Google Yahoo Msn Update

Google updates Gmail for iPad, Android and iPhone

2010-05-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Google has adjusted the look of its email service, Gmail, for users who access their accounts via gmail.com on Android, iPhone and iPad devices.

The minor changes alter how senders are added to messages, and do not affect the native Gmail apps that most users of Android phones send email through.

The move builds on Google's decision to rewrite the code on which the web app is based so that it is easier to adjust in future.

This stage of enhancements allows users to simply type a fellow Gmail adopter's username and the programme will now automatically fill in the rest of the address. Other changes reveals the list of recipients of a message more completely, so that individual addresses are easier to remove even if they are towards the beginning of a long list. Contacts that have been entered into a Gmail field are now also clickable boxes, allowing users to inspect their details more closely.

A list of top contacts has also been added, and the app now fills the entire screen. These features are likely to be particularly relevant to iPad users, who have significantly larger screens at their disposal.

The moves mean that the official Google Mail app now has considerably fewer features than the web-based version. Google has previously said that a new release .

Google Apps updates: Enough to compete with Office 2010?

2010-05-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

As with most effects in tech, that depends. As Sam Diaz pointed out in his coverage of the updates from the Atmosphere event Monday, “Google has been aggressively targeting its cloud-based Google Apps at the enterprise, hosting events like these to spread the word on the strength of the suite.” So has Google made its case?

In many ways, the polish and enhancements represented by these updates are just enough to provide the average user with everything they need: more reasonable control of layout, improved formula handling, better previews, and improved fidelity. The very fact that Docs (when enabled as shown in the image below) has a ruler with tab stops, margins, and indents will adequately Microsoft-ize the interface for a lot of users.

Major Update for Google Docs

2010-05-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

Google Docs has been continuously updated since 2006, Writely and Google Spreadsheets have merged, but adding new features became increasingly difficult. Now that browsers are much better than they were four years ago and cutting-edge apps like Google Wave can run in a browser, it was time for a new beginning.

"We decided to rebuild the underlying infrastructure of Docs to give us greater flexibility, improved performance and a better platform for developing new features quickly. Today, we're pleased to announce preview versions of the new Google document and spreadsheet editors and a new standalone drawings editor, all built with an even greater focus on speed and collaboration," says Jonathan Rochelle.

The new versions of the Google Docs will be rolled out in the coming days and you'll be able to try them when you see a message at the top of the page: "New version".

Besides using a new infrastructure, the document editor and the spreadsheet editor will add many new features. The document editor has real-time editing, sidebar chat, a new commenting system, better formatting and an improved importing feature. The spreadsheet editor brings back auto-complete, adds a formula bar for editing cells and you can now drag and drop columns.

There's also an application for creating drawing collaboratively: Google Drawings. "The new standalone drawings editor lets you collaborate in real time on flow charts, designs, diagrams and other fun or business graphics. Copy these drawings into documents, spreadsheets and presentations using the web clipboard, or share and publish drawings just like other Google Docs."

Google Updates Its Image Search for Android 2.1 and iPhone 3.0+

2010-05-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today google announced on its blog that they have upgraded the mobile Image Search on Android 2.1 and iPhone OS 3.0+ devices.

It’s a typically Google update, in that the revamp will provide more speed and less clutter — two things that are always welcome.

There will now be more thumbnails per screen, and a quick swipe to the left or right will have you move between pages of results.

After clicking on a thumbnail, the images will be presented fullscreen on a plain black background (try saying that 6 times quickly), with the text disappearing after a few moments.

All in all, it’s a nice, clean, fast upgrade: a win in my books.

Google Updates Platform Version Stats Yet Again, 2.1 Finally In The Lead

2010-05-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Once another time Google has updated their platform version chart, and this time OS Version 2.1 has something to celebrate.

If you haven’t been keeping track, Google has a chart that illustrates the breakdown of Android versions on devices currently in the wild. This is done primarily so developers will know what version to develop for, but has also been used as ammunition for Android’s detractors who like to bring up fragmentation as one of Android’s biggest flaws.

Google API Update Pushes Real-Time Feeds to Browser

2010-05-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Google plans to start a new revision of its Feed API this week at Google I/O, which will allow real-time feed updates to be pushed to Web browsers.

Google confirmed the update to ReadWriteWeb, who discovered a YouTube unlisted video describing the new updates.

Basically, the update is simple, yet powerful. Normally, RSS and other feed readers periodically ping the feed APIs for updates. When the feeds are displayed on a Web page, they're dynamically generated, but the feed (at least in the browser) remains static until the API calls the feed again.

Google's new Feed API allows the feeds to push updates to the browsers, with minimal code revisions (as described in the video).

Google confirmed to RWW that the new API will be officially launched this week at the Google I/O conference, which begins Wednesday in San Francisco. At that time, the http://code.google.com/apis/feed/push API link will also go live.

This week in search 5/14/10

2010-05-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

This is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed. This week, we announced a number of new search enhancements.

Google Translate learns and speaks new languages

This week, we launched 5 new "alpha" languages on Google Translate — Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Georgian and Urdu. We also extended our support for spoken translations to 29 more languages. With these launches, you can now translate text, webpages and documents between 57 languages, and hear translations spoken in 36 languages. For many search queries where you want to translate a word or a phrase, we offer a translation powered by Google Translate directly in our search results. We also recently added romanization to this feature — when translating to or from a foreign language, you can now see the translation written phonetically in roman characters

Twenty more languages in Google search get virtual keyboard

Recently, we announced that we've integrated virtual keyboards into Google Search homepages in 35 languages. Virtual keyboard lets you type directly in your local language script in an easy and consistent manner, no matter where you are or what computer you’re using. Feedback is always important to us, and we were excited to get more than three thousand votes for other languages you felt the keyboard should be launched in. Today, we're happy to announce that we are adding Virtual Keyboard to another 20 languages — making it now available in 55 languages.

For those of you who speak a language we don't yet support, we're hard at work adding the virtual keyboard into more languages listed in Google Language Tool page. You can also vote for the languages you'd like us to add next. We always appreciate your feedback as we continue our efforts to help you input text in your desired languages as easily as possible.

Example languages we added this week:

* Amharic * Bengali * Danish * Estonian * Gujarati * Kannada * Lithuanian * Latvian * Maltese * Marathi * Nepali * Norwegian * Oriya * Punjabi * Brazilian Portuguese * Romanian * Sanskrit * Tamil * Telugu * Tigrinya

Finding short answers This week, we introduced a new feature that brings the technology of Google Squared right to your search results. Squared makes it easier to highlight answers for fact-based queries, so you can get more accurate answers, faster. Now, you'll see these answers right at the top of your search results, brought to you from across the web. And, we've also made sure this feature works great on mobile browsers.

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Rich snippets go international

2010-05-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

As part of our efforts to make search results more useful than our users around the world, we’re announcing the international availability of rich snippets. If you’ve been following our blog posts, you already know that rich snippets let users see additional facts and data from your site in search results.

For example, we recently launched rich snippets for recipes which, for certain sites, lets users see quick recipe facts as part of the snippet and makes it easier to determine if the page has what they are looking for

We’ve had a lot of questions on our blogs and forums about international support for rich snippets - and we know that many of you have already started marking up your content - so today’s announcement is very exciting for us.

In addition to adding support for rich snippets in any language, we have published documentation on how to mark up your sites for rich snippets in the following languages: simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. (You can change the Help language by scrolling to the bottom of the help page and selecting the language you want from the drop-down menu.)

We encourage you to read the documentation to take an advantage of the different types of rich snippets currently supported: people profiles, reviews, videos, events and recipes. You can also use our testing tool (in English only, but useful to test markup in any language) and start validating your markup to make sure results show as you would expect.

Finally and as you’ve probably heard by now (several times), we’re taking a gradual approach to surface rich snippets. This means that marking up your site doesn’t guarantee that we’ll show rich snippets for your pages. We’re doing this to ensure a good experience for our users; but rest assured we’re working hard to expand coverage and include more web pages

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Google Updates, News and Downloads

2010-05-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Google Wave

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Yahoo Updates Desktop Search Marketing Tool

2010-05-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

During SMX West last week, Yahoo announced an update to its Yahoo Search Marketing Desktop tool for managing PPC campaigns. If you weren’t at the show to see it yourself, this Yahoo blog post details some of the upgrades that are now available:

Bulk editing: Easily makes mass changes to settings such as status, match types and budgets within an intuitive interface; increase or decrease multiple keyword bids; and to export your view of keywords, ads, ad groups and campaigns into Excel for use however you wish.
Campaign transfer: Import your third-party campaign data in one easy step.
Keyword research: Use our keyword suggestion engine to find and add new, relevant keywords to your campaigns; get URL-based keyword suggestions to increase your keyword relevance and improve your performance; that export the keyword suggestions into Excel to share this information or to add tracking URLs.
Find, replace and search: Find and replace text in ads, keywords, ad groups and campaigns;and in search for specific campaigns, ad groups, ads, or keywords in your account; or search for information in any of the account tabs.
Account performance statistics: Retrieve status and statistics for your account’s impressions, clicks, CTR, cost, ad quality scores and other information.

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MSN preview updates My Apps

2010-05-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

Looks like the msn.com preview has been updated, or at least with “my apps” portion of the home page. Before, there were three tabs, for Facebook, Twitter, and Windows Live, and with a separate Hotmail section, but now two new apps have been added: Weather and Bing Maps:

Clicking on each of the apps opens a live fly-out window, in this case each showing a live Bing Maps that you can interact with, including traffic information, but My Apps shows updated information for each of the apps even before opening them up.

This is a nice improvement over the first attempt at My Apps, although interestingly the Windows Live section has apparently been dropped. Here’s a screenshot from all our original post on the new (US version)

The new page already has a Bing Maps tab (although without the nice live map in the flyout) and a Weather tab, so we’re not sure why they need to be on the home page twice, but this preview is obviously still a work in progress

Google updates Google Goggles app with language translation

2010-05-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

Google has updated their Google Goggles application, adding with a language translator tool if you're afraid of ordering something scary on the menu that you can't understand.

Google has updated their Google Goggles application to version 1.1, adding with a language translator tool if you’re afraid of ordering something scary on the menu that you can’t understand.

To take advantage of these new-found language skills, the user must point the camera with the phone towards the text, snap the photo and hope that Google Goggles can read it.

Initially, supported languages are English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. It looks like Google is trying to get all of the Latin-based languages out of the way first, but Chinese, Hindi and Arabic support should be available very soon.

Google Goggles v1.1 is supported by devices using Android 1.6 and higher, and owners can head to the Android Market for the download or scan the bar code from the Google Mobile’s official blog.

Yahoo Updates Toolbar and Bookmarks

2010-05-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yahoo is releasing a new version of its toolbar with a powerful new bookmarking feature that integrates seamlessly with Yahoo web search, and features a "radical" new user interface.

The new Yahoo toolbar has an improved search function that uses an auto-complete feature to make suggestions as you type. Yahoo has also made it easier to create your own custom buttons on the toolbar. If you want to create a button that takes you to a particular site, enter its URL and Yahoo will automatically search for the site's favicon logo and use it for the button, if one is available.

The new toolbar goes beyond simply saving the title and URL of a web page, which is what most bookmarking tools do. Instead, the new Yahoo bookmarks service stores a thumbnail image of a page, and optionally save the full text of a web page.

Adding a thumbnail image to a bookmark helps recall—it's easier for people to remember an image of a page than it is to recall what a page is about from a simple title and URL, in most cases.

Yahoo has also made it easier to organize your bookmarks with this new version. "If you have a huge list of bookmarks, the new version of Yahoo bookmarks allows you to organize those in a very convenient fashion," said Tomi Poutanen, Yahoo's director of product management for social search.

The bookmarking feature uses folders as an organizing scheme. You can save a bookmarked page directly into an existing folder, or create a new one on the fly as you're saving a bookmark. You can also manage your bookmarks later and create as many new folders as you like.

You can also add tags to your bookmarks, again either when you initially save one or later. If you check the "use tags" box as you're saving a bookmark, Yahoo will suggest tags to associate with a page, but I found these suggestions ranged from unhelpful to downright worthless as meaningful tags for most of the pages I bookmarked.

Alternately, you can save pages without worrying about categorization or tagging. By default, bookmarks not saved into a folder are placed in an "uncategorized" folder. To organize bookmarks, you can simply drag the thumbnail image of a page into a folder, or mark selected pages and move them all with a single command. There are also folders that display recently saved bookmarks and frequently used bookmarks.

You can edit bookmarks, adding additional information such as tags, a description, or comment.

Google Chrome beta update integrates Flash Player plug-in

2010-05-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Google has announced the availability of version 5.0.375.29 of Chrome for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, the latest betas of its WebKit-based browser in each platform. According to the developers, the latest Chrome betas incorporate the "most significant speed and the performance increases to date" over the previous beta channel releases and includes a number of new features.

Based on its own V8 and SunSpider JavaScript engine benchmarks, Google says that the 5.0.375.29 betas have improved by up to 30% and 35%, adding that they are more than upto two or three times faster than the very first Chrome beta. New HTML5 features added to the betas includes support for geolocation APIs, application caching, web sockets and file drag-and-drop capabilities.

Bookmark sync, which allows users – via their Google Account – to synchronise their bookmarks across all of their computers, can now also sync browser preferences, such as themes, homepage and start-up settings. Other changes include the ability to install and to use extensions while in incognito mode and initial integration of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in for Chrome. The developers note that, for security and stability reasons, the Flash Player plug-in will automatically be kept up to date with the latest security and feature updates via Chrome's auto-update mechanism.

As with all the development releases, used in production environments and on mission critical systems is not advised. Users testing the release are encouraged to provide feedback and report any bugs that they encounter. All beta users are advised to upgrade to the latest release.

More details about the release can be found in the release notes and announcement blog post on the Google Chrome Blog. Chrome 5.0.375.29 is available to download for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

5 Best Looking Super Heroes Themes For Google Chrome

2010-05-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

We at ChromePlugins.org always try to get some these things which are not easily known about the Google Chrome browser. As you might be aware that there are quite a few themes that are available which can be dowloaded from the Official Google Chrome Themes Gallery, but there are also a lot more themes (and better looking themes) outside the official gallery as well.

We are listing some of the best super heroes based themes for the Chrome browser. Many of these themes were actually requested by users here.

Night Spidey – Spider Man Theme

Iron Man Theme

Superman Returns Theme

Wolverine X-Men Theme

Hulk – Incredible Chrome Theme

Google Chrome update: Speed, performance and a deeper push into browser computing

2010-05-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

A new beta version of the Google Chrome browser released today is boasting some pretty impressive speed boosts, with improvements of 30 percent and 35 percent on the V8 and Sun Spider benchmarks over the previous version. In a post on the Google Chrome blog, the company said Chrome’s performance has improved by as much as 213 percent and 305 percent on the two benchmarks since the browser’s first beta.

But it’s not just the speed and performance that the company is bragging about. The new betas - which are available to download for PC, Mac and Linux - includes new feature, such as browser settings synchronization that allows users to “sign-in” and keep their themes, homepage and start up preferences in sync with other computers.

The sync feature, though sort of hidden in the browser’s drop-down menus, is an important feature because it takes us - and Google - one step closer towards a browser-based computing experience, such as the one that Google is building with its Chrome OS. In addition, Chrome extensions can now be installed and used in the browser’s incognito mode.

It also includes “the goodness of some new HTML5 features, namely Geolocation APIs, App Cache, web sockets, and file drag-and-drop capabilities.” Finally, the browser also has support for Adobe’s Flash Player plug-in. Google explains:

This is the first Chrome beta that features initial integration of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in with Chrome, so that you can browse a rich, dynamic web with added security and stability — you’ll automatically receive security and feature updates for Flash Player with Chrome’s auto-update mechanism.

Google provides more useful ‘apps’

2010-05-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

BY NOW, most know that Google is about far more than search.

Gmail, Google maps, and Blogger are used widely. But those “applications” are just a hint of what this Internet behemoth offers under the hood of its famous search engine. Here’s a rundown of some useful Google gems that you may not know about – but probably should:

l Mobile Smart phone's are what’s hot in technology today, and that fact isn’t lost on Google.

The company has exported some of its best applications to the mobile market. It’s just that finding them isn’t always easy, and many people still use a Smart phone, often clunky, built- in browser to access the web and perform searches.

Google Mobile changes that. Just point your phone’s browser to http://m.google.com, and download the Google Mobile “applications”. Once installed, this handy Smart phone “applications” works with the speed of most other Smart phone applications and the simplicity that Google is known for.

With Mobile, you can conduct speedy web searches either by typing or by voice, and you can also use its handy links above the search box to access your Gmail, maps, news, and reader “applications” as well. If you use Google on your notebook or PC, it’s likely that Mobile will quickly become a frequently used “applications” on your Smart phone as well.

Google acquires Toronto startup

2010-05-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

Google is the proud new owner of a Canadian 3D touch screen desktop program.

The technology giant acquired Bump Top, a Toronto-based start up that created a touch screen desktop program that makes icons function more like real-world objects.

For example, you can move your folders and icons around your screen with your fingers, scrunch folders into piles, flick through files like you would a photo album, or even crop pictures by drawing lines through them with your fingertips. It works on Mac OS or Windows 7 with a touch screen-enabled monitor.

Bump Top was operating out of Toronto-based venture capital firm Extreme VP, and the software was developed at the University of Toronto's Dynamic Graphics Project.

"We're excited to announce that we've been acquired by Google!," reads a post on Bump Top.com, signed The Bumps. "Thanks again for all your support over the years. Despite our change in strategy, we remain as passionate as ever about helping shape the future of computing!" That means the program will no longer be available for purchase, and no further updates are planned. However, it's available to download for free for the rest of the week.

Neither company has released details of the deal, but the Globe and Mail estimates Google purchased Bump Top for between $30-45 million.

Google updates Gmail for iPad, Android and iPhone

2010-05-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Gmail is now easier to access on a mobile device. The minor changes alter how senders are added to messages, and do not affect the native Gmail apps that most users of Android phones send email through. The move builds on Google's decision to rewrite the code on which the web application is based so that it is easier to adjust in future. This stage of enhancements allows users to simply type a fellow Gmail adopter's user name and the programmer will now automatically fill in the rest of the address. Other changes reveals the list of recipients of a message more completely, so that individual addresses are easier to remove even if they are towards the beginning of a long list.

Contacts that have been entered into a Gmail field are now also click able boxes, allowing users to inspect their details more closely. A list of top contacts has also been added, and the app now fills the entire screen. These features are likely to be particularly relevant to IPad users, who have significantly larger screens at their disposal. The moves mean that the official Google Mail app now has considerably fewer features than the web-based version. Google has previously said that a new release, however, is in production.

Google gives Adwords more traffic data with Keyword tool update

2010-05-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Recent updates by Google to the Keyword Tool should mean that choosing which keywords to run in an Ad Words PPC campaign should be simpler than before.

Announced on the Inside Ad Words blog this Thursday by crew member Katrina Kermit, the newly updated Keyword tool claims to offer a “new, streamlined way for you to identify additional keywords and add them to your account.”

The new Keyword Tool combines two other tools previously available, the “search based keyword tool” as well as the old Keyword Tool. Formerly the “search based” tool provided insights based on search traffic relevant to a sites landing page, whilst the old Keyword Tool only generated possible keywords based on the content of the URL, words or phrases entered into it.

Now the updated tool allows users to search by words, phrases, and websites or in some cases, categories to see both types of information in a central location. Currently in the beta launch phase, Google says that it will roll it out over the next few months. Although users will still be able to switch back and forth during this transition period, the company says that the new tool will provide “more relevant traffic estimates”.

Google buys Canadian tech startup

2010-05-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Google Inc. (GOOG-Q512.95-17.65-3.33%) has snatched one of Canada's hottest tech start ups.

The search engine company has acquired Bump Top, a Toronto-based firm specializing in software that turns a computer desktop into a 3D environment. The parties involved in the sale did not disclose the purchase price, but it is believed to be between $30-million and $45-million.

Bump Top – a start up that operated out of Extreme VP, a Toronto-based venture capital firm – creates software designed for touch screens, especially next-generation screens that allow a user to operate the device using more than one finger at once. For example, Bump Top's software lets users drag items on their desktop into piles, rotate photos and perform other operations using their fingers.

The Bump Top purchase highlights Google's effort to update many of its services for the mobile market. Products such as Apple's i Phone and i Pad have made touch screens, rather than keyboards, the norm for operating many hand held devices, and most of the smart phones powered by Google's Android operating system rely primarily on touch screens.

Google Opens Cheque Books- Buys Out Bump Technologies’ 3D Software

2010-05-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

After the slump, IT giant has finally kick started its acquisition spree by buying out Bump Technologies.

Reports claim that Google has bought the Canadian venture, Bump Technologies for an undisclosed amount. Bump Technologies boasts of Bump Top software that gives a 3D effect to the desktops. The software is compatible with both Windows and Mac systems.

The founders of the software are confident that the usage of this software would completely redefine that way people use their desktops.

The phenomenal Bump Top software makes the desktops 'come alive'. It has features that allow the users to stack up files in heap. To add to the list the software enables its users to attach notes and photos on the walls.

Bump Top's Windows edition launched in October allows users to zoom in on the desktop. It has finger swiping features as well that make the desktop experience extremely hi-tech.

Following the acquisition, updates of the software are not available.

Google tightens cloud security for Apps users

2010-05-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Google has released a new tool that allows administrators at firms using Google Apps to remotely reset cookies to ensure that sensitive data cannot be accessed if a device is lost or stolen.

Google Apps software engineer Will Smith said in a blog post that the feature offers improved cloud security for organizations concerned that more information is being stored in the cloud than ever before.

The ability to access your data from virtually anywhere enables higher productivity but, like traditional systems that don't run in the cloud, security concerns can arise if a user loses a computer or mobile device that can access sensitive information," he said.

GOOGLE UPDATES: Google Acquires LabPixies to Expand Gaming Offering

2010-04-30T08:57:00.001-07:00

Google might be looking to compete even further with Facebook and Android with its latest acquisition of LabPixies, a game developer based in Isreal. LabPixies, in the past has made work on both the iPhone with Flood-It as well as Trio, but also has released the games on iGoogle.

As said by InsideSocialGames, LabPixies’ strength comes from their willingness to make their games work on many dissimilar platforms including My Yahoo. Talk about a multiplatform developer, apparently LabPixies takes the cake in that regard.

According to Google’s Code Blog the LabPixies will “anchor our iGoogle efforts across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.” I would be willing to bet that LabPixies sees a bit of Android in their future too.

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Google Updates: Google Image Search Updates for Easier Phone-Based Browsing

2010-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

If you are sporting an iPhone or Android phone, Google Image Search has updated to offer you with a more streamlined browsing experience—no app download or installation is needed.

The old interface wasn't terrible, but it was more like using a simplified and squished down version of the regular browser version of Google Images. The latest update optimizes thumbnails—as an alternative of irregular rectangles each thumbnail is a center-cropped square for maximum thumbnails for each page—enlarges images on a distraction free black background with auto-fading buttons, also supports a finger-friendlier interface that emphasizes touch and swipe vs. the tap-based interface of the old Google Images Search.

Watch the video below to see it in action or visit Google Images on your iPhone or Android phone to test it out.

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Google: Adobe Flash Support Coming to Android 2.2.

2010-04-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Google’s Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering has announced that the next version of Google Android will have support for Adobe Flash. The support will be added in Android 2.2 (Froyo), and Adobe Flash will be built into Android 2.2.

Google obviously still sees Adobe’s Flash technology as a significant part of their mobile operating system, unlike Apple who have done everything possible to ensure Flash never gets on their iPhone OS.

Adobe Flash support for Google’s Android OS will be welcomed by many of the Android users out there, and might be something that attracts new customers to their Android OS.

Adobe is going to release the new version of their Flash player, 10.1 by the end of June, the latest version will support both computers, and mobile phones that support the technology.

This is a smart move by Google to include Adobe Flash in their Android OS, Apple have come under quite a bit of criticism for not allowing Flash onto the iPhone, and this might possibly lure some iPhone owners to Android smartphones.

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Google Launches Online Video Rental Service For YouTube

2010-04-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

YouTube ,Google's popular online video streaming service, has launched its very own online video rental service.

The scheme, which was released on a 10-day trial basis earlier this year, allows users to rent Hollywood movies as well as episodes of popular TV programmes for periods ranging from 24 to 72 hours.

Videos cost from 99 cents up to $3.99. Right now, the service is only available to US users and Google has not said whether the service will be available in the UK.

A YouTube spokesperson told blog site newteevee.com: “When we announced YouTube Rentals in January, we said we would be creating a destination after more partners joined the program.”

To date... nearly 500 partners have joined our Rental program.” He added.

Earlier this year, the New York Times reported the scheme made $10,709 in its 10-day trial by renting out movies as of the Sundance film festival.

Armed with a wider roster of film titles also an improved business model, industry pundits believe the service will do wonders for both Google also the US TV and film industry.

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Google finally gets full GPS to Android consumers in UK

2010-04-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Google has lastly unconfined their gratis roll-by-roll GPS software’s such as Google map, for the Android addicts in the UK, a complete 6 months once it was initiated in the US. The Google navigation map will work with any Android phone in succession with the firmware 1.6 or higher.

Google mobile maps boss Steve Lee says, the big holdup between the US and UK discharges must do through “a figure of concerns which came up in growth.” One of the scientific issues incorporated the glut of roadbeds in the road arrangements.

In addition, Steve Lee utters that the Navigation will clearly produce you the entire route you have needed, the users will not be distraught by data bond drops.

And also the Google reminds us to perceive whether the voice command feature is on for the Navigation to work properly, says the company.

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Google to launch Android 2.2 Froyo on 19th May?

2010-04-21T09:19:00.001-07:00

Google’s Android mobile operating system has managed to get the attention of users, as many people have started showing curiosity in Android based phones. Mobile manufacturing companies are also launching their phones with Android 2.1 OS, which is quite fast also easy to use.

However, Android 2.1 lacks in many significant features as compared to other mobile OS. Recently, a few sources have tipped that Google is planning to launch Android 2.2 “froyo” in the market.

According to AndroidandMe.com, Google might release Android 2.2 OS in upcoming Google I/O 2010 and the Google’s largest developer event is scheduled at Moscone Center, San Francisco on May 19th.

AndroidandMe.com guys have shared their Google Analytics stats, which obviously indicate that Android 2.2 is definitely coming soon.

Although this update sounds exciting, no one has an idea regarding the features of Android 2.2. A few sources suggest that this froyo firmware update will bring facilities like FM radio, Flash 10.1 and JIT compiler.

Old Android devices have been receiving Android 2.1 update, but it is not confirmed whether they’ll get Android 2.2 or not. Let’s keep the fingers crossed and wish that Android 2.2 will run on old phones.

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Updates: Google drops the http:// from Chrome

2010-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google has made a modification in the developer version of its browser Chrome, which seems to have ruffled a few feathers, by getting purge of the "http://" from the commencement of web addresses, putting in its place a pretty blue Earth icon.

If you are wondering about whether you will still see "ftp://" and "https://", not to worry, these will be shown. But quite a few people have protested regarding this change, one of the arguments being that when people want to copy the text of the URL, they want the "http://" to go along with it, so they can embed, tweet it otherwise do something else.

Google has tried to address this so that copying all the text will give the "http://" prefix, but unfortunately there are some problems with this. One of these is a bug where a partial copy of the URL will mean you’ll have to reinsert the "http://". There are also other documented issues, like breaking middle-click paste functionality in Linux.

It’s comprehensible why Google is working on making this change. The "http://" bit of a web address doesn't actually mean very much, with even the father of the World Wide Web (WWW) Tim Berners-Lee admitting that the "//" was really a pointless and unnecessary addition.

And Safari has previously done this with its mobile browser, likely for the reason that it saves space. But, judging from the uproar from users, Google hasn't totally thought through what this change may mean for some web users.

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Updates: Google opens alphabetti spaghetti with refined spelling in search

2010-04-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Google has tweaked its search engine to accelerate queries for users who are prone to spelling mishaps.

Mountain View said on Friday that it had made 3 enhancements to help web surfers input their searches more rapidly and easily.

It has plumped up the automatic correction of misspelled search words to comprise 31 languages and improved spell correction for names and the company has also refined Google Suggest by adding a feature that searches for terms based on where somebody using the search engine is located.

The ad broker launched Google Suggest last year, but at that time it only grouped searches together according to which country they originated from and the tweak enables a much more detailed search within a specific geographical area.

"Just as people in the UK often look for different things than people in US, we have found that people in Seattle tend to look for different things than people in Dallas," Pandu Nayak, the firm's search wonk said in a blog post. "So last week, we rolled out a version of Google Suggest that is tailored to specific metro areas in the US." He added.

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Gmail Now Gets Drag and Drop Attachments Feature

2010-04-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

A good news for all us. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox users that love using Gmail, the webmail product from Google. Courtesy of a small update, the Gmail users on these 2 browsers will not have to waste any time browsing their files when they intend to attach a document. The easier (new) option instead will be to just drag and drop a file on to the attachments column and the document will be automatically attached.

This is not an outright great feature updation but, the people who make use of Gmail daily and attach their files every day will surely have, a different answer ready for you.

While the feature functions very smoothly, what is more is that you can attach multiple files at the same time. One more addition, courtesy of this minor update, is the new option to insert an invitation to an event with your mail.

The second feature is more valuable if you’ve the permission to access and view one more person’s Google Calendar and you can then accordingly invite the person when he is not committed to any other appointment. Google is now working hard to get these features running on all browsers as soon as possible.

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Google Docs Gets One More Update

2010-04-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Google just announced one more set of improvements for Google Docs aimed to make the service faster and more accessible for users. Integrated in the changes are new document features similar to better numbering and bullets, auto-complete, and drag-and-drop columns in spreadsheets. They have also improved document importing, helping to preserve the original structure of documents after they are uploaded to Google Docs. And amid all of these changes (and those introduced last week), it's even faster!

Plus, there is good news for collaborators: up to 50 people can work on one document at a time. Changes and edits will be shown in real time, designating who is making the changes. Also you will still be able to chat with everyone who is viewing the document at any given time — helpful whether you are working with someone sitting next to you at the office, or working with someone across the country. Also included in the update are a new Drawings editor allowing for easier collaboration on flow charts, designs, and diagrams. The changes are likely to roll out over the next week or so.

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Google To Rank Websites On Speed

2010-04-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

It is a case of the hare winning against the tortoise as far as Google's concerned.

The search giant has announced plans to rank a website depending on how fast it takes to load.

The announcement, which is a fast first for Google, which doesn't generally share the way it works out search algorithms, is said to be put in place to stop us getting frustrated at the amount of time we are left twiddling our thumbs waiting for a website to load.

“Speeding up websites is important - not just to site owners, but to all internet users. Faster sites create happy users and we have seen in our internal studies that when a site responds slowly, visitors spend less time there." Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts of Google, said in a Google Webmaster Central blog.

Though, Google isn't being too hasty in its changes, emphasizing that site speed wasn't the only consideration when it came to rankings.

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Google improves viewing as well as labelling in Gmail

2010-04-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Google has added 2 features to its Gmail client, making it easier and quicker for users to label and view messages.

Sneak Peak and Nested Labels must be turned on through the settings pages on Gmail, and are the result of requests from users, the firm added.

Nested Labels will make it easier to create a complex array of message types inside folders, as said by Google software engineer Manu Cornet.

"You can create complex hierarchies of labels if that is the way you like to organize your mail, and you can expand/collapse labels to save space," Manu Cornet said in a blog post.

"You’ll always be capable to tell whether a given label contains unread messages in its collapsed child labels by looking at whether it is bold or not."

Sneak Peak, in the meantime, allows users to preview messages without opening them by right clicking on a message to open a preview window of its content.

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Google Updates :Google Maps Blackberry app major update unveiled

2010-04-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Google Maps Blackberry app has had a ginormous update adding up support for Google Buzz, voice search and desktop synching. The Google Maps Blackberry app update lastly puts it on a alike footing to Google Maps on iPhone and Android.

The Google Maps for Blackberry app at present incorporates voice search so that you can speak the address you are looking for.

Google Buzz slipped into mobile Gmail on iPhone and Android yesterday, gets in on the act with the ability to post messages and see close by Buzz from within the Google Maps Blackberry app.

Google Labs has also opened up its doors toward the Google Maps Blackberry App which means you can add experimental features like scale adjustment.

If you have enabled Web History on your Google account, the Google Maps Blackberry app will offer suggestions from your previous searches when you type in queries. It will also now sync locations you star among your phone and computer.

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Google Updates: Mobile Gmail gets Google Buzz integration

2010-04-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who might be unaware, Buzz is Google's new foray into the burgeoning social networking arena with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. The full-featured version of service now lives in Gmail, but to the disappointment of Buzz fans and indifference of many critics this had not been translated to mobile devices. Fine, that just changed... a little bit, at least.

Starting today, Gmail users will be greeted with a more and more feature-rich client on their mobile devices using the service's standard web interface. A few of the biggest changes are the ability to comment on and reply to posts directly from the Gmail inbox and 'liking' posts. You can also still utilize the stand-alone web based client at buzz.google.com, though there is no word on any official native apps.

While the iPhone as well as Android platforms are definitely supported, it is also rumored other platforms might work. Any Blackberry, Palm Pre or Windows Mobile users out there care to confirm? Visit Gmail on your mobile device and let us know.

Google Updates: Google to Update Buzz Privacy

2010-04-05T09:02:00.001-07:00

When Google first stepped into the social networking monarchy, the company sought to harness a few of the information it had available to make a user’s transition significantly quicker. But, in doing so, many users complained about the lack of privacy, and in response, Google is now releasing privacy updates to “Buzz.”

Starting today, April 5, Google will request that all users confirm or change their privacy settings.

Todd Jackson, Buzz product manager told in a blog spot that “Shortly after launching Google Buzz, we quickly realized we didn’t get everything right and moved as fast as possible to improve the Buzz experience”.

“Offering everyone who uses our products transparency and control is very important to us.” He added.

In March, several members of Congress wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking that it investigate the privacy implications the service.

“We‘re writing to express our concern over claims that Google Buzz… breaches online consumer privacy and trust,” they wrote.

The Google team has also said that other updates will be imminent in the future.

Yahoo Updates: Yahoo shows off new search functions

2010-04-02T01:57:00.001-07:00

Yahoo has recently added new features to a pair of its search services.

The company said that it would be placing the new components in both the news and sports search sections of its website.

The new features will include new filters as well as suggested search topics. The features are designed to help users better target their searches through specially targeted vertical search techniques.

Users of the special sports search service will be capable to search not only specific terms, but also refine the terms as to only search for image files or video clips. In addition, the sports search will automatically suggest related searches to the user query, like specific players or news about rival clubs.

For the news search, users will be capable to target their searches by specifying assured news sources to be searched and limiting results to a specific time frame.

Yahoo said that the new search tools would be released in a limited international rollout. Among the 12 countries participating will be the United States, UK, India, Australia, Korea and Hong Kong.

The new features come as Yahoo is working to repel the growing threat of Microsoft's Bing search engine. Bing has steadily been gaining market share from Yahoo as its release last summer.

Google Chrome browser Updated with built-in Flash support

2010-04-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Search engine giant Google has announced an update to its Chrome web browser, saying it has worked with software companies like Adobe and Mozilla to introduce an integrated Flash player.

It comes as tech giant Apple, which is apparently in a war of words against Google at the moment, has defended the lack of Flash support in its ascendant iPad gadget.

In a new blog post, developers of Google Chrome software have said they have worked with other developers to "assist define the next generation browser plug-in API".

Generally users have to download the Flash plug-in separately and install it in order to view graphics as well as videos powered by Flash on the internet. The benefits of an integrated system will see Chrome and update the software automatically.

Google developers said they trust this approach will help make the plug-ins "fast, stable and secure".

Updates: Yahoo Mail Adds Facebook Status Updates

2010-03-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yahoo has newly announced that Facebook users with a Yahoo Mail account will now be capable to update their profile directly through the email client.

The move is the newest in a major social networking push at Yahoo, which has unsuccessful to make much of an impact on the growing market.

Other new features will allow Yahoo Mail users check friends' profiles, and view their details when they receive an email. Yahoo said that this would complement the features added previous month that made it easier to synchronize and import contacts across the applications.

The feature is now available only in certain markets, and users have to look for the option in their status section below the heading 'Add to Facebook'. Users can then sign-in to both accounts and update their status accordingly.

Google said in a blog post that "Now, whether you want to send an email, SMS, IM, or update your Yahoo or Facebook status, you can also do it all from your Yahoo Mail inbox."

"This integration of Facebook is just the beginning of how we plan to make it easier to do more right from Yahoo Mail and watch this space for more ways you can bridge your social worlds and Yahoo Mail in the weeks and months ahead."

Google Announces File Transfer Facility on iGoogle

2010-03-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Google announced Tuesday that users can now send files while using the chat feature in iGoogle and Orkut.

Google also announced that it is working to bring file transfer capability to Gmail’s built-in chat feature.

Users just have to go do the actions menu in iGoogle or Orkut and select send a file. The recipient will be capable to accept or decline the file. The feature is compatible with the file transfer functionality in the Google Talk downloadable software.

In other Google associated news, Admob, an American agency that tracks Internet traffic from smartphones and other mobile devices, reports that in the U.S., Google's Android platform was only a couple of % points behind Apple’s iPhone when it comes to market share. The data released Tuesday show iPhone still in the lead with a 44 % market share, and Android close behind at 42 %.

Globally the iPhone commands 50 % of the smartphone market, while the Android makes 24 % of the market, taking 2nd place.

Google Updates: Google Explains Suggest Tool Updates

2010-03-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Google has detailed several changes it has made to its Google Suggest tool, which was first launched by Google in 2008.

Writing on its official blog, the organization explained that the aim of the feature was to lessen spelling mistakes and help users to get what they were looking for as quickly as possible.

Since its launch, a number of changes have been made, which Google noted will have an effect on SEO services in fifty languages across 170 domains.

The changes include boldface search suggestions as well as removal of result counts, which the brand claimed will "simplify your experience".

Likewise, the enterprise has also added "the Google Search and I am Feeling Lucky buttons to the box so they’re still accessible even when the Suggest box is open", it stated.

Last week, Google announced the launch of a new Favourites function which allows people to share sites they like or use frequently with friends and family.

Bing Updates UI, Improves Search Results And Adds Foursquare To Maps

2010-03-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Microsoft’s Bing announced feature upgrades to Bing at SES New York yesterday, if you missed it, you can read our live blog coverage of the announcement. The announcement integrated the following updates to Bing:

* Updated user interface designed to get the answer quicker

* More celebrity as well as sport answers

* Way to filter auto results

* Mobile improvements with Windows 7

* Foursquare added to Bing Maps

* and more.

Here are a few screen captures:

Updates: Google Enters Social Bookmarking With Lists Feature

2010-03-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

You can now create and share your lists, and import bookmarks from a friend’s or public list.

Christina Chen, product manager of Google said that the new feature will improve information sharing among friends and groups.

“Lists help you discover new web content. For example, once you have created your list Google will algorithmically analyze your list to identify other potentially relevant links,” Christina Chen said in a Google blog post.

“Similarly, when we detect that a list is relevant to a specific region, we provide a map of those places and relevant info for each place, such as addresses, hours and reviews.” She added.

To create a list from Google Bookmarks, you just have to click on the nicely obvious “create new list” link, and name and portray your new creation.

Once you have started a list, you can choose the bookmarks you want to share, click on “copy to list” and select which list you desire to add the bookmark to.

For those wary of overt sharing, lists are private by default.

In the same monosyllabic vein, Google has also introduced a new Stars feature, let you to personalize your search results by highlighting sites that best meet your interests.

Stars let you to click on a star icon that appear alongside all search results. The starred items will then come into sight in a special list at the top of the results page the next time you run a search.
Being part of the Google suite, Stars will also synchronize with Google Bookmarks also the Google Toolbar.

Updates: Google improves Google Voice with faster notifications

2010-03-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Google has added a new feature to its Google Voice called "Inbox synchronization". This will that deliver Google Voice messages to your Android phone within seconds, instead of minutes.

To activate it, open your Google Voice settings and tap "refresh and notification," and then select "Synchronize Inbox." Google also added the choice to tap a contact and contact them through Google Voice from your address book.

Updates: Gmail to alert users to suspicious activity

2010-03-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Google launched a new feature in Gmail on Wednesday that will alert users as soon as the system detects suspicious activity that may indicate the account has been compromised.
Will Cathcart, a Gmail product manager, said in an interview on Wednesday, Gmail before now displays information at the bottom of the in-box showing the time of the last activity on the account and whether it is still open in another location. But people frequently don't think to check that information.

So Google is taking the further step of displaying a warning to users in the form of a big banner that says "warning your acct was accessed from..." also which specifies a geographic region where the account was accessed when odd activity was detected.

"For instance, if you always log in from the same country and all of a sudden there is a log in from halfway around the world" that is suspicious, Will Cathcart said. Or, if the system detects that one particular IP address is accessing several accounts and changing passwords for them, that would trigger warnings for affected accounts, he added.

After receiving the warning banner, users can click a "details" link to get additional information, such as where the last access points were and users can also change their password from that window.

Microsoft’s MSN Introduces New Look

2010-03-22T09:10:00.001-07:00

Microsoft’s MSN portal has been testing a ‘new look’ on a preview page for yesteryear few months. Comments from those who have checked the new MSN out have been fairly mixed but mostly affirmative for the new simpler design.

Over the past few weeks, Microsoft has been sending some e-mails and also running a banner at the top of the MSN page announcing the future change.

The change is now live for most …. at least here in US.

One of the things you will notice right away is geo-targeting. Even if you are not signed in, the page will deliver news as well as other results based on your IP (or perceived Internet access location).

The other noteworthy inclusion is a trend chart, not based on Microsoft’s Bing xRank, but in its place items that have been trending on Twitter:

MSN is also now taking on Facebook Connect directly from the front page. Microsoft is a minority investor in privately-held Facebook.com.

For now, the new MSN mainly competes with Yahoo and AOL. Both companies launched new layouts too, and embracing social media, in the past few months.

Microsoft’s customizable portal, Live.com lately shut down and offers a page that redirects to the company’s search product Bing.com.

The query that no one seems to be asking (maybe there is no answer yet?) is what Microsoft is going to do with one of the most excellent web addresses they own …. Start.com?

Update 1 - March 22 - 12:21 AM ET: The new MSN page is apparently also now the default in Canada.

Small Version Change And Large Update On Google Maps For Android

2010-03-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Lately Google has accelerated the updates to its Google maps application for the Android at a ludicrous rate with 3.4 to 4.0 being launched only within a duo of days. Entering into March, they have lastly given the 4.1 version of the Google maps that is more than just a version change, but altogether new application.

The results screen redone, faster switching among results using a swipe, introduction of the Latitude widget on the home screen and multiple Google account support alternatives for following buzz in dissimilar accounts are just some of the new enhancements with this version.

To top each and every one of this is the new live map wallpaper of your area, the only catch here is that it may seriously drain up the battery for a continuous GPS connection so as to update the wallpaper if you are on the move. The application can work on Android 1.6 and Google in particular states that it works only on “Android 2.1+” directing towards a most important update.

Updates: Google updates Maps for Android to version 4.1

2010-03-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Google recently updated its Maps application for Android 1.6 and 2.0 devices and the new software has an optimized search results page for finding what you need quicker. You can also swipe across search result pages to move forward or else backward through results.

A new Latitude widget shows you where your friends are on the homescreen and it can also show traffic conditions. Users with Android 2.1 devices can activate a Maps Live Wallpaper to sight a map at all times from their desktop.

Finally, Google added the ability to quickly switch among multiple Buzz and Latitude accounts. The software is available for gratis today inside the Android Marketplace.

Updates: Yahoo announces Yahoo Messenger 10 update

2010-03-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Social networking continues to advance and Yahoo is updating their programs to stay cutthroat. In an announcement released by Yahoo, they unveiled the release of the new Yahoo Messenger 10. The messenger promises to be an updated version of the service. One of the latest features in Yahoo Messenger 10 is the voice and the video feature.

A few of the new services provided by Yahoo Messenger include Pingbox, the capability to conduct video calls with friends and family members, forwarding instant messages to mobile phones, sharing contact details among Yahoo Messenger and your Inbox, keeping track of friends and family members through the use of Yahoo Updates, also sending SMS (text) messages from Yahoo Messenger to mobile phones.

The user with webcam can turn their Yahoo Messenger into a high quality, video screen and chat instantaneously.

The announcement by Yahoo about the updated version states that it includes several fixes that help improve video quality on users with Windows 7.

CNET gives “Yahoo Messenger 10” a 5 star rating also pointed out Yahoo’s advancements in VOIP technology. Yahoo cites Messenger 10 as being an entirely redesigned version of their 1:1 webcam features. Also state that those using video chat can put calls on hold, mute the audio, and position video windows side by side.

The newest upgrade makes sure that Yahoo Messenger is compatible with Windows 7.

UPDATES: Yahoo Ranking Algorithm Update

2010-03-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Search Blog has announced one more periodic update to its ranking algorithm and the Yahoo Search engineering teams are rolling out updates to crawling, indexing, also...

... ranking algorithms.

Like previous updates, you might notice some ranking changes and page shuffling during the process, which we are expecting to complete over the next few days.

Let us know how your website has responded to the update.

GOOGLE UPDATES: Google launches new play features in its reader

2010-03-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Google has launched a new, experimental tool that will let users to view content from their RSS feeds in a more stylish, image-heavy and TV-like fashion.

Dubbed Google Reader Play, the latest tool is an experimental Google Labs project that presents stories one at a time using enlarged photos and auto-playing videos on a black backdrop.

Viewers can redefine categories and star, like or share stories, by those behaviors further contributing to what Google displays.

Google Reader Play might be both an entertainment utility for browsing the web and an accompaniment to the Google Reader experience.

Actions that are taken in Reader or Reader Play are shared between the 2 products moreover the recommendations in Reader Play are specially made based on the people the user is following in Reader.

Google Updates: Google adds cycling routes to U.S. maps

2010-03-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Two-wheeled travelers across the United States got some good news today: Google is adding bicycling directions to its popular Maps site. At present, riders in 150 cities will be able to identify bike lanes, quieter streets as well as off-road trails before heading out on their morning commutes or pleasure rides.

So far, there is no word on whether or not the same feature will be extended to Canadian cities.
Bicycle directions were the most popular feature request for the Maps page, which previously offers driving and walking routes. As with those features, users enter a starting point and ending point for their trip, and Google fills in a suggested route and fairly accurate time. The same way that drivers can choose to keep away from highways or tolls roads, Google Bike users can be advised how to guide around hills.

A feature called Local Search will point out close by bike shops or snack stops. And, of course, users can use the Street View function to see photos of what the street really looks like, before they go.

Also included in Google Bike are 15,000 miles of off-street bike trails. That info was collected by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that has been assembling trail information also publishing it free on its own site since 2007.

Jennifer Kaleba, VP Communications for Rails-to-Trails says that “It just seemed like a good partnership”. And building new trails out of unused rail corridors and the group lets users submit info on existing U.S. trails via its site.

According to Jennifer Kaleba “All our mapping and trails are available free, and Google Maps is also a free service,” whose hope is that bike info on both sides will grow up as users contribute to the mapping initiative.

Up to now, Google Bikes is only available in 150 cities in the U.S., and Rails-to-Trails is U.S.-based too. Jennifer Kaleba says time and money are the limiting factors in bringing the trail site further north.

Google Updates: Google Wave adds email notifications

2010-03-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Users who are familiar with Google Wave may no longer be out of the loop about waves. Yes, Google recently turned on email notifications permitting users to receive alerts about new as well as updated waves right in their inbox. Moreover all this takes is the simple use of the Inbox dropdown menu.

Users can select the frequency of their email updates from the notification menu. Wavers who might be infrequent on Google Wave are recommended the ‘immediately’ setting by the company. The official Google Wave blog shares that this setting can be altered at any given time.

On being added to a new wave or though the wave users are on changes, Google will send an email to the user. The alert will include a short summary of the text and links that will take users straight to their updated waves. As waves ostensibly change a lot, users will receive only one notification about a changed wave. That’s until users have logged in to have a look at it, and waves that might be open by the users won’t trigger updates.

Users can also help friends and family turn on notifications specially those who may not be logging in often. Though the feature is still being refined they can still get updates on their Google Wave account though they keep to checking their email inbox.

The email notification attribute is still a work in progress and might be a little buggy. While at times the email snippet doesn’t show all participants on the wave, under certain conditions users may also get an update about a wave though they were the last person to change it. To modify the notification setting, users might have to return to the menu where they turned it on.

While these issues are predictable to be resolved over the next few weeks, email notifications in Wave can be tested now.

Google Chrome OS 'Business' edition to reach your destination in 2011

2010-03-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

The first version of Google Chrome OS isn’t even out yet, and there is already a talk of added editions as Google will be release a “business” version of Google Chrome OS next year.

It may not be serious competition for Windows 7 Professional OS just yet, as it will just be available on netbooks first. However things like this take time to grow and it could definitely blossom into something much larger.

Details are minimal at this point, but there will be a focus on security as well as “more management muscle,” which sounds fairly obvious for a professional OS version. I wonder what other Chrome OS versions that Google may have in store for us - also when.

Google Adds Auto Caption Feature To YouTube Videos

2010-03-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

Popular online video sharing service YouTube has made obtainable a nifty auto-caption feature to all its users, which will allow them to watch their favorite YouTube videos in the language of their selection, but for now, the service only offers auto-caption for videos in English.

YouTube, which was acquired by search engine giant Google in the year 2006, has emerged as the most popular video sharing service on the World Wide Web (WWW) and has over a billion page views each day.

According to a statement released by the company, the auto-caption feature of You Tube is based on the text-to-speech algorithm that runs on Google Voice, which automatically generates captions for the video being played.

Google claims that the auto-caption feature of You Tube will be able to support 50 languages that will widen the already massive user base enjoyed by the company.

Interestingly, the addition of the feature, which went into beta testing in November previous year, will permit people with hearing impairments to enjoy YouTube large selection of videos and also permit people to watch videos in crowded places.

Google Extends Star Feature To Its Search Engine

2010-03-04T08:11:00.001-08:00

Google released a new star-based bookmarking feature for its standard search engine.

It permits users to mark search results by clicking on a star icon, meaning that those links will come into view in a special list at the top of results for future queries.

Starred items are synchronized with Google Bookmarks and the Google Toolbar.

The company unveiled a alike offering for its Google News service recently, enabling users to mark particular stories and see updates on those news articles as they happen.

In a post on the Official Google Blog, Mr. Cedric Dupont and Mr. Matthew Watson of Google explain that the new star feature replaces SearchWiki, which permissible users to reorder search results.

They state: "In our testing, we learned that people really liked the idea of marking a site for future reference, but they did not like changing the order of Google's organic search results."

Google software engineer Mr. Bryan Horling recently revealed at the SMX West conference in the US that Google personalizes up to one-fifth of all web searches based on history, contacts or else location, the Register reported.

Google Street View Images Might Be Updated Every Six Months – EU Demands

2010-03-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Google Street View has caused a bit of a stir from time to time as a few users feel it is a little intrusive having a camera capture pictures of your home. Usually though it seems like most people actually think that it is a cool service to use.

Google had plans to update the images every 12 months as soon as the service launched although this might be reduced in the EU has its way. The 12 monthly updates would permit Google to capture changes in scenery as well as buildings that have occurred over the year. But, due to various privacy reasons the EU want it changing to the 6 months we mentioned which might lead to great expense for Google to effectively double its efforts to achieve the same work.

And dropping the retention to 6 months the EU also want Google to notify local news papers to warn public when the Google Street View cars are out and about allowing locals to “avoid?” the cameras.

It is presently unclear how Google will respond to this although this is just another instance of how privacy laws can vary across the world. No doubt they will just carry on as normal until the issue is raised over again.

GOOGLE UPDATES :Google Chrome Update

2010-02-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

As many of you most likely are aware, Google’s Chrome web browser current comes in 3 different flavors or ‘channels.’

There is a stable version, a beta version, also a ‘dev’ version of Chrome.

As with any product, non-tech oriented users that desire to begin implementing Chrome must use the stable version which is updated often.

The beta channel is just what the term implies. It is aimed at those they desire a peek at what may be coming also comment on how the features work with their systems.

At last, the ‘dev’ version of Google Chrome is mostly aimed at developers. Those building extensions or otherwise contributing to Chrome through the Chromium project.

Earlier today, the ‘dev’ version of chrome was updated to version 5.0.335.0.

In early versions of Chrome, it was very easy to switch back and forth using a ‘channel changer’ program. For best results, now that the product is budding, you are MUCH better off uninstalling your preceding channel version before changing to a different channel. (Updates within the similar channel will still be as easy as hitting ‘about’).

For those experiencing tab crashes or other issues, I trust this brief piece helps.

Google AdWords Updates its Pharmacy Policy For United States and Canada

2010-02-24T09:46:00.001-08:00

Google announces the AdWords Pharmacy Policy Updates for the United States and Canada.

Here is the information on what exactly the changes are:

Only those online pharmacies in United States and Canada will be permitted to post their ads on AdWords, who will be accredited by the National Association Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) VIPPS program and the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA.) respectively.

The online pharmacies in United States and Canada can target their ads to only the users of their respective...

GOOGLE UPDATES: Google Updates Images Search Site Function

2010-02-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

The site attribute on queries conducted using Google Images has been updated to comprise all images on a site – though they’re not hosted on its domain.

A blog post on the Official Google Blog explains that, previously, queries conducted using the site operator – such as by adding site:Google.com – would yield only images that were hosted on the domain integrated in the search query.

At present, using the operator will return all images that are displayed on the site, no matter where they’re hosted online, allowing social sharing sites like Flickr or Digg to be incorporated into the results in a move that might directly impact SEO services for sites optimizing their image content.

Marissa Mayer, vice-president of search products and user experience, writes in her blog that “The operator will run your search over sites that include images, no matter where the images themselves are hosted – which removes lots of noise from your results."

Advanced Google Images searches can question not just specific domains, but also precise image sizes, file formats, colors and aspect ratios.

GOOGLE UPDATES: Google starts MySpace updates in real time searches

2010-02-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

Google has started real-time search results for MySpace. The outcome will show live updates from MySpace users together with news, photos, music and blog posts.

The MySpace content joins further sources of Google real-time search results, including Twitter and Facebook’s FriendFeed.

While Google was the social networking site’s launch partner, together with OneRiot, it took a duo of month’s time for Google to incorporate MySpace’s updates into its real-time search results.

MySpace, which is not the grand figure of social networking it once was, will be hoping that Google results will drive superior traffic to its now more music focused pages.

Mr. Mike Jones, co-president of MySpace, said, “This partnership increases our users’ ability to share and showcase content across the open web and gives people outside the MySpace network even more ways to find out new content.”

Google Updates: Google Plans Buzz Updates

2010-02-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

Google is planning updates to its Buzz social-networking service and expanding the service’s testing to the communal, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Google launched Buzz last Tuesday, after it introduced it as a tool for keeping track of all the social activity happening across Google and other websites.

The Buzz service, which is integrated with Gmail, permits users to share postings with friends also to view and comment on items their friends share, making it a potential rival to Facebook, as said by the Journal.

Amongst the new Buzz enhancements in the works are features that aid people filter what postings they see and block certain conversations, a dispensation to people who have raised concerns that Buzz didn’t do sufficient to protect their privacy, reported the Journal.

Google Updates Buzz Yet Again To Tackle Privacy Concerns

2010-02-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

It was only last week that we informed you regarding the first security updates which went live on Google’s new social media service Buzz, however now we’ve details on another significant security update that has been released.

As reported from BGR, Buzz came in for initial criticism later than it was revealed that user’s contacts were publicly available to view, but Google in a little while fixed the issue after a swift update.

Now though, more updates are just around the corner, changes include various tweaks to the Picasa Web Albums and Google Reader shared items, as you can now also ‘hide’ Buzz in your Gmail account or disable it entirely if you want.

GOOGLE UPDATES: Google updates Chrome for Mac and Linux betas

2010-02-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

Google has announced the availability of version 5.0.307.7 of Chrome for Mac and Linux users, the latest betas of its Chrome WebKit-based browser for each platform. In accordance with the developers, Chrome on both platforms features stability improvements to plug-ins, like the Adobe Flash Player, and is now doubly reliable.

Like its Windows counterpart, the Mac Beta of Chrome at present features support for extensions and bookmark sync. With extensions, users can widen their browser's functionality by writing also installing scripts that become part of the browser, in a similar fashion to Firefox Add-Ons. Up to now, there are more than 2,500 extensions available from the Google Chrome Extensions page.

The addition of bookmark sync to the Mac Beta permits users to make use of their Google Account, to synchronize their bookmarks across all of their computers. Once enabled, bookmarks created on one computer will automatically be added to the users other computers over the internet. The Mac Beta in addition adds a new bookmark manager, cookie manager and task manager.

The Linux Beta, which formerly included support for extensions and a bookmark manager, includes a number of bug fixes, like addressing an Out Of Memory (OOM) error that will cause "runaway tabs before it kills the browser". The Chrome for Linux beta supports 32 as well as 64-bit versions of Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE. Chrome for Mac need an Intel Mac with Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' or later. All beta users are advised to upgrade to the newest release.

Further details about the beta releases can be found in the release announcement and release notes. Chrome 5.0.307.7 Beta is available to download for Linux and Mac. Users that presently have Chrome installed can make use of the built-in update function by clicking Tools, selecting About Google Chrome and then click on the Update button.

Google readying social updates for Google mail (Gmail)

2010-02-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

Google is about to make a number of social networking updates to its Gmail service, as said by reports. The company declined to corroborate any specific updates, but did say that it will be unveiling a few new product innovations this evening.

The reported enhancements include a real-time contact update stream, alike to those provided by Twitter and Facebook, as well as photo and video sharing capabilities.

Google users can previously post status updates to Google Chat, which is connected to Gmail, but it is unclear whether Google will aggregate the chat updates or create a wholly new add-on for internet users to access real-time information about contacts.

Additionally, while a few reports hint that Google will include add-on video and photo sharing capabilities specific to Gmail, others suggest that the web giant plans stronger ties among Gmail, YouTube and Picasa.

Google has had limited success in providing social networking services. And Orkut, a social networking site is very much popular in Brazil, for instance, but virtually unheard of elsewhere.Analyst firms like Gartner predict that social networking services will replace email as the primary vehicle for communications for lots of business users by 2014, and Google is likely to be feeling under more pressure to vie in this area.

Other email providers, like Yahoo and AOL, have previously made moves to become more social, whereas Facebook is rumoured to be updating its private messaging capabilities to better vie with email providers.

Google Is Working On Speech Translation For Phones

2010-02-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Google by now runs a successful online translator, Google Translate, but they have got far-loftier ideas than simply converting the written word. They desire to translate languages spoken over the phone, as said by their head of translation services.

Speaking to The Times, Mr. Franz Och, Google's head of translation services, said: "We think speech-to-speech translation should be possible also work reasonably well in a few years time.

Obviously, for it to work smoothly, you need a combination of high-accuracy machine translation and high-accuracy voice recognition, and that's what we are working on.

If you gaze at the progress in machine translation and corresponding advances in voice recognition, there has been enormous progress recently."

It is not really clear as to whether Google wants to translate a phone conversation or conversation around you (for instance, ordering food in a Japanese restaurant). If it is the former, I am unsure as to whether I would actually use the software, although booking hotels in other countries might be one instance.

But then, when the whole thing is done online these days and effective online translation services like Google Translate and Babel Fish exist--Google may find that by the time they launch translation software on a phone, it is too late and everybody can speak English by then anyway. I hope that is not the case, though.

Google drops IE support in Apps

2010-02-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

Google has announced that its Apps suite, including Google Docs, will no longer support IE 6 and other outdated browsers.

"In order to continue to improve our products and deliver more sophisticated features as well as performance, we're harnessing some of the latest improvements in web browser technology and this includes faster JavaScript processing and new standards like HTML5. Therefore, over the course of 2010, we will be phasing out support for Microsoft IE 6.0 and other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers," said by the company in an official statement.

From March 1 2010 support for older browsers will be phased out in the Google Docs suites and Google Sites editor. Users of old browsers will discover that these applications might have higher latency in use or may not work properly. Google Apps will keep on to work correctly in IE 7 and above, Firefox 3 and above, Google Chrome 4.0 and above, also Safari 3.0 and above.

The move comes after Microsoft admitted that a defect in IE6 was used by Chinese hackers to attack Google. Since then, the backlash against IE has been harsh and has even led to the German government telling web users to ditch IE totally.

Google append more search capabilities to Gmail

2010-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

Google has updated its email offering Gmail to permit users to search the web while composing messages.

In the Compose Mail section, a Web Search box has peacefully appeared on the left hand side of the composition space which formerly was only available to Labs users.

Whilst the web giant didn’t publically announce the latest functionality, a Google UK spokesman inveterate it was new and introduced over the weekend.

Whenever a user searches for a term in the box, the results pop out in one more box at the bottom of the page with links that can be copied and pasted.

The functionality will permit users to effortlessly add links to their email without opening a second browser window.

Updates: Google News Adds “Recrawl” Feature

2010-01-29T08:23:00.001-08:00

Google News has implemented a recrawl feature that permits the search engine to focus on getting the newest articles. The idea behind recrawling is to insure whichever changes to new articles are captured.

Most changes happen to articles immediately after they are published. To deal with the issue, Google implemented the recrawl feature to capture updates also deceased links.

How does it work?

Once Google News finds new articles, they’ll revisit the article more than a few times the first day to capture any updates. In a few cases, they’ll attempt to recrawl an article they had trouble crawling the first time around. Afterward, Google will visit them less often.

This should help minimize the number of outdated headlines as well as dead links you might find while browsing Google News. For publishers, this is great as you discover typos, mistakes or else add further information.

Updates: Google Docs Adds Thumbnails and Spell-check

2010-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Google has made some updates to Google Docs recently that might have a major effect on how you use it. A couple of changes were added today: Thumbnail view has been added to the Document list also spelling correction was added to the search feature.

Thumbnails View and Search Spell-check

The thumbnails view will aid in quick scanning of your documents to find what you want. If you need to switch to this view, just click the Thumbnails button on the top right of your Document list. Every document will become a small preview of the documents content in a grid view. From here, you can still favorite a document, click the thumbnail to open it, and mark it for bulk actions.

Thumbnails view becomes especially of use when you factor in Google’s sort by relevance feature, which wisely augments your search. Execute a search for the document you are looking for and switch to thumbnails view. Switch the sort mode to “Relevance” if it is not already set there and you must be able to easily scan the results and find the exact document you want. The automatic spell check also comes into play here in making it easier to locate your stuff though you spelling-challenged or just fat-fingered.

Upload Any File

A little while ago, Google announced the capability to store any file in Docs. They have now completed the roll-out of this new feature for all users. Initially, you could only upload files up to 250MB but, after getting lots of user feedback, they decided to up this limit to 1GB. Every user starts of with a maximum storage capacity of 1GB. Remember that files that can actually be converted for editing with Google Docs have lesser limits than 1GB and also don’t count in opposition to your storage limit:

Documents (up to 500KB of text)

• HTML files and plain text (.txt).

• Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), Rich Text (.rtf), OpenDocument Text (.odt) and StarOffice (.sxw).

Presentations (up to 10MB)

• Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps).

Spreadsheets (up to 1MB)

• Comma Separated Value (.csv).

• Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx) files and OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods).

If you need more than 1GB of storage, you can always buy additional storage for $0.25 for each GB per year, which is pretty reasonable. No more fumbling with a memory stick or trying to email big files. Simply upload to Google Docs and use the existing document sharing feature. Of course, you could also use a service like Dropbox for this, which might lose a few steams given Google’s new feature. The trouble-free fact that Google has integrated their storage in the cloud solution directly with Docs might make it a more attractive solution for business types.

Update: Google updates Chrome with 1,500 new features

2010-01-27T07:07:00.000-08:00

Google has released the latest update to the browser Chrome. This renewal promised 1500 additional new features, and faster browser performance along with safety.

Chrome product manager Mr. Nick Baum mentions, the browser is now becoming more stable also 400 times faster than when first released.

“We’re very pleased to be delivering the latest version of Chrome is more stable,” Mr. Nick Baum said in his blog.

“With the current browser, all users of Chrome on the PC can access more than 1,500 system features through our new development,” Nick Baum added.

Development of new tools permits users choose the applications they want to install, and help to regulate how they use it. All that is on the latest version of Chrome will be extremely useful if you find the way through the new features of 1500 provided.

One tool called Bookmark Sync for instance, a tool that is still in beta version allows users to move bookmarks to another machine. While web developers can see a few new HTML5 numbers APIs, LocalStorage including, Database API, also other WebSockets through this tool.

But for now, other than a computer with the OS Chrome, the newest Windows-based computers that can access the new features are. While the update to other OS-based computers will soon follow.

“Those who use Chrome on Linux can run on the beta channel. For Chrome on Mac users, please be patient. We’re working hard so that Chrome could be present for various platforms. Bookmark Sync and other features will be coming soon in beta,” said Nick Baum.

Google Reader Allows to Follow Webpage Updates for sites Without Feeds

2010-01-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

RSS Feeds are a good way to sustain with recent updates on blogs or websites. However, there is always a chance that you may come across a site or webpage which does not provide you with RSS Feeds. However, those pages may be updated frequently.

In such cases, users usually have to go back to the site regularly to check for updates. However, if you are a Google Reader user, here is some good news which will help you keep up with the updates through RSS for sites which do not provide them.

Google has introduced a new feature called "Custom feed" will permit users to track changes on pages that don’t have their own feed. For instance, if you want to track the updates on http://www.google.org/products.html just copy the URL and then click the "Add a subscription" button to add it as a feed.

To add a site without RSS feeds, use the "Create a feed" option and enter the URL of the site. Once the feed has been created, Google Reader will periodically visit the site and check for any updates on it.

Google Reader will just display short snippets of the actual changes to assist you decide if the page is worth revisiting. This feature will surely come in handy for people who are looking to get updates from sites without feeds the easier way. However, in addition to allowing users to make RSS feeds for sites which don’t support them, Google also has an alternative for site owners to opt-out of the feature.

Updates: Google updates the way it show ads in Gmail

2010-01-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

Google has revealed that they are updating the way ads are displayed and emails in Gmail.

Gmail in general display ads that are relevant to the content of the message being viewed in the inbox.

Google said that for mails that don’t have any relevant content for possible ads, they’re now going to exhibit ads related to a recently viewed message.

Google said that they would select a random email message from the inbox in case there are no recently viewed mails.

The aim is to deliver ads pertinent to the content in your inbox to make them useful for the user.

Updates: Google Earth Updates Winter Olympics Venue Imagery

2010-01-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

The Google Boulder office has been functioning hard on developing models of venues for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver this February. At present, you get to see the fruits of their labor.

Previously, only eight out of the nine venues were released. Now, those 8 have been updated with high resolution imagery, plus the ninth venue, bobsledding, has been additional to the mix.

You can view them through the "3D Buildings" layer in Google Earth or by visiting the collection in the online 3D Warehouse.

Five Bing Updates To Know And Love: Data Retention, Autosuggest, Maps, And Apps

2010-01-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

Five updates they've released in the past two days are any indication; they are on track to do just that.

First up, they notified the Article 29 Working Party in Europe that they are reducing the amount of time they store IP addresses to just 6 months. Up until now, they have held on to the info for 18 months.

Secondly, they added current and trending news topics to their Autosuggest feature.
The last 3 updates are related to Bing Maps.

Bing Maps has removed the "beta" label! With the elimination comes the switch to the Silverlight maps for all US users. The switch will take up to about a week. And with the removal of the "beta" label comes the launch of 2 Maps Apps, which brings us to our last 2 Bing updates for this post.

The Local Events app helps you find stuff to do in your area. You can also find events by location and/or date and time.

Destination Maps is a sweet way to help out people originating from varying locations finds directions to a common location. For instance, if you have ever thrown a party, you know it's a pain to try and give specific directions to your home to all guests. So, you generally give the address and inform people to look it up online or GPS, right? With this application, you set the destination and then outline with a box the area including your guests' various locations and then the application gets down to the serious business of making certain your guests get there to your party (fashionably late, of course).

So there are five Bing updates that have been announced in the past 2 days. Go have fun with them.

Updates: Google Updates Local Business Place Pages

2010-01-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Google have released an update to their local business called ‘Place Pages’ which gives business owners the capability to post short updates to their pages. Google says these can be used to promote a new product, event or coupon.

Here is an example of what the new feature looks like on a business listing:

This feature is especially useful for restaurants that will get lots of traffic to their place page and could use this to promote daily specials to customers looking online.

Google have also introduced badges for place pages that have been claimed as well as verified by the owner of the business. This helps to show clientele that the business information is very accurate as it is been updated by the business owner directly.

Here is an example of the new badges:

Local search and business place pages seem to be a growing area of importance for Google, so make sure you have got a Google local business listing!

Google offers local searches on mobiles

2010-01-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

Wish you had an easy way to find out whether there is a coffee shop or an Apple store close by?

Well, if you are using an iPhone or an Android cell phone, now you can open up a google.com window in the browser to find out.

Google Inc. late yesterday announced Near Me Now, a local mobile app that can exhibit search results on mobile phones that show the locations of close by businesses.

"Near Me Now was designed to address two user problems," wrote Mr. John Eric Hoffman and Mr. Jussi Myllymaki, members of the Google Mobile Engineering team, in a blog post. "First, we wanted to make it fast and easy to find out more about a place in your immediate vicinity,whether you are standing right in front of a business or if it is just a short walk away. Second, we wanted to make searching for popular categories of close by places really simple. Imagine that you emerge from the subway station and you want to grab a coffee, but you don't see a coffee shop around you. You can simply search for all nearby coffee shops by using “Near Me Now”."

The app also has a feature called Explore Right Here that's designed to allow users expand searches to get more information about a place. As a restaurant comes up in a local search, they might dig down for reviews and menus.

Over the past several months, Google has been doing quite a bit of work on serving users find local hot spots even friends in an area.

Last November, Google announced Google Latitude, an upgrade to Google Maps to find the location of friends' residences. The Google Latitude tool lets users contact friends by SMS, Google Talk or Gmail.

Google Chrome updates its developer build, currently with extensions for Mac

2010-01-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

If you are into getting the latest, greatest, most-untested updates to Google's Chrome Browser, the developer channel is the right place for you. New updates to Chrome on all platforms just hit the dev channel, with a bug fix that must solve some problems with HTML5 audio and video. The big news is just for Mac users, though: Chrome Extension support is here!

That means OS X users at present can share in the epic winningness of Download Squad's 10 must-have Chrome extensions, compiled by our own Sebastian, also a collection of 15+ extensions put together by Lee. Or, if you prefer to find extensions on your own then head over it to Google's Chrome Extensions Gallery and start browsing.

This update to Chrome by the dev channel should not be confused with the latest nightly build of Chromium, which is the open source browser that forms the source for Chrome. As Nik pointed out, Chromium nightlies for Mac now have Bookmark Manager enabled by default. You can enable bookmark sync in the dev channel release of Chrome Mac; however a known bug crashes the browser on adding a new folder.

Google Updates: Google Launches 'Nexus One' Phone

2010-01-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

Search engine giant Google has unveiled its much-awaited phone, 'Nexus One'.

The phone uses Google's Android 2.1 version, features a touch-screen display, and weighs around 130 grams and 11.5 mm in thickness, the company said in a statement.

The phone comes with a voice-recognition technology that permits users to compose e-mails by speaking, it added.

Google said, Nexus One combines the newest in hardware from HTC Corporation and the new Android software.

"Nexus One represents the unique combination of design and innovation. 2 companies like Google and HTC can have when they collaborate," HTC Corporation CEO Mr. Peter Chou said.

The company said the goal of its new consumer channel is to give efficient ways to connect its online users with select Android phones.

Google.org develops a tool to track deforestation

2010-01-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

What can't Google do? The search engines philanthropic arm, Google.org, has developed free home energy monitors, an ocean-exploration tool and now software to observe the world's deforestation.

Google.org's software analyzes a decades-worth of satellite images to gauge how tree cover has changed over a period of time.

Google.org said on its blog that "We hope this technology will help stop the destruction of the world's rapidly-disappearing forests,” adding: Emissions from tropical deforestation are similar to the emissions of all of the European Union, and are greater than those of all cars, trucks, planes, ships and trains worldwide.

The software, unveiled previous month at the climate conference in Copenhagen, aims to assist the United Nation's REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) program.

Google.org worked with Greg Asner of the Carnegie Institution for Science along with Carlos Souza of Imazon to develop the software, presently used only by a few partners for testing.

"It is not yet available to the general public but we expect to make it more broadly available over the next year," Google.org added. It will be provided as a not-for-profit service.

Google Doodle Greets Happy Centenary to Sir Isaac Newton

2010-01-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed something new on Google Search Engines today? Did an apple just falling as you tried searching for anything? Yes? Well, it is one more of Google’s ‘Google Doodles’. Google Doodles are what is more common to us in one more form as logos. Google includes a range of modifications and/or humorous features, such as cartoon modifications, of their logo for use on holidays, birthdays of famous people, also major events, such as the Olympics. A man named Mr. Dennis Hwag was responsible for the Google Doodles.

On this day rather, we saw a Google with a missing ‘o’ replaced by an apple falling from a tree. Google just paid honor to Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday is January 4, 1643. Sir Isaac Newton was a Mathematician, English physicist, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist also a theologian. He was well-known for his formulation of the theory of gravitation by watching an apple falling from a tree, and that’s the reason why the Google Doodle shows an apple falling from a tree.

If you have not seen it, just log into www.google.com and search away!

Google Updates On Labs Product City Tours

2009-12-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

6 months ago, Google launched City Tours into Labs. It is basically a virtual tour guide, offering suggestions for walking tours of various cities or whatever search term you’ve entered. It’s not perfect. There is no way to recommend people walk down Google-recommended McDowell street in downtown Raleigh when they can and should take Fayetteville Street. But hey, it is still in Labs.

Now, City Tours is getting a few updates:

Show complete walking directions- In earlier times, Google estimated the time it takes to get from one destination to the next. Now, the directions offer entire routing information, taking into account such things as bridges, bodies of water, etc.

Import a My Map as a tour - Create a map of the things you desire to see. Then import it into City Tours, which will attempt to schedule a visit to all places on your map.

User interface improvements- These were designed to make City Tours perform more like Google Maps.

Google to boost up speeds with "Caffeine"

2009-12-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

The holidays are not over just yet: Google has another special gift lined up for users this holiday season.

To bring in the New Year, Google will finally be implementing a latest update to its search algorithm, code-named "Caffeine," which is designed to considerably improve the speeds at which search results make it to the user's screen. For searches regarding larger multimedia files, like photos and videos, users will most likely notice the biggest difference.

A few people are saying they are already noticing faster load times, even though Google promises that the update will not roll out until after the holidays.

As for the actual results, not too much must be affected, though we can probably expect Google to go on giving more weight to social media. Less than a month ago, Google began including real-time updates (drawn from social networking sites similar to Facebook and Twitter) in its search results. An actual box appears in the results with an up-to-the-minute posts fading in and pushing older posts down.

While Google has been extensively testing out "Caffeine" since August, a latest survey concludes that users cannot notice the speed jolt. Most Web sites are not even optimized to take benefit of the update, according to SEO Marketing firm Irbtrax, which recently performed an indiscriminate study of 50 business and consumer Websites.

Still, Google has some serious stakes in its search engine, which has received a few slight competitions from Microsoft's Bing. Speed plays a central part in which search engine users decide to follow.

The Year in Review Captured On a Google Wave

2009-12-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

From the same folks at Whirled Interactive who brought us the wonderfully funny “Pulp Wave Fiction” comes one more intelligent use of Google Wave as a video production medium — this time it is used to encapsulate the year in news and social media.

In “Waving Goodbye to 2009,” embedded after the break, we see a Google Wave rendition of the year’s most unforgettable moments. From the Obama inauguration to the Iran elections, from Susan Boyle to Kanye West, the video highlights the best and worst moments of 2009.

Check it out below and let us know what you think. Were any massive stories omitted you would have liked to see included (were we blind or did we miss an appearance from Balloon Boy, e.g.)? You may also check out a few other novel use cases for Google Wave, too.

The year in Google Doodles

2009-12-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Google Doodle is newest decorative logo to adorn search site logo.

Google on Monday unveiled its newest Google Doodle, a festive tropical Christmas postcard that overlays the company's logo on its main search page and the company will be rolling out a sequence of additional Christmas Doodles between now and the holiday, and is archiving them at this web page.

Google Doodles turn out to be so popular that scammers have started latching on the topics and planting malware-infected pages designed to trap those looking for more information on certain Doodle subjects.

It's been a fun also varied year for Google Doodles, some of which are seen in all countries, some in just a portion.

Translate a site, preview PDFs and page templates location released in Google Sites

2009-12-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

In Google Sites you can now:

- Translate a site you visit that is not in your default language for Google Sites. This can be used by international co-workers to view the project site of a remote office if that project site is in the local language of that office.

- PDF files attached to pages and file cabinets can now be previewed with the Google Docs viewers therefore no need to download the file.

- You can now set a default location in your site for page templates.

Editions included:

Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages included:

All languages that are supported by Google Sites

How to access what's new:

- If you visit a site that is not in your chosen language for Sites, there is now a 'Translate' link at the bottom right of the page which will translate the site for you using Google Translate.

- For a PDF file in Sites, clicking on 'View' rather than 'Download' now previews that PDF in Google Docs viewer.

- While saving or modifying a page template, choose 'Default location' to specify a location in your site structure. If a page is then created with this template, then the default location will be what you have specified.

Useful Google Docs Updates

2009-12-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

Over the last 10 days Google has released a few updates that must be of interest to educators who use Google Docs. First, last week Google announced new options for searching and sorting your documents. In the past the only way to arrange your documents was chronologically according to the time of the last edit. Even though you put your documents into folders still the only way to sort was chronologically. Now you can arrange your document search by relevance or time stamp.

The 2nd enhancement to Google Docs announced previous week is a new option for exporting all of the contents of your Google Docs. You can now export all of your documents (up to 2GB, around 100,000 pages) at once.

At last, on Monday of this week Google announced a new co-editor option for Google Docs Presentations. The co-editor service permits users to simultaneously edit a presentation without stepping on each other's toes. When you use the co-editor for presentations you can see which slide(s) your co-editor is working on.

Applications for Education

The new "export all" option might be useful for students and teachers who would like to create offline copies of their documents with just a single click. The new co-editor for presentations might be useful for students who are developing group presentations. Students can collaborate without the frustration of trying to work on a slide that somebody else is trying to edit at the same time.

Google Labs updates transliteration tool

2009-12-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to type something in English and have the tool you are using spit that same message out in Hindi? What about Greek? With the aid of Google's transliteration feature, you can.

The search giant's Bangalore office wrote that typing on Roman keyboards makes it "difficult to type in Indian languages." In an attempt to find a fix, the team in India released Google's Transliteration offering. And on Thursday it announced an update to the feature.

The new and enhanced Transliteration permits users to select from one of 17 different languages includes Arabic, Gujarati, Kannada, and Punjabi, to name a few. Once that's chosen, they can type a message in English and have it instantly transliterated to the selected language. Users can also search for word definitions in the included dictionary.

Google India launches driving direction on Google Maps

2009-12-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

Google India has launched driving directions for users of Google Maps. At present the user can now navigate around locations via Google Maps on their desktops and mobile phones using landmarks like petrol stations, banks, schools, railway stations, bus stops, local businesses & traffic circles and signals. India is the first country worldwide to get this feature on Google Maps.

Indians are more relaxed finding way on the streets using landmarks. Normally many roads in India are not marked with road signs and even if they are, the signs are not visible. In a few cases people do not even know the road names. For example, a friend asks you for directions to your house for a new year party, or to that nice picnic spot you recommended to celebrate a new year’s eve, you scribble a few lines on a piece of paper or explain that they must take a turn from a petrol pump or a bus stop or a grocery shop! Google today enables this activity online and share with friends and family.

In India, Google has collected good landmark data through user-created "Points of Interest" in Google Map Maker. Google’s new algorithm determines which of these landmarks are most useful for navigation, based on significance, and closeness to the turns that the user is making and other available signals. By this launch, Google will now combine landmark data, counted turns ("the 2nd right"), intersection names, and road names, and try to use whatever information is most appropriate and useful.

Google is providing two kinds of landmarks, to make out where users want to turn and to provide confirmation that they are on the right track. Google also encourages users to assist make directions even better for millions of users in India by enriching landmarks data through Google Map Maker.

Google Updates Maps For webOS

2009-12-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

For the 2nd time since launching back in June, Google Maps for webOS has quietly received an update. The 1st update came our way back in October, and brought with it a number of enhancements, the most noteworthy of which were the addition of public transportation along with the walking directions to the already available driving directions.

This update brings with it a number of notable enhancements also. Unfortunately, there's no official change log to be found anywhere on the Google Mobile blog or even an acknowledgment that there's been even been an update, so we're left to our own devices to find the differences between this version and the last without being able to compare them side by side. Here's what we have got so far:

• Google Maps reports itself as being at version 6.7 (hit the Menu button > Help & Terms > About).

• There seem to be considerable improvements in overall speed and rendering. Menus open, transition, and close faster, and map rending seems vastly more robust.

• We now have kinetic scrolling

• An updated "Menu" interface with new graphics for switching among the Map and Satellite modes

• A new "Help and Terms" Menu

• Improved integration into local public transit systems (at least here in Portland, Ore)

• The ability to interact with the icons the map. Tapping on the icon of a business or a transit stop will bring up the associated listing, allowing easy access to phone numbers, directions, reviews, and more.

• A new dedicated "Results" button that, as one would guess brings up the results of a search query.

There is no question at this point that the majority of the webOS version of Google Maps is kept server side. After firing up my comically out of date emulator running version 1.1 of the SDK, I discovered that all of the changes listed above were there as well.

It is great to see that Google is actively committed to enhancing the webOS version of its Maps software It gives us trust that it wont be too long before we start seeing services like Latitude and (dare I say) Navigation to make their to webOS.

Google “I'm Feeling Lucky” button leads to mystery countdown clock

2009-12-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

The feature, which generally takes users directly to the top result for their query, has been programmed to display a ticker when no words are entered into the search box.

As of 7.15pm GMT on Monday, the clock had reached 1,484,258.

Seemingly the blue numbers are only visible to people using the search giant's English language portals such as Google.com, Google.co.uk, Google.ie and Google.com.au. Attempting the same trick on Google's French and German sites gives an error box instead.

Google has not released any statement regarding the explanation of the hidden countdown, but initial speculation that the search engine giant had advance warning of the end of the world appears wide of the mark.

Simple calculations indicate that the number will reach 0 in 17 days – around the turn in the New Year.

If it is confirmed then this will be the latest in a long line of pranks and hidden treats dropped into Google products by the US firm's engineers.

Past "easter eggs", as they are known, include:

• Type "recursion" into the search box and it suggests "recursion" as an alternative, sending you on a loop of clicks that all generate identical results.

• With the arrow keys, type "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A" while using the firm's RSS feed reader, and a little ninja appears on the left of the screen, which turns partially blue.

• The Mars feature of Google Earth 5 permits the user to explore the surface of the Red Planet and chat to the locals. Typing "Meliza" into the search box will takes you to an area of the planet where you can strike up a conversation with a Martian.

Google Earth Updates Mars Imagery

2009-12-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

Google is always updating the satellite imagery in Maps and Earth to give its users with updated or better quality images. This comes in handy in lots of cases, so it is obvious why the company is investing so much in acquiring the imagery. If it were only that Google would be like any other company, however it also does things that most companies don't and that don't really have a clear financial incentive behind them. Google Earth has added Mars as a destination for a while at this instant, and Google has just updated a few of the imagery and also added some new information on several locations.

“The updates are from the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. With these updates, almost half of the martian surface is covered by imagery having a nominal resolution of 25 meters per pixel. In isolation, there are many exciting, newly-visible surface features to see,” Eric Kolb, a Googler with a very nice sounding title, geo data strategist, wrote.

You can see the new data either in the embedded Google Earth gadget, if you are on Windows or Mac, as there isn't an Earth plugin for Linux yet, or you can download the KML file provided also view it in the desktop version of Google Earth. The new images are highlighted with a red frame whereas the 3D terrain data updated is marked with a white frame.

With the high quality images, Google further added some new, interesting locations which are also marked using colored arrows. New places include layered deposits on the floor of the Herbes Chasma, indicated by the red arrow, lava flows from the Tharsis volcanoes Ascraeus and Pavonis Mons, the white arrow, some new images of Olympus Mons' Aureole, the blue arrow. There are also some spectacular images of an enormous landslide in the Shalabanta Valles, the yellow arrow, which pushed debris over a vast area, the size of Chicago, Google says. At last, some ice and dust layers in the planet's north polar plateau, Planum Boreum.

Yahoo Establishes TV Show and Movie Refiners for Video Search

2009-12-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

As Google is making strides in real-time search, Yahoo has to sit back and work mainly on the front end and the user experience, as the underlying technology is pretty much a dead end facing an imminent replacement once the Microsoft deal gets underway. However it doesn't mean that there's nothing to show, the company has been introducing all sorts of features and updates. The latest one involves its video search engine which has been getting some attention lately. When doing a search for a show or a film, Yahoo will list its characters as well as popular episodes in the left sidebar with the usual options.

“You may see that the left rail on our video search results page is becoming a place where you can use new ways to search online videos. By hooking into the “Web of Things,” we have created intelligent contextual refiners to narrow down your search intent intuitively,” Nilesh Gattani and Ranjita Naik from Yahoo Video Search wrote.

“The TV refiner that we are launching today organizes TV series queries in to main characters, popular episodes, and seasons.” The new features are like the ones Yahoo has been introducing lately, both on the video search engine and in the main one as well. In recent times, it has launched similar features for music videos, allowing users to simply find related information for the band or song they were search for. The new refiners extend the idea to TV shows and actors.

Searching for a TV show, similar to Arrested Development, will list the show's main characters, or rather the ones it finds the most videos for, but also the most popular episodes and the clips available from them. Likewise, searching for movie actors will list some of their most popular movies, allowing users to refine their search to videos exclusively from that movie.

Yahoo launches campaign to cheer 'acts of kindness'

2009-12-09T08:22:00.000-08:00

Yahoo launched a social site encouraging web users to perform random acts of kindness in the run-up to Christmas.

The You In? Campaign directs users to kindness.yahoo.com where visitors are prompted to place details of their ‘purple’ acts of generosity and inspire others.

People are also encouraged to upload photos of their acts on Flickr, whereas Yahoo maps shows where they are taking place.

Yahoo said it will also take inspiration from those on the site, which also links to ways people can donate to charities.

Meg Garlinghouse, the senior director of Yahoo for Good, the online company’s community affairs division, said, “We believe that one small act of kindness can light a ripple of generosity also we hope to inspire the Yahoo community to create a wave of goodwill around the world.”

The campaign follows Yahoo’s multi-million pound it’s you branding campaign launched in the autumn which focused on Yahoo’s latest portal rebrand, which made it easier for visitors to add services as well as apps from Yahoo and other providers including Facebook and MySpace.

MSN will Launch an Online Lifestyle Site Targeted at Women

2009-12-09T08:15:00.001-08:00

MSN is combining with the publisher of ELLE and Women's Day to create a new online lifestyle site for women. It will launch in the first half of 2010 and it will focus on style, beauty, relationships and home décor.

The news comes in the wake of the victorious launch of Wonderwall.com, an entertainment portal focused on celebrity news and the site averages 9.5 million unique views a month.

"Lifestyle is one of our top priorities because of its rising popularity and strong appeal to the adult female audience and advertisers that wish to reach them. We see a huge opportunity to expand on our present lifestyle offering by delivering a new experience that is unique to the broader lifestyle category," said Scott Moore, who is the U.S. executive producer of MSN.

I have to declare, this announcement reminds me of another certain online lifestyle site targeted to women: Yahoo! Shine.

Google’s real-time search is now live in U.K.

2009-12-09T08:00:00.001-08:00

Google recently announced real-time search is now not just limited to the Trends page. It is now live across searches on Google.co.uk. The search giant announced the new feature on Monday — it pulls in public data from Twitter, MySpace and Facebook and makes use of it to surface content that has been recently published and shared.

Basically, whenever users search for something, the most recent news articles and posts on sites like Twitter will be straight away into your results, and those results will be updated instantaneously as new articles and tweets appear.

• If you do a search for “Obama,” you may see the latest news articles and tweets, and as you look at the page, more updates are added as they are published.

• Google has previously added time filters to its different search options, so you can now see results from the past day or hour. Now it is adding an option called “latest,” highlighting these real-time results, and an “update” view showing each addition to the search results as it is published.

• These real-time results will be available on Android phones and iPhones too.

Google says it developed “dozens of new technologies” to make this happen, such as a language model that can recognize which updates contain new information, and which are just “weather buoys” automatically repeating information posted by others.

Google releases its online dictionary service

2009-12-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

BEIJING, (Xinhuanet) - Google has launched Google Dictionary, which provides users with definitions and synonyms. In addition to providing definitions from its own proprietary database of words, it also provides definitions provided by an extensive variety of scholarly sources. One can bookmark words and come back later, view a list of recent searches, and even translate words into different languages.

The company that will feel the greatest pain from this recent initiative is anticipated to be Answers.com. Earlier, Google would link back to Answers.com as soon as a user clicked on the "definition" button, but now all those links go directly to Google Dictionary. This might be a challenge to Answers.com resilience; which may possibly lose substantial traffic and a corresponding loss of advertising revenue.

Lots of current online and offline dictionary providers can also suffer as Google Dictionary attracts web traffic.

Google extends personalized search to all users

2009-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Google is extending its personalized search. From now on, all users will find their search results customized.

Google can stores up to 180 days of signed-out search activity in the user’s cookie. It stores searches users have done before as well as results they have clicked so that if they favour a certain news site Google will feature that site higher whenever it delivers the results.

"Now as soon as you search using Google, we will be able to better provide you with the most appropriate results possible", software engineer Bryan Horling and product manager Matthew Kulick wrote in a blogpost announcing the change.

Previously only users who were signed in and had enabled their web history on their Google account found their search results customized.

At present this service has been expanded to each and every user so they can opt out by deleting Google's cookies in the browser or click "Web History" in the top right corner of the search result page and then "Disable customizations".

So users can turn personalization off – but since it is switched on by default nearly all users will leave it that way, and privacy advocates will very alarmed by the fact that will be an opt-out and not an opt-in service.

Google says the aim of the move is to provide better search results to its customers. One more reason is that by building a better profile of users' web activity it can target ads more precisely.

But most of all, it will build the life of those involved in search engine optimization harder as search results will differ from user to user. From now on, convincing Google algorithms to move forward a particular site to the top of the search results will be all the more difficult.