Google Docs

Google is showing signs that it intends to push harder into Microsoft Office territory. On Tuesday the company announced that users of its Google Docs service will get one gigabyte of free storage and be able to upload all file types, not just word processing, spreadsheet and presentation files.

Google has followed through on its promise in July to enable Google Docs users to establish shared folders. Far and away the most requested Google Docs feature, shared folders promises to make it far easier for groups to collaborate on documents.

Previously Google Docs users had to set the access permission status for documents, spreadsheets and presentations one at a time. But once Google has finished rolling out its latest round of Google Docs changes, all users will have to do to share items with others is to put them into a shared folder.

In these tough times we all need as many tips as we can get to save a few dollars.

The cost of buying a new desktop or laptop box is just the start. The price can double when you have to add in the software costs of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint), antivirus, and image editing software such as Adobe Acrobat.

Below are only a few free software options that are available to be downloaded from the Internet.

Office Applications

Google's reputation for maintaining user privacy took a hit last week when some Google Docs users found their online documents exposed to viewing by others.

"We've identified and fixed a bug which may have caused you to share some of your documents without your knowledge," the Google Docs team told users on Friday. "This inadvertent sharing was limited to people with whom you, or a collaborator with sharing rights, had previously shared a document."

Few Users Affected

Fast on the heels of Monday's launch of Google App Engine -- an initiative to open up Google's computing infrastructure to third-party developers -- Google has opened a new online store: the Google Solutions Marketplace, a portal for applications that make use of Google's APIs (application programming interfaces) or Google Gadgets.