Google recently applied for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the right to buy and sell electricity from renewable sources, much like utility companies, according to a New York Times article.

Google has a philanthropy established through Google.org, and has invested $45 million since 2007 to research global issues, including energy efficiency and innovation. One of the new services launched by Google is “Google PowerMeter,” a free tool that measures the amount of electricity used in a household throughout the day.

Despite the philanthropic arm, Google is still a for-profit company. Should extra energy be created from this project that Google doesn’t use, it can be sold back to the power grid. “We’d be delighted if some of this stuff actually made money, obviously; it is not our goal to not make money. All else being equal, we’d like to make as much money as we can, but the principal goal is to have a big impact for good,” said Bill Weihl, Google’s “Green Energy Czar,” in an interview with the New York Times on Thursday.

“There are three areas we’re looking at: concentrated solar thermal, enhanced geothermal and high-altitude wind,” Weihl said. Concentrated solar thermal uses special mirrors rather than panels to collect sunlight, and geothermal collects steam from water thrown on heated rocks deep in the earth, closer to the magma layer. Google’s research team is even considering going into the jet stream to collect wind power.

This green initiative and desire to become a power broker hasn’t been without criticism. Critics say Google is attempting to do too many things at once, or trying to control everything off- and on-line.

I think Google is one of the few companies with the money, time, resources and commitment to revolutionize the way we collect and distribute our energy. Full steam ahead, Google, especially if the steam will keep my lights on one day.

Launched in 2005 by the IT genius that is Google Labs, Google Reader offers users more control over how they view their news feeds. According to your preferences, you can customize your options to display tidbits from all of your chosen websites, blogs, and news feeds, regardless of how often they are updated.

With Google Reader, you can search for content, stay up to date with all the latest happenings from anywhere in the world, and share content with all of your contacts.

Search

The integrated feed search provides ample opportunity to discover new sources of content that interests you.

To find new content:

1. Enter a search term in the field at the top of the page.
2. Click “Search for new content.”
3. Preview items by clicking on the titles that interest you.
4. Click on the subscribe button to receive updates from that website.
5. Click on “Click to return home” in the subscription notification to return to the home page.

To add a feed with the feed URL:

1. Click on the “Your subscriptions” tab.
2. Click on the “Add a feed” link.
3. Paste the feed URL into the field that appears.
4. Press the Preview button.
5. If the blog in the preview pane interests you, press the Subscribe button.

Organize

The Reader interface is well-organized, allowing quick and easy access to all its functions. Updates to websites and blogs that interest you appear on the left side bar and can be listed in order of date or relevance. They can also be labeled and flagged with “stars,” a common concept used in Gmail. The keyboard shortcuts and ability to switch between a list view and expanded view add to the convenience.

To organize your feeds:

1. Select the title in the sidebar and click the Up or Down arrows.
2. Click the star icon on the left of the title to flag those entries for future reference.
3. Click on the “Starred” link at the top of the page to view all flagged entries.

To view older feeds:

1. Click on the link “Click here to view older items from this source.”
2. Click on the title in the sidebar that interests you.
3. Click on the link “Show original item” in the main window to be redirected to the source.

To unsubscribe:

1. Click on the title in the sidebar.
2. Click on the dropdown menu for “More Actions.”
3. Select “Unsubscribe” from the menu.

Share

Google Reader keeps you in touch with your friends by allowing you to share links with them, place items on your public page through the share icon that appears on myriad websites, and add customized clips from your website or blog. Many users have raised the issue of being able to use Google Reader for social networking sites such as orkut, facebook, and myspace. This may become a possibility in the near future.

To share items through Gmail or your blog:

1. Click on the title in the sidebar.
2. Click on the dropdown menu for “More Actions.”
3. Select “Gmail This” or “Blog This” from the menu.

To place items on your public page:

Click the + Google button that appears in the sidebar of pages that can be added.

Access

If you have a special iGoogle page set up for your homepage, Google Reader has a special gadget for it that provides updates on all the websites you’re currently tracking. The Reader works on cell phones that use XHTML or WAP 2.0 just as easily, keeping you in-the-know wherever you are. Similar to the Google Toolbar, all your items saved on Google Reader can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet, anywhere in the world. All you have to do is log in to Google Accounts and you’re good to go. Firefox aficionados will be happy to note that the Reader is also included with Firefox 2.0. It’s also configured to work on a Wii web browser.

To access Google Reader through your cell phone:

1. Add the Google Reader application to iGoogle by clicking the Add to Google button on this link.
2. Select the iGoogle website on your cell phone browser.

For Wii users, youtube has a special video with detailed instructions on how to setup your Wii to make use of Google Reader. You can also get a first-hand look at what Google Reader is capable of through the Wii browser. Here is the video:

Work Offline

For those who can’t be online 24/7, the Reader allows you to download up to 2,000 items for offline access, and then updates the items once you go back online.

To work offline:

1. Download the Google Gears application.
2. Click Enable when prompted.
3. Open Google Reader and click the offline icon.
4. Click Agree.
5. Click on the round green icon at the top right-hand side of the page to download the first 2000 updates to your feeds, which you have not yet read.
6. When the download is complete, the green icon will turn grey.
7. Turn off your Internet connection.
8. Browse through the downloaded titles in the left sidebar of the Google Reader page.

To update offline content:

1. Turn on your Internet connection.
2. Refresh your Google Reader page.
3. Repeat the process for downloading new updates.

Help

The official Google Reader blog offers invaluable guidance on various aspects of using the application. The blog is supported by various contributors, each of whom provides details, links, or images to assist you through the process that they describe. If you run into any trouble along the way, Google Reader Help has an entire forum for discussions among the Google community of users and technicians. Help for your specific problem can be sought or provided to another user in the community. One other particularly useful website gives you flash images of screenshots that take you through the process of using Google Reader one step at a time.

You may have heard of the Wikia Search launch rumored to be this Monday.  This may or may not be news to you and whether or not you care – Wikia Search still has blogs chatting it up and there are mixed emotions on its success. 

Just as Wikipedia became popular, Wikia Search will allow users to essentially dominate the content and build itself from the ground up by editing search results that are received from queries inputted by the users themselves.  A private beta was previously released on the new search engine and the internet has been relatively quite regarding the product until now. 

Contrary to some individual beliefs, most likely from those working on Wikia Search, I do not see this new search engine putting Google out of business or even slightly behind on the popularity polls.  Google has made several highly intelligent business collaborations (Google Earth is most frequently recognized) which should keep Google as the front runner.

Internet users consistently use their search engine of choice to quickly find what they are looking for and heavily rely on the contents validity.    The major error that I foresee having with Wikia Search is not always finding reliable content and being given user-driven information that promotes other intentions such as irrelevant Websites and/or spam.  Not to mention that the Grub client needs to be downloaded and run in order to fully benefit from all Wikia Search plans to offer.

Pending the final release, Wikia Search has the potential to surprise anyone.  However, I am placing my bet that Google will not be phased the least bit – despite of any success derived from the new Wikia search engine.

I have now been to Stone Henge, the Great Wall of China, and the pyramids of Egypt all in a single day. How did I accomplish this miraculous feat? I used Google Earth, a wonderful program released by those guys over at Google. While I am sure its intention was to act more as a way to find directions and maps to places you might go. I have found that it does this and is a great way to explore the world without having to spend thousands of dollars on travel. Not only that but it is just plain fun!

In order to enjoy the experience that is offered by Google Earth first you need to download the program (which is conveniently offered as part of their service pack). Then open it up, type in the address or location where you want to go and watch as you fly over the globe and to a birds eye view of your destination. While using it as a form of recreation is great it is also a highly valuable tool in learning more about the world and teaching children that there is more out there than the area they live in.