Now that you’ve set up an account, you can start using some of the cool tools that Google offers. This week, we’re going to take a look at iGoogle:

Imagine this scenario: Each morning you sit down at your computer and do the following: you go to your email site to check for new messages; you visit  other sites to check your horoscope, to see what the stock market is doing, and to read the latest news headlines; a glance at a weather site helps you decide what to wear for the day; another site teaches you a new vocab word or provides an inspiration quote for the day; if you have time, you go to yet another page and play a quick game of online sudoku.

In that scenario, you have visited at least 5 or 6 different sites - and maybe even more!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a one-stop website with all of the information and tools you want right at your fingertips. Well, you’re in luck - that’s exactly what iGoogle provides for you!

Getting started:

1. 1.Go to www.google.com
   

2. 2.If you aren’t already logged in, click the Sign In link in the upper right corner.
   

3. 3.Click the iGoogle link in the upper right corner. (Note - you can easily toggle back and forth between the classic view and the iGoogle view.)
   
   

   

   
   

Setting up iGoogle:

Google will help you to set up your pages, and / or you can customize them manually.

Here are some options:

1. A.Tabs:
   You can organize your information within tabs that show at the left side of the screen. To add / edit tabs, click the triangle to access the drop down menu:
   

   

   
   
   
   
2. B.Themes:
   Each tab can have its own theme displayed at the top of the screen. Click the one of the links as shown below to select or change the theme.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
3. C.Gadgets (stuff):
   Now it is time to fill your tabs with stuff! Move to the desired tab first, then click the “Add stuff” link.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   Browse the gadgets by clicking the categories at the left, or use the search window at the upper right to find the desired gadgets:
   
   

   

   
   
   
   Click the “Add it now” button for each gadget you want on your page (for the Tab you selected). Then click the “Back to iGoogle home” link:
   

   

   
   
   
   
   You can drag and drop the gadgets to new locations on the page (just click and drag the top), and you can customize and edit them by clicking the triangle in the upper right corner: