5 Awesomely Useful Tools to Help Mac Lovers Get More Out of Google

If you have a Mac crush, and a Google addiction, then marrying the two can lead to some serious functionality improvements for your computer and your productivity.

Google has brought out countless applications over the years, and luckily has made sure that many can be used with Macs as well. Here is a list of 5 top Google applications that will make your life easier and help you get things done.

1. Precipitate

If you are an avid believer in mobile documents, and use Google Docs, then Precipitate will be a great tool for you.By using Spotlight, or Google Desktop, on your Mac you can search information stored in your Google Docs or Google Bookmarks.

The program works by saving file information on your Mac, which can then be searched using either your regular Spotlight feature. When dealing with many documents, and if you are never sure whether the document you need is saved on your hard drive or in your Google documents, this application is a real time saver.

2. Google Notifier

With Google Notifier you can easily check your email and upcoming Calendar events without having to open your browser.

If you like to be updated frequently with upcoming appointments added to your Google Calendar, and incoming email messages, then Google Notifier is a must-have.

3. Google Calendar Application

The Google Calendar Application is a plug-in for Google Desktop that displays your Google Calendar while you are offline or don’t have a browser open.

If syncing your Google Calendar with your Blackberry is something you’re already doing, instead of syncing iCal with your mobile device, then having the Calendar readily available on your desktop is a huge plus.

4. Google Reader Notifier

If you subscribe to RSS feeds in Google Reader, you will love this Notifier for your Mac. It automatically updates and displays any new stories received in your reader directly on your desktop: an icon is placed onto your menu bar showing whether there are any new unread items.

As an added bonus, you can play around with the settings to only display posts with particular tags. This application was not developed by Google, but nevertheless it integrates Google Reader beautifully with your Mac.

5. Upload Videos with Vidnik

If you upload videos to YouTube, then Vidnik is a handy tool that lets you use your built in iSight camera record videos and directly post them onto YouTube.

Vidnik lets you easily cut your movies to just the portion you want to keep, and upload them with a click of a button. If you have a video library of movies made in other programs you can just drag and drop them into Vidnik and use it as an up loader for those files as well.

Have you used any of these tools? Do you find them useful, and why?