Tag Archives: google

The Google Drive software is being replaced

Google is discontinuing the Google Drive software that synchronizes files from your computer to the cloud. The software is being replaced with two new options, outlined in our Google Drive Notice. The Google Drive online service (https://drive.google.com) is not changing, and can be accessed on the web or using one of the replacements below. On December 11, 2017 Google stopped supporting the Drive software. On March 12, 2018, the Drive software will stop working.

If you use Google Drive strictly via the website (https://drive.google.com) and do not use the Google Drive software on your Mac or PC to synchronize your files to the cloud, then you will not be affected by the changes listed below. However, you should still consider the new functionality offered by Google and described in our Google Drive Notice.
Of the two replacement options made available by Google (Drive File Stream and Backup & Sync),

ITS recommends that users of the Google Drive software install Drive File Stream to access their Middlebury Google Drive. Drive File Stream frees up disk space, decreases sync time and minimizes the amount of Middlebury data stored on your computer. The other option available, Backup and Sync, does not offer these advantages.

To install Drive File Stream, for a comparison of options or for more information, please see the Google Drive Notice.

Google Apps dropping support for IE8 on 11/15/2012

Internet Explorer 10 launches on 10/26/2012, and as a result, Google will discontinue support for Internet Explorer 8 shortly afterwards, on 11/15/2012. After this date users accessing Google Apps services using Internet Explorer 8 will see a message recommending that they upgrade their browser.

The latest versions of Google Chrome and Firefox are the recommended web browsers for Middlebury’s Google Apps instance.

Read more about this announcement from Google here.

Middlebury Google Apps: Drive = Documents

Over the next several weeks, Google is releasing Google Drive — the newest member of the Google Apps suite, where you can keep everything and share anything. Google Drive replaces and enhances what you know today as your Google documents list.

What is Google Drive? 

With Google Drive, you can securely upload any file or folder to the web and access the most up-to-date versions of those files from anywhere. You can access Google Drive in your web browser and can also download the Drive application to your Mac, PC, Android or iOS devices to seamlessly access files across any of these devices. You will have 5GB of included storage space for your Google Drive. For more information on Google Drive functionality, please see the product overview page or visit drive.google.com/start.

How will Google Drive be made available to Middlebury Google Apps?

Google Drive will become available on an opt-in basis over the next several weeks. Because Google is releasing Google Drive gradually, some users may not be able to get started immediately, but you can request to be notified when Google Drive is ready for you to opt in.

In the coming months, Google Drive will become the default and will replace the documents list as the way for users to access their files and documents. At this time, all users will have access to the desktop sync clients and mobile applications.

How is the Google Drive online interface different from my current Google documents list?

The Google Drive online interface looks similar to today’s Google documents list with a number of improvements, including new ways to organize your files and enhanced search functionality.

Learn more

To learn more about Google Drive functionality, please visit the Google Drive Help Center.

–Chris

A New Look for Middlebury Google Apps

Earlier this year, Google announced a project to bring a new and improved Google experience. Google began rolling out a new look and feel across products to make the interfaces consistent, streamlined, and easy to use. The new look is a permanent change for all Google Apps users and the schedule will be as follows.

Docs: Tuesday December 13, 2011
Sites: Tuesday December 13, 2011
Calendar: Beginning of January 2012

Feel free to write to gadmin@middlebury.edu with any questions!

–Chris

Does tagging content make it easier to find with search? No.

I’ve received this question from several people now. Below are two videos from Matt Cutts who works on Google’s Webspam team explaining how tagging content mostly does not affect their search results. This also means that tagging largely will not affect how results appear on Middlebury’s site, since we use Google to provide our search results.

Tags

Tag Clouds

This does not mean that you shouldn’t tag content at all. Tags can still be useful for humans who want to find other posts and pages on a topic. However, if you want your page to be easier to find, your time is better invested in making sure that the content is well written, structured and relevant to a particular topic.

Google Search your Site(s)!

Editors on the Middlebury and MIIS sites can now add a search box to their site that returns results from the current site, or a list of sites you specify. When you click “Add” in the Edit Console in Drupal, you’ll see a new content type named “Google Search”. Continue reading →