Evnp.com | Technical Journals

Pages come to Blogger In Draft

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Pages have been a top requested feature, and they are now available on Blogger in Draft!

Blogger Pages lets you to publish static information on stand-alone pages linked from your blog. For example, you can use Pages to create an About This Blog page that discusses the evolution of your blog, or a Contact Me page that provides directions, a phone number, and a map to your location.

You create a page similar to how you write a blog post. From Blogger in Draft click the Posting | Edit Pages tab, then click New Page. (Note: you can create up to 10 pages.)

Once your page is published, you can link to it from the new Pages widget. The Pages widget lets you add links to your pages as tabs at the top of your blog, or as links in your blog's sidebar.

In the Pages widget, you can decide which pages will have links, and in what order they will appear. You can also choose whether or not you want links automatically created for pages when you create them by checking or unchecking the box to the left of Add new Pages by default.

Finally, for those of you that have custom templates, your custom template may not automatically support Pages as horizontal "tabs". If you are familiar with HTML, follow these instructions on how to add Pages to your custom template.

[from Blogger in Draft]

Download Official Gmail Tips & Tricks PDF Guide & Become Gmail Ninja

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:34:00 +0000

So many features Gmail team has added to Gmail Lab that most of us do not know all. All the features added to Gmail with intention of increasing our productivity & making it easier for us to efficiently manage emails.

If you want to become Gmail Ninja and master gmail tips and tricks then here is official Gmail Tips guide form Gmail Team. You can access all the Gmail tips and tricks at http://gmail.com/tips or download Gmail Tips PDF for free.

Gmail Tips & Tricks are grouped under different category based on number of email you receive. So if you are getting massive number of email then Gmail Master tips are for you.

Download Official Gmail Tips & Tricks PDF & become Gmail Ninja.

[via BlogDNA]

Google Docs: Now for Storage as much as Collaboration

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Google is extending Google Docs, allowing any kind of file to be uploaded up to 250 MB in size.

The move signifies how Google Docs is now a storage service as much as a collaboration platform. Enterprise customers may now store large files on Google Docs for free or a small cost. Additionally, the documents may be backed up using third-party applications.

Google is promoting the service as a way for enterprise customer to store files without the need for a thumb drive. That's a clear sign of how traditional storage devices may be bypassed by online alternatives.

Until recently, a thumb drive served as the best way to transport large files. But now, large files can be accessed from anywhere and can be used in a collaborative context. For example, Google Docs users may store files in a shared folder for group collaboration.

The capability to upload large files will be ready within the next few weeks. Users receive 1 GB in storage. Enterprise customers will also have the capability to add additional storage for $3.50 per GB per year.

Companies may use the Google Documents List API to sync files and provide additional backups.

Google is partnering with three companies to provide additional services:

Memeo Connect for Google Apps is a new desktop application that offers an easy way to access, migrate, and synchronize files to Google Docs across multiple computers.
Syncplicity offers businesses automated back-up and file management with Google Docs.
Manymoon is a project management platform that makes it simple to organize and share tasks and documents with coworkers and partners, including uploading files to Google Docs.

Google Docs is emerging as the strongest player in the storage and collaboration space. Competitors like Box.net provide similar services but are far smaller than Google.

This is a trend to watch as cloud computing becomes more predominant and the concept of collaborating online becomes more palatable. This will be especially true as it becomes apparent how documents can be accessed anywhere on any device with potentially significant cost savings.

[from ReadWriteWeb.com ]

Change Your Default Font and Styling in Gmail

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:39:00 +0000

Making your email stand out and more personal is a way a lot of people like to express themselves. Gmail has done it for you

A new function in Gmail labs lets you decide the default font and style your emails are composed in. This is how you change your Gmail messages from plain black text, to a default setting that is completely personalized:

How to change your default text styling

Browse to Labs in your Gmail account.

Look for the function called "Default Text Styling", the easiest way to find it is to use ctrl + F or command + F to do a search using these words on the page. It is about halfway down the list of Labs functions.

Change the function to Enabled, and save your changes by clicking on 'save changes' at the bottom or top of the page.

You are not brought back to your inbox view. Now, click on "Settings".

On the "General" tab in settings you will now see a box with Default Text Style about half way down the page:

You can highlight the sample text in the text box, and change the settings using the buttons displayed above. For example, you can change the font:

You can also change the color of your email text:

I changed both the font and color of my default text, and this is what it looks like now:

If, after playing around with the settings you regret your choices, and want to go back to the default settings and start over, you can do so very easily with the button on the far right:

After clicking this button, my settings went right back to the default:

Are your messages going to be more colorful now that you can change your default text settings?

[from GoogleTutor.com]

The hottest 10 Things downloads of 2009 from TechRepublic.com

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:33:00 +0000

In 2009, TechRepublic added several hundred new items to our downloads library, many of which were based on 10 Things lists. Here are the ones TechRepublic members liked the best.

1: 10 cool things you can do with a USB flash drive

Your USB flash drive can do a whole lot more than just move data around. Here’s a variety of creative ways to put that drive to good use.

2: 10+ IT pros share the utilities and tools they can’t live without

One way to make your job a little easier is to find out which tools other IT pros rely on — and then try them out for yourself. This list features the favorite tools of 13 IT pros, whose roles range from consultant to developer to net admin to DBA.

3: 10 free Microsoft programs worth checking out

If you know where to look, you can find a variety of useful software - free from Microsoft. Greg Shultz introduces a few of his favorites.

4: 10 common issues you can fix with a registry hack

Sometimes, configuring Windows to meet your needs requires a trip to the registry editor. These simple hacks can save you time and prevent a variety of problems.

5: 10 ways techs can make extra cash

If you’re searching for opportunities to supplement your income — or you’re in between jobs and need some work to tide you over — the tech field offers a number of possibilities.

6: 10 reasons Vista haters will love Windows 7

Disgruntled Vista users, take heart: According to Deb Shinder, Windows 7 addresses many Vista annoyances and offers myriad improvements of its own.

7: 10+ Microsoft Office add-ins to simplify your work

The right add-in can provide helpful features and make existing Office capabilities easier to use. Here’s a roundup of handy add-ins for various Office applications.

8: 10 ways to detect computer malware

In the ongoing war against malware threats, you need tools that will baseline your system, detect vulnerabilities, and remove existing malware.

9: 10 cool tools in Windows 7

The changes to the Windows 7 interface have gotten a lot of play, but some of the new built-in tools are just as compelling. Learn about the most impressive enhancements, from the ISO burner to the Biometric Framework to PowerShell v2.

10: 10 seriously annoying default configurations

Into every life, a little stupidity must fall. And sometimes, you just have to vent about it. Rick Vanover shares a few of the default configurations he finds especially frustrating and idiotic.

[from TechRepublic]

Simplify file management with the XCopy Tool (HTML Application)

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:36:00 +0000

If you needed to copy hundreds of files from one local hard disk to another or from one system to another across a network, would you perform the operation from Windows Explorer? Possibly. However, if you wanted to do something fancy, such as copy only those files that have changed on or after a certain date or maybe copy only those files that have the archive bit set, performing the operation in Windows Explorer would be time consuming and difficult. So you'd probably shell out to a Command Prompt window and use the good old DOS-based XCopy command, along with its detailed set of switches.

Microsoft tried to do away with the XCopy command in Vista (when you run xcopy /? you see the message NOTE: Xcopy is now deprecated, please use Robocopy) in favor of its powerful cousin, Robocopy. But too many XCopy fans must have complained, because XCopy is back in Windows 7, and there's even a new switch added to the extensive list.

Since XCopy is still a viable file management tool, I updated the XCopy Tool, an HTML application I created back in 2002. This updated version, which you can download for free, works in Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Installation

Once you download the Windows Vista IP Configuration Tool package, simply copy its three files to a folder of your choice:

XCopy Tool.hta
FileCab.ico
XCopy Tool-ReadMe.doc

The XCopy Tool.hta file is the HTA file that you'll use to launch the application. The FileCab.ico file contains the icon that the HTA uses for the control menu and the taskbar. Vista XCopy Tool-ReadMe.doc is the documentation file.

Using the XCopy Tool

Using the XCopy Tool is easy: Just double-click on the HTA file. Once you launch the XCopy Tool, you'll see the main screen, shown in Figure A. As you can see, all XCopy command's switches are available as check boxes. You can simply hover your mouse pointer over a switch to find out what it does.

Figure A

The XCopy Tool makes it easy to take advantage of the DOS-based XCopy command and its parameters.

To get started, click the Select Source and Select Destination buttons and make your folder/ drive selections. When you do, you'll see the Browse for Folder dialog box, shown in Figure B. In addition to providing a nice interface for selecting your source and destination folders, the Browse for Folder dialog box allows you to easily create new destination folders via the Make New Folder button.

Figure B

The Browse for Folder dialog box lets you choose your source and destination folders.

Once you've selected both the source and destination folders, you'll see a confirmation dialog box like the one shown in Figure C. If you click Yes, you can begin selecting options. If you click No, both the source and destination will be cleared out and you can start from scratch.

Figure C

Before you select any options, the XCopy Tool prompts you to confirm your choices for the source and destination folders.

You can then choose from any of the 30 available XCopy command options. However, you have to understand the XCopy command and know how the options work together when selecting a combination of options.

When you click OK, you'll see that current command line displayed in the dialog box and you'll be prompted to confirm the operation before you proceed, as shown in Figure D.

Figure D

The XCopy Tool will display the command line so that you can confirm that this is indeed the command you want to use.

When you click Yes, a Command Prompt window will open and display the results, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

In the Command Prompt window, you'll see the XCopy operation unfold.

[from TechRepublich.com]

Google Docs Viewer

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:13:00 +0000

When you receive a PDF, or PowerPoint, file by email you can already choose to view it in your browser, or to download the file to your computer. This is endlessly handy if you don't want to clutter your computer hard drive with files you just really need to see once, and can delete after or keep in your Gmail inbox for future referencing.

Google has expanded the possibility of online file viewing, and announced this yesterday on the Google Docs Blog.

Google Docs Viewer is an easy to use tool. The page itself is pretty simple, just containing two text boxes: one for the link to your online file you want to view, and one optional text box for a link text.

How to view documents online with Google Docs Viewer

First, surf to Google Docs Viewer
In the link text box, copy and paste the link location of your file. If you are getting it from a website, you can right click on the link and copy the link location. See the example below, I was trying to view the schedule for drop in fitness classes, but don't really want to download the entire pdf to my hard drive:
With the link location copied, you can go back to Google Docs Viewer and paste it into the link box:
Click on "Generate link", and you will receive a link you can paste into an email or IM. You will also get some HTML code if you want to integrate your document into your website or blog, and you can also opt to paste it into a website in an embedded viewer. This option looks pretty cool, and en example of how it looks is on the Google Blog post. Don't miss the little blue link right at the bottom that says "click here" if you just want to see your file directly in your browser:
Once you open the file in your browser, essentially you see something like this:

So your file looks like a regular Google Docs file, which you can still download or print if it turns out to be a document you will need to save after all.

[via GoogleTutor.com]

Google Search Options for mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Finding the exact information you need sometimes requires filtering and refining your search results. Earlier in the year, we launched a collection of tools called Search Options which enable you to easily and quickly do this from a computer.

In the US, Google are making Search Options available on Android/iPhone/Palm WebOS devices so that you can slice and dice your mobile search results as well. For example, suppose you are shopping at a store for a camera, and you would like to see what users have been saying about a specific model within the past week. You can do this simply by searching for the name of the product. Then, on the search results page, use "Options" to filter by "Forums" and refine further by choosing "Past week". See the screenshots below for a sample query.

Try these and other Search Options yourself by simply doing a mobile search on google.com and selecting Options.

Like its desktop counterpart, Search Options lets you restrict search results to recent time frames, tweak how many non-text results crop up, and perform specialty searches, in this case for forum posts and review sites. There aren't as many options as on a full-sized browser, and the Options menu is similarly tucked away, on the right-hand side in this version.
Still, the reviews search seems useful for browsing what's gotten good notice around you, when combined with mobile location, at least. Search Options should show up on iPhone, Android, and Palm WebOS phones; Windows Mobile and BlackBerry users might have to wait a bit.

[via Googlemobile Official Blog]

Install Recovery Console as Boot Menu Option on Windows XP

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:48:00 +0000

When you have a problem with your Windows computer, you'll usually be told to insert the Windows cdrom and then start the Recovery Console in order to fix the issue. So where did you put that XP disc anyway? Why can't we just install the recovery console to the hard drive?

As it turns out, you can indeed install the recovery console as a boot menu option. This won't help if your computer doesn't boot at all, but in many cases you'll find it useful.

Note: If you have a dual-boot setup with Windows Vista, there's a chance that installing this would screw up booting into Vista, so don't use this until I can confirm otherwise.

Installing Recovery Console to the Hard Drive

First you'll need to insert your Windows XP cdrom into the drive. It's important to note that your cdrom version of XP has to match the version of XP that you have installed. So if you have SP2 installed but your cd is for SP1, you'll need to read this Microsoft KB article.

Open up the Start \ Run dialog, and then type in the following command, adjusting the drive letter to match your cdrom drive:

d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

You'll be prompted with a really wide dialog box to confirm that you really want to do this.

The installation will think for a minute…

And then you'll get a prompt that the installation was successful (hopefully).

If you have problems installing this, you'll want to check out this Microsoft KB article.

Accessing the Recovery Console

Once you have the recovery console installed, you can restart your computer and you should see it in the list of boot option choices:

Once the console loads up, it will ask you which installation you'd like to logon to. You'll have to type the number, in this case you would type "1″, and then be prompted for the administrator password.

Type HELP at the command prompt to see a list of all the commands.

I won't go into detail about how to use the console, as that's really a separate article altogether.

Change the Boot Menu Timeout

After you install this, you'll suddenly notice that your computer waits at the boot menu for 30 seconds. To change this timeout, either right-click on My Computer and choose Properties or use the Win+Break shortcut key.

Select the Advanced tab, and then the Settings button under Startup and Recovery:

Now you can change the timeout value down to something more reasonable, like 5 seconds or so.

If you click on the Edit button you'll see the boot.ini file, where you can see the new line for the recovery console.

If you don't know what you are doing, don't edit this file… or you'd actually need the install cd to fix it =)

[from HowToGeek.com]

FTC asks Google for more information on AdMob deal

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:49:00 +0000

It appears that the U.S. government's anti-trust regulators have decided that Google proposed acquisition of mobile advertising network AdMob requires a bit more scrutiny. Google itself reported that the Federal Trade Commission has asked for additional information regarding the proposed deal. The acquisition of AdMob would further strengthen Google's near-stranglehold over the online advertising market by adding AdMob's system for advertising on cell phones and smartphones.

AdMob places ads not only on mobile formatted websites, but also places them inside applications and is often used by application developers as a means to finance the distribution of free apps.

While the Associated Press suggests that most deals that go through this additional information gathering stage are still approved, this further scrutiny will, at least, delays the proposed deal by some months.

Reading Gmail Threads with “Mark Unread from Here” lab

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Aside from sharing documents in Google Docs, we still end up discussing a lot of the details by email. When the discussion gets heated, or someone sends a general call-out to everyone for bits and pieces of information, I end up getting around to reading the message thread after a few people have already responded. More than once, especially when traveling, I might only see the messages after there are too many emails to read in one go. Recently, Google announced a solution to what used to cause me a lot of extra work and frustration: Mark Unread From Here.

The "Unread From Here" function is new in labs, and let's you indicate in a message thread at which message you want to start reading next time you open the thread. Basically, wherever you stop reading, you indicate that all following messages after this point are going to be considered unread until you get to them again.

How you use Mark as Unread From Here

In order for you to mark messages as unread from a certain point, you need to activate this function in Gmail labs:

Open up labs in Gmail.
Find the "Mark Unread From Here" function in the list
Select "Enable"
Scroll down the page, and save your changes.

Next time you receive a long thread of emails, and you need to refer back to them later, you can select mark unread from here from the drop down menu located in the top right corner of messages.

After you click "Mark unread from here", the message from which you clicked and all others received afterward will be considered unread. The coolest part of this feature is yet to come: When you are taken back to your inbox you will notice something very cool to the message. Not only does it show up as unread mail, if you take a close look at the sender list, you will notice that the first few senders are not boldfaced (these messages are already read), but from the point where the thread is marked as unread the sender names are boldfaced.

To test this further, I went back into the thread and selected the last message to be marked as unread. When back in my inbox, only the last sender was now boldfaced.

When clicking on the message thread now, I am taken directly to the last email I had selected to remain as unread. This is definitely the coolest, and most useful, new development in Gmail labs I have seen in a little while. I can't wait to put it to use and start saving time on long message threads! I also can't wait to see what you think about this new labs feature in the comments!

[from GoogleTutor.com]

Changing the RDP listening port

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is the de facto administrative console access, and it may be necessary to make it even more secure by changing the TCP port used for the network access. RDP transports on TCP 3389 by default for all supported versions of Windows; if you want to change the port, it requires a quick change in the Windows registry.

(Note: Editing the registry is risky, so be sure you have a verified backup before saving any changes.)

The following hive has the specific TCP port used for RDP:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp]

In this hive, the PortNumber value contains the configured port that Windows will listen for RDP connections. The default port assignment is represented as D3D in hexadecimal or 3389 in binary. For this example, I will change the port to 53389. Figure A shows this change being made on a test server.

Figure A

It may require a reboot to make the port assignment take effect (my Windows Server 2008 R2 test system did). Once the system is listening on the new port, connections need to specify the new port in the RDP client properties, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

The Windows Server system will now listen on the new port with the Svchost.exe process, visible in task manager by entering Netstat -a -n -o to view the current processes and list the associated executable.

[source TechRepublic]

Windows SteadyState Returns Your PC to Normal

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:16:00 +0000

If you have a shared access computer, it can be aggravating when other users make a bunch of changes to the settings. Today we take a look at SteadyState for Windows Vista and XP which lets you return the computer to the original state after a user session.

Windows SteadyState

Not only does SteadyState return the PC back to its original state, but you can set it up to restrict what the user can access. You can lock down virtually every aspect of the computer from programs to websites and more. Of course you'll need to be the administrator, and the first thing to do is install current drivers and Windows Updates. Then install programs and configure settings you want to how you want the machine to be every time it's restored. Once everything is set up and you create different user account, you can let the public have at it. Any changes they make to the configuration will be undone just by restarting the machine. Here we take a look at SteadyState running on a Windows XP machine.

When you install SteadyState you'll need to validate your copy of windows with Genuine Advantage. If you don't have the WGA tool already on your machine you will be prompted to download and install it.

Add and Restrict a New User

When SteadyState starts you'll get an overview of User Settings and Global Computer Settings. Now the fun part begins, you can make access as strict of lenient as you want.

In the first part of the SteadyState wizard, add the username, password, and picture. Notice you can create the user on the system drive or an alternate partition or drive.

In the next step you'll start with General settings and adjust the time the user can spend on the system. Make sure to lock the profile so they can't make permanent changes themselves.

In Windows Restrictions you can restrict them from several aspects of the OS. You can set the restrictions from High, Medium, Low, none or customize them according to your needs. You can hide certain drives from the user as well, so they can't mess around with any data on them.

In Feature Restrictions you can lock down Internet access through IE and program menus and settings. The cool feature here is you can set the user home page and also create a Whitelist of sites they will have access to.

In the Block Programs section you determine which programs a user can access.

Windows Disk Protection helps protect system settings and data on the drive where the OS is installed. It is turned off by default and to turn it on click Protect the Hard disk.

In the next screen you can turn it on and to complete the process a restart is required.

After the restart you can choose a level of protection for the disk from always removing changes, retaining them temporarily, or allowing all changes.

You can change the cache file size if you need to free up disk space. The minimum amount of space you can use is 2GB.

Schedule Windows Updates and other program updates. You can also use your own script to schedule a time.

Getting this to work in Windows 7 is rather tricky. I installed it using compatibility mode on Windows 7 32-bit, however not everything worked. Right now I see no official support for it. They were going to include a similar feature but it was scrapped. If you still have a public XP or Vista machine however, it is still a great choice.

Conclusion

This is a great program for a public computer at a coffee shop, at a school, a library or just from keeping your young ones messing things up. It officially works with XP and Vista…Maybe some of you have gotten it to work on Windows 7? Leave a comment and let us know.

Download SteadyState

[via HowToGeek.com]

Sneak Preview in Google Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:09:00 +0000

I got invited to try out a new feature in Google Calendar called Sneak Preview that allows you to simultaneously preview your friend's calendars while creating an event. Currently in Labs, the "Free or busy" gadget already allows you to check the present availability of your friends but when scheduling an event, you would still need to go to a future date, cross check your friend's calendar to make sure that all of your guests are free during a particular time before creating the event.

With Sneak Preview, you would be able to preview your friend's calendar on a new mini-calendar in the Create Event screen. This makes scheduling events much easier by allowing you to see when people are free and if the proposed time would conflict with existing events. Here's a screenshot of Sneak Preview in action:

The proposed event time is highlighted with a translucent shaded box (which is also drag-able). As you add guests to your event, their calendar would show up and you can see their events along side your own calendar. Roll over to their events and details would pop up.

This feature, however, might not be as useful to users who own several personal calenders (e.g. one for work and one for personal) as it currently only shows your default calendar.

If you're invited to test the new feature, you should see a link in your Create Event page:

Do you think this feature would make creating events easier?

[via gSpy.blogsport.com]

Translate Google Sites with one click

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Google brought translation features to many of our products in 2009, including Google Docs and Gmail and we're happy to add one more before the New Year. To make it easier for people around the globe to read the site you created with Google Sites, we've integrated with the Google Translate Element. Now, whenever someone visits a Google Site in another language, they will be given the option to translate the content into the language of their choice. All they have to do is click on the translate link at the bottom right-hand side of the page. Now, the content on your site can be translated into 51 languages, allowing you to reach a whole new audience. Check out this before and after for a Korean school's website below (or try it out for yourself).

Before

After

We hope this feature helps expand your Google site's reach to more people.

[via Google Blog - Official]

Google Voice returns to iPhone, thanks to VoiceCentral

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Ever since Apple rejected Google Voice from the App Store, Google, as well as Voice users have been steaming. Sure, you can place a call or send a text via the Google Voice website, but in mobile Safari is not exactly the iPhone experience that users are accustomed to. Google Voice's website does not allow for a seamless and easy to use experience via a mobile browser.

TechCrunch is reporting that VoiceCentral, whose third-party Google Voice app was also removed from the App Store, will bring Google Voice back to the iPhone. Interestingly though, it will do it via the browser, completely bypassing Apple's app restrictions and revenue sharing. The experience will look and feel exactly as it would were it a normal app (swiping and all). Black Swan, as they're calling it, will feature everything you'd expect, with the only exception being your contacts. You will first need to import your contacts into your Google account before being able to use them.

Another slight annoyance, according to VoiceCentral, is that when you listen to voicemails, the audio will come from the speakers, and not the earpiece. This is due to the iPhone's way of routing audio from websites (using headphones will avoid this problem). Other than that, the app should look and feel like any other iPhone app. It even has offline support, allowing access to previously received transcriptions and texts. Black Swan is coming in early 2010. You can sign up for the limited beta at their website.

Here what it can do:

Place calls through Google Voice™
Browse your recent call history
Listen to your voicemails
Read and send SMS messages
Import Google Voice™ contacts for easy dialing/SMS
Review your billing and transaction history
It can even be used offline to browse your contacts, call history, voicemails, and SMS messages. (Note: listening to voicemails still requires a connection just like the native app.)

If you want to see it in action, try it on your own

Google Browser Size Helps Keep Your Content Above The Fold

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:34:00 +0000

Most of us take them for granted, but web designers have to deal with a myriad of frustrating problems on a daily basis. From browsers that ignore standards to different screen resolutions, there's a lot for them to grapple with. Today, Google has launched a new addition to its collection of Labs tools called Browser Size that's meant to help alleivate one of these headaches.

One issue web designers face is ensuring that they keep their important content "above the fold" — you don't want users to have to scroll down to see the hottest story or a call to action. Browser Size helps with this, by visualizing just what percentage of the Internet-browsing population can see a certain part of your page. This is related not only to screen resolution, but also how large people keep their browser windows.

Using the tool is simple: type a URL in at the top of the screen, and the site will load your webpage in the background. It will then overlay a semi-transparent graphic depicting how much of the web's population can view each section of your page without scrolling. The results aren't particularly exciting — the further down or to the side you go, the fewer people can see it. But this will certainly be helpful for web designers.

The data is generated based on the browser size of users who visit Google.com. Google says that it found that the install rate for Google Earth increased by a whopping 10% simply by moving it 100 pixels higher on the page.

[via Crunch Network]

Google Sites Offers Templates; Claims It's Easier Than Sharepoint

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Google Sites is getting an upgrade. Starting today, Google will provide templates that it claims makes it possible for users with no technical background to create web sites with a degree of functionality that includes page layouts, adding links for navigation and embedded gadgets.

Templates are available for intranets, project sites, team sites, employee profile pages and other sites that people would use within the enterprise. Employees using Google Sites may submit their own templates to a gallery, similar to the services that Sharepoint offers.

Google Sites is making a clear strike against Microsoft which requires a certain level of technical skill to create a Sharepoint site.

The differences between Google and Microsoft are often quite striking. Microsoft is a document-centric organization. Sharepoint uses a file system architecture for customers to deposit their documents. With Sharepoint, companies may use a web inetrface to share their documents.

Google's approach is entirely web centric. Documents are web pages. Each document is a link, not a file. When documents are uploaded to Google, they are converted, so to speak, each document receiving its own unique URL.

It is this approach that you see with Google Sites. By being entirely web-centric, Google believes it is making it easier for employees to share information, act faster and cross-pollinate ideas.

It's difficult to say which approach is better though web converts will tell you that sharing web links is far easier than files. We agree with that point but the Sharepoint environment is tremendously popular. It has its core set of users who are happy that they can share documents in such a manner. Most organizations work in a document centric environment and are therefore comfortable with Sharepoint. It's an environment that many people trust.

[via ReadWriteWeb.com]

Access Microsoft Office Web App Tech Preview without invitation

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Many users have already received Microsoft Office 2010 Preview invitation as well as office 2010 is also leaked on torrent websites. Another interesting development at Microsoft lab is Online Office application which is to direct compete with Google Docs.

Microsoft has started accepting application for Office Web App you may register and wait for invitation but those eager users who want to try Microsoft Office Web App now just follow below steps and get instant access to Office Web App.

Access Office Web App Now Without Invitation

Go to Windows Live SkyDrive and sign in with the Windows Live ID (if you don’t have Windows Live ID then create New one ).
Upload some Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel or PowerPoint presentation) to the Documents/My Documents folder on your Skydrive
Once you Upload Office Document you will see a message “join our preview program to Create, Edit, View and Share online ”
Click on Join Our Preview program and accept agreement
Now you can access Office Web App and Click on the link “Start using the Office Web Apps today !” start using Online Office.

Web Office Application

Note: This may not work for some users. If you are non-English users then first change language to English and then try.

Thanks to Liveside.net for the hat tip

Google Reader gets new features - more social

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:03:00 +0000

When we first started improving our sharing features, our goal was to make sharing as simple and flexible as the rest of Reader. Today, we're pleased to announce that we've made four improvements to give you more sharing control and help you easily find other people's publicly shared items within Reader.

Find and follow other people

Instead of sharing your items with others and hoping they reciprocate, you can now find people with public shared items and subscribe to their shared items with one click. Use our new people search feature (powered by Google profiles) to look for people who have public shared items. You can browse by name, location, or topic, and start following new people -- all from inside Reader.

Shhh, just between us friends...

If sharing publicly isn't your cup of tea, we now allow you to share items with a specific group or with multiple groups. If you choose to do this, only people you add to your sharing groups will be able to see and comment on your shared items. If you use Gmail, you will notice that these are the same groups from your Gmail contacts -- so, changes you make to these groups in Reader will change them in Gmail as well.

Take your 15 minutes of fame

If you want people who visit your Google profile to know what you're interested in on Reader, add a link to your shared items to your Google profile. Once you check the box marked "Add a link to my Google profile," anyone using the search feature within Reader will be able to find and follow your shared items.

To make it even easier for people to find you, you can also give your Reader shared items page a custom URL that uses your Google username, like www.google.com/reader/shared/pink.black. You need to enable this under "Profile URL" on your Google profile first.

If you liked it, then you shoulda put a "LIKE" on it

Have you ever wanted to tell an author or publisher that you appreciate an article they wrote? Or maybe you want to let your friend know that you enjoyed the blog post he shared with you. With a quick click of the mouse (or a swipe of the "L" key -- for the keyboard shortcut pros), you can "like" any item in Reader. All "likes" are public, so anyone reading an item you've "liked" in Reader can see that you're a fan. Checking out shared items for people who have "liked" the same items as you is a great way to discover other people with interests similar to your own.

And one last comment - about comments

One small note for this release: the ability to see and add comments to shared items is still restricted only to people you have in a sharing group (i.e. "Friends"). So, although your shared items might be public (and publicly discoverable), only people you have added to a sharing group will be able to comment on them.

NOTE: These features are English-only

[from GoogleReader.blogspot.com]

Adsense in Google Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:00 +0000

As an AdSense publisher, you manage and develop websites, publishing content to earn money from Google's advertisements.

Google Sites is a free product (the replacement for Google Pages which going to close soon) that make the process of creating group wiki style websites easier. It can be used for many purposes, from family website or a company intranet project website. The process of making website now just like editing documents, and you can adding others contents as well, such as: videos, presentations, and calendars. All the information is stored securely online, and you (the owner) are the one decide who can view, edit the site.

Just a great new for Google Sites owner, with a recent integration, you can place AdSense ads on Google Sites to earn money in an easy way

According to Inside Adsense Blog:

If you're new to Google Sites, we encourage you to take it for a test drive today. After you've built out your site and ensured that it complies with our program policies, follow these instructions to add AdSense to your pages. You'll have the option to place ads in the sidebar as well as the main content of each page, and you can choose the formats that work best for your site. If you're not sure where to start, we encourage you to check out our optimization tips to make sure you're maximizing your site's revenue

Take advantage of the Adsense integration right now if you ready for it.

Unpatched Firefox 3.5 flaw

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:06:00 +0000

There is a new unpatched memory corruption flaw in the latest version of Firefox. What this means is that hackers could drop malware onto vulnerable systems.

Chances are this will be fixed sooner, rather than later – here is a little more about the story from The Register:

Security notification firm Secunia reports that the security bug (which it describes as extremely critical) stems from errors in handling JavaScript code. The flaw has been confirmed in the latest 3.5 version of Firefox, released in late June.

Older versions of the popular alternative browser might also be affected, Secunia warns.

Exploit code has been uploaded onto recently revived security exploit website milw0rm, a factor that could hasten the development of more attack code.

Secunia advises Firefox users to avoid browsing untrusted websites or following untrusted links pending the availability of a fix from Mozilla (there’s nothing in the pipeline just yet).

Best advice to you is to browse safely, don’t go to web sites you don’t trust, and be sure to keep your security programs up to date.

UPDATE:

Found this via Mashable and MozillaLinks.org:

As it is related to the new TraceMonkey JavaScript optimizer, users can mitigate it by temporarily disabling the optimizer. Until Mozilla addresses this vulnerability, here’s a temporary fix:

Type about:config in Firefox address bar
Set "javascript.options.jit.content" to "false"

So there is your fix for now. Mozilla reports that they are already working on a fix for the flaw and it will be released as soon as it becomes available.

[from FirefoxFacts.com]

Tasks graduates from Gmail Labs - Google Calendar has Labs

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Gmail Lab's popular Tasks feature — which integrates a to-do list with Gmail and with Google Calendars — has officially graduated from Labs and is now incorporated with Gmail for all user by default

According to Gmail blog:

We launched Gmail Labs as a forum for delivering useful (and maybe not so useful) features that might not be quite ready for prime time. The idea was always that the most popular and viable Labs features would graduate and be made more readily available to all users...and that some of the less used, less viable ones would disappear forever.

I'm proud to announce that Tasks is in that first bucket - it's been one of the most popular experimental Gmail features and it's now the first graduate from Labs.

Another greate news for Google Tasks, it's Labs features in Google Calendar (GCal)

Currently the Google Calendar Labs features include everything from background image customization and Google Docs attachments to a cool world clock widget and three other new Labs features.

According to the Google Apps Blog, you should be able to access the Labs features in a new Labs tab in your Calendar settings today, but there's still no updates in calendars yet, so you might need to check back later today if you're in a similar boat.

Whether you're celebrating the graduation of Tasks or you're excited about the Calendar Labs features, let's hear what you think in the comments.

[via Official Gmail Blog - Google Apps Blog]

New in Gmail lab: anti-phishing key

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:40:00 +0000

We're always looking for new ways to protect Gmail inboxes from spam and phishing. Last year, we started taking extra steps to protect you from fake eBay and PayPal emails, requiring that any email claiming to come from one of eBay's or PayPal's domains actually comes from them. We do that by looking at the "From" header, and when it says "ebay.com" for example, it means it really did come from ebay.com. Anything else is rejected; it won't even appear in your spam folder because Gmail won't accept it.

Now, unless you are a regular reader of this blog with a photographic memory, you may not be aware of this extra protection. So, we thought we'd add a little something to remind you. Turn on "Authentication icon for verified senders" from the Labs tab under Settings, and you'll see a key icon next to verified emails that are super-trustworthy.

"Super-trustworthy" is a technical term Google just invented that means:

The sender, usually a financial institution, is a target of phishers
All of the sender's email is authenticated with DKIM
Gmail rejects any fake messages that claim to come from this sender, but actually don't.

It's a bit of work for senders to make their email super-trustworthy, which is why this feature is limited to just eBay and PayPal right now. We hope to add more senders in the future, and when we do, you'll know because you'll see the super-trustworthy key icon magically appear by those senders too.

You can discuss more about this here.

[from GmailBlog]

Useful Google Chrome tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Huycb) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:54:00 +0000

There is no doubt that Google Chrome browser has grown in popularity since its launch and could well become the most used browser in some years, primarily because of its speed and efficiency and also because it would now form the basis of a new operating system.

I personally use Google Chrome a lot on a daily basis and so far I’ve found it to be very useful. Like in case of every tool, there are many cool tricks associated with this browser too which make working with the browser a breeze. Here are six such tricks.

1. Detach a Tab to New Window

Firefox 3.5 now has it but it was Google Chrome which introduced it. You can easily click and drag a tab outside of the main browser window to a new window

2. Drag Downloads To Desktop / Folder

Another cool feature similar to the tab detach feature. You can drag and drop downloads to any folder or the desktop directly from the browser

3. Learn The Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts help in increasing your efficiency while working on the computer. Google Chrome has its own set of useful keyboard shortcuts which you can find here.

4. Use Resources Page To Check Website Load Time

Right click on a web page and click on ‘ Inspect element ‘ . Then click on ‘ Resources ‘ tab to check what parts of a web page are taking time to load. Useful for developers and webmasters

5. Make the Most Out Of Address Bar

Google Chrome’s address bar works as Google search bar too. Hence you could do things like conversions, calculations and dictionary lookups directly from the address bar.

6. Drag & Resize Text Box On a Web Page

Another cool feature. You can drag any text box at the corner and increase its size. Like in the screenshot below, I can resize the comment box of this blog easily by dragging it downwards

[from GoogleTutor.com]