readers, and smart phones. For more information about Legiant Express visit the Google Apps Marketplace at http://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from siliconrepublic.com)

UCD is moving its email and calendaring for almost 22,000 students to Google Apps as part of a four-year contract that’s expected to save the university close to €250,000.

The new service replaces the university’s student email service, which had previously been based on Sun hardware. The email addresses haven’t changed as a result of the handover, retaining the same firstname.lastname@ucdconnect.ie format.

UCD first decided to switch email providers at the start of the year. To help the decision-making process, the university set up a technical review group, with substantial input from a customer group comprising students and staff. “I was very keen that the decision be made by them rather than the decision being influenced by the IT services department,” said Brian Morrissey, head of web services at UCD's IT services team.

The migration began last May after exams ended. Baker Security & Networks, a Google Enterprise partner, provided assistance in reviewing UCD’s project approach and advising on various aspects of the migration. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from onlineprnews.com)What has Netkiller been up to these past few weeks? Developing the first ever pure Google Apps cloud solution for an Ambulance Unit. Netkiller ( http://www.netkiller.com ) worked with the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps (FHVAC) to design and develop a cloud solution for storing and dispatching ambulance response in a timely and efficient manner. NICER was presented last week at Pulse Check, an annual volunteer ambulance conference.

NICER is built entirely on the Google Cloud platform, providing for secure connections and 99.9% up time guaranteed. Because NICER is built purely on this platform, it runs within your Google Apps for Education accounts without 3rd party applications. Google Apps for Education is a free suite of hosted email and collaboration applications for non-profit organizations.

So what exactly is NICER and how does it work? NICER is a case management system designed specifically for ambulance units. NICER uses 4 categories of information to effectively and efficiently store data: Hotline Call, Dispatch Information, Notification, and Crew. Throughout the emergency response all of these activities are logged and instantly entered into and accessible from the program database. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from tnooz.com)Forget Google and its push into the travel industry for a moment – less talked about is its drive to define how companies handle their web logistics.

One of the latest pushes from Google is for Google Apps, a stable of Google products under one umbrella, refining cloud technology so businesses can reap the benefits of its speed, accessibility and storage.

And in an industry full of skinny startups, perhaps such tools are a must.So, what are the business benefits?

UK broadcaster ITV recently become a high profile convert to the service, meaning its employees can use Google Mail, Calendar, Google Talk and Google Docs to share and co-author documents. [click to keep reading]

(excerpt from informationweek.com)

Google, Microsoft and others are pushing SaaS-based e-mail, word processing, collaboration, and more. We examine the case for cutting ties to on-premises office software.

(excerpt from oregonlive.com)The mad morning scramble to find your child's flash drive, containing his class project only to discover you washed it in his pants pocket the night before, could be over.

Oregon was the first state to sign up for Google Apps for Education in 2010 and make it available to K-12 school districts. The free program, with its host of tools, allows students to access their class work from home, the library or anywhere they have Internet access.

The two-inch long flash drive, a computer memory card, was the only way to take work home and it relied on the student having the same software as the school.

But the very thing that makes Google Apps so accessible and appealing worries some parents: They don't want Google or anyone outside the district to have access to their children's private information. [click to keep reading]