No More Excuses: Google makes switch from Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL easy

If you are one of the large number of users stuck using AOL or wanting to migrate from Yahoo or Hotmail to Google's Gmail, it just got a whole lot easier.

TechCrunch has details of Google's new migration tools.

Now, I'd encourage users to take it one-step-further. Sign up for Google Apps, register a domain name and create your own name@business.com or name@yourname.com email address with a domain YOU control. Google Apps is free and a domain registration is $8-10/year.

Then whenever you change email service providers, intern providers, you can take your email address with you!

You'll thank me later.

Google Announces Mobile Phone Strategy

There will be no one "gPhone".

Deciding instead to concentrate on an open-source mobile phone platform, Google today announced plans to ship a developer kit in the coming weeks.

The first devices to run Google's new phone operating system are expected mid-next year and will not carry the Google brand. Rather, these devices will be made by one of several hardware manufacturers that belong to the newly-announced Open Handset Alliance.

More on this story:

• Where's my Gphone? (Official Google Blog)

Microsoft Takes Office Online, Answers Google

KXL Tech Expert Segment for 1 October 2007

Microsoft earlier this morning announced plans to offer users an online add-on for its popular Office productivity suite. The service, Office Live Workspace, gives users the ability to post 1000 documents online and is expected to be released into beta later this year.

In February Google released an enterprise version of its free applications Docs & Spreadsheets. Many are seeing today's announcement as a response to the Google Apps product.

For more information, check out this story from today's NY Times. To compare Office productivity suites, I recommend this chart over at Wikipedia.