Google Offers "Transparency" in the Form of a Dashboard
My Clippings November 6th, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from Google Starred
That whole “don’t be evil” thing is all well and good, but when a company’s whole goal is cataloging the world’s information, it would–at the very least–be nice to know what Google knows about you. The company has just launched Dashboard, which aggregates the different information its gathered from 20 different Google products, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts, and Latitude.
You’ll need to sign in to view your own personal information. Users can also edit account information from the page, such as privacy settings. Of course transparency doesn’t mean that you can’t still pat yourself on the back. Writes Google,
The scale and level of detail of the Dashboard is unprecedented, and we’re delighted to be the first Internet company to offer this–and we hope it will become the standard.
Tags: blockquote, gmail, Google, Information, IO, ma, php
Trick Out Google Apps for Your Domain [Google Apps]
My Clippings October 28th, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from Google Starred
You registered a domain name and set up the free Google Apps Standard Edition to get Gmail, GTalk, GCal, and GDocs running behind it. Now, take a look at some advanced settings Google Apps (for your domain) makes available.
What the what? Sometimes we refer to all of Google's regular, free, public products as "Google Apps," but today we're referring to the product formerly known as "Google Apps for Your Domain" as just plain "Google Apps." (Note to Google: Come up with a clearer naming convention.) Give this flavor of Google Apps a domain name you own—like yourfamily.org or example.com—and it puts Google services behind it. If you've got a regular Google Account and [email protected] email address, that's cool—you can forward mail for [email protected] address to and from it. But Google Apps lets you create and manage several users associated with your domain and enable various services for them. Google Apps (for your domain) comes in several flavors: Standard Edition (free for individuals and non-affiliated groups, what we’re going to cover here), Premier Edition (for businesses), Non-Profit Edition, Education Edition, and Government Edition.
Nerd Threat Level: Orange
This flavor of Google Apps is only useful to people who own their own domain name (or want to purchase one), and who plan to set up a workgroup behind that domain. For example, if you’re Carol Brady and you register thebradybunch.com domain name, you’re going to want to set up several users at that domain. With Google Apps, Carol could create a [email protected] account, a [email protected] account, all the way down to Cindy, Bobby, Alice, and Tiger. When Marcia gets hitched? Carol can add her spouse to the family domain. When Alice moves onto greener pastures? Carol could shut down or suspend her account.
The two key advantages to using Google Apps this way are: 1.) you get a custom [email protected] email address that you can take with you to another email provider if Gmail goes away or you want to transfer it. Your regular @gmail.com address is married to Google’s service, so you can never use it with another provider. 2.) You get system administrator-level capabilities for setting up your workgroup’s IT needs with Google’s easy interface. We’ve already done an an overview of what Google Apps can do; if you haven’t already, here’s how to get it set up with your domain.
Tags: Advent, amazon, cli, email, gmail, Google, IO, ma, man, php, Remove, security, ssl, way, wind, XP
Go Straight to Your Unread Gmail Messages with a Shortcut [Shortcuts]
My Clippings October 8th, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from Google Starred
You probably already know how to find unread messages in Gmail (just search is:unread in:inbox), but if you want quick, bookmarkable access to only those unread messages in your inbox, CNET has a simple suggestion.
The video above walks through the basic idea. They suggest not just adding a bookmark to the is:unread in:inbox URL (which, if you’re a regular old Gmail user, is http://mail.google.com/mail/?&shva=1#search/is%3Aunread+in%3Ainbox), but also setting up a keyword bookmark for that URL so you can instantly open your unread messages in a couple of keystrokes.
I love the last part, but that’s not terribly surprising; I think keyword bookmarking is one of the best features in Firefox. Either way, this simple bookmark could be a useful one if you have trouble keeping your unread messages at “zero”.
Google unveils Chrome OS preview video? Update: Nope
My Clippings September 24th, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from Google Starred
Filed under: OS Updates, Google, Browsers
Ever since Google announced plans to launch a new computer operating system called Chrome OS a few months, we’ve seen an onslaught of so-called “leaked” screenshots of the operating system. But last night the Google Chrome Browser team posted a message on Twitter linking to a Google Chrome OS preview that looks like it could be the real deal.
Update 2 (see update 1 below): OK, it’s almost definitely fake. The Twitter account in question is not affiliated with Google. Nice looking fake though.
The video makes the OS look slick, polished,and definitely looks like a web-based operating system based on the Chrome Browser. The only reason I’m still a bit skeptical is because the video was uploaded in July and the Tweet doesn’t say explicitly that this is the real thing.
It looks like you’ll have to login to Chrome OS with your Google Account credentials. Once you’re in you’re presented with a browser window and a dock with links to web applications including Gmail, Google Calendar, and GTalk. There’s also a program launcher which gives you access to more applications, including Skype and other programs that I’m assuming need to run from the desktop, so Chrome OS isn’t all about web applications.
The video also shows a chess match, which looks like it’s being played with another user through Google Wave. Google Chrome OS is designed to be run as a netbook operating systems at launch and should be available as a developer preview later this year. It could show up on mini-laptops in 2010. You can find another photo and a video after the break.
Update: CrunchGear, which spotted this story before we did, determines that the video is fake since the chess match is identical to one being played in a Google Wave promotional image. That doesn’t really mean anything though. It could just be the same shot used in two promos. But the fact that the video was posed in July still gives me reason for pause.
Continue reading Google unveils Chrome OS preview video? Update: Nope
Google unveils Chrome OS preview video? Update: Nope originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: email, gmail, Google, Inc., IO, Photo, php, video, wind, XP
Push for Gmail: it’s here, it works, and it’s limited
My Clippings September 23rd, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from Google Starred
Filed under: Internet Tools, iPhone
If you use Gmail, you have something to be excited about today, because you can finally have new email messages pushed directly to your iPhone when they arrive.
For many users, however, their first response is “it’s about time!” and others have even gone as far as saying “it’s finally here, no thanks to Apple.” This new feature, unveiled this morning by Google, has even been called a “workaround” to Apple’s alleged refusal to support push email, but in reality this isn’t the case.
Push: What is it, and how does it work?
To understand why push services have not been available before, let’s first discuss what exactly push is. When a client (be it a mail program, Twitter client, or web browser) needs to notify a user when new content or information is available, it has to periodically connect to the server and check for changes.
This is the way email clients have worked for years: the client checks with the server at a defined interval (usually every 5-15 minutes), downloads any new messages, and notifies the user that new mail has arrived. Many other services, such as RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, and even the Gmail website work the same way; they just check the server more often, which gives the appearance of real-time notifications.
Other services, such as instant messaging clients, maintain a constant, active connection to the server at all times. When new information is available for the client, the server sends, or “pushes” the information directly to the client as soon as it is available. In corporate environments, mail services such as Microsoft Exchange have paved the way for push email, by having the mail client (usually Outlook, Entourage, or other clients that support Exchange) maintain an active connection to the mail server, which allows the server to notify the client immediately when new mail arrives.
Read on to find out how Gmail push works, and what you need to know to get it set up on your phone.
Continue reading Push for Gmail: it’s here, it works, and it’s limited
TUAWPush for Gmail: it’s here, it works, and it’s limited originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: Apple, email, gmail, Google, Inc., Information, IO, Microsoft, way, wind, workaround
Midori – a lightweight Webkit-based browser – lands on Windows
My Clippings September 14th, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from My Clippings on NewsGator Online
Filed under: Windows, Linux, Open Source, Browsers
It’s important to note that Midori is still in the alpha stage – recently hitting 0.1.10 on Linux and the Windows binaries now on 0.1.8. If you’re after absolute stability, Midori might not be your thing. I experienced the occasional crash while playing with the interface, though it was plenty stable while surfing and utilizing web apps.
With the same six tabs open in Midori and Firefox 3.5.3 – including GMail and two javascript-heavy web apps – Midori used about 80Mb less memory, peaking at about 99Mb total. The browser doesn’t quite have Chrome’s rendering zippiness, but it’s still respectably fast.
So what else can Midori do? Apart from the expected features like tabbed browsing, and bookmark and history management it’s got support for Userscripts, Userstyles, the Netscape plugin architecture, and extensions. Search options can be customized as well and you can assign a token (i.e. preface with g to search with google).
Want to learn more about Midori yourself? Check the FAQ over at XFCE.org or download it yourself and take Midori for a spin!
Midori – a lightweight Webkit-based browser – lands on Windows originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Sponsored Topics:
Google Chrome – Google – Midori – Mozilla Firefox – Browsers
Go to Source
Tags: email, gmail, Google, Inc., IO, Javascript, Linux, php, script, wind, XP
How To: Back Up All Your Stuff, For Free [How To]
My Clippings September 12th, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from My Clippings on NewsGator Online
People don’t neglect backing up their computers because it’s hard—it isn’t, at all. No, people file into the inevitable death march of data loss for one reason: Backing up usually costs money. But it doesn’t have to.
When your concerned friends and family insist that you have to back your data up (as anyone who’s seen my atrociously beaten-down laptop in the last few months has done to me) they’re effectively telling you two things: That backing up your data will save you a massive headache in the future, because more likely the not, your hard drive will fail; and, less bluntly, that you need to buy a hard drive. And who wants to do that? It’s hard to lay out the cash for a backup hard drive, since the payoff is uncertain, and (hopefully) far away. It’s a good investment—not an easy one.
The good news is, most of us cheapskates can still keep our most important files safe without spending a dime, or wasting more than a few minutes. Here how:
Note: These methods don’t give you traditional, full backups—they are ways to keep copies of the files that matter most to you, like your documents, photos, music and videos.
Share
Do you live with someone else? Do you share a network with someone else? Then hey, you’ve got an ready-built backup system right there! There are a few ways to deal with this setup, from stupid-simple to moderately complex.
First, you need permission. Whoever your networked buddy is, sit them down and have a talk. Give them a glass of milk, and explain to them how important data backup is. Persuade them. Coax them. Scare them. Offer to store their backups in exchange for them storing yours. Great! Now you have a partner in data safety. Congratulations.
The easiest, most direct and least intimidating way to get free backups is to set up simple file sharing on your PC or Mac. On the PC, it’s just a matter of ticking a few boxes and setting a few parameters (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7) and on Mac, it’s not much harder (To another Mac, to a PC, courtesy of Lifehacker).
Tags: Apple, backup, gmail, Google, IO, Mac, Microsoft, Photo, recovery, video, Vista, way, wind, XP
Streamfile Transfers 150MB Files Without Software [File Transfer]
My Clippings August 22nd, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from My Clippings on NewsGator Online
Transferring files over instant messenger is usually more miss than hit, and email limits you to 25MB at most—if you’re both on Gmail. Streamfile facilitates streaming file transfers of up to 150MB, or 300MB with a free sign-up.
Hit-and-run file upload services like drop.io already offer file storage and sharing of up to 100MB, and more with paid accounts, so the main reason you’d pick a tool like Streamfile is its streaming powers. As soon as one party starts uploading a file, the other party can hit a link sent by email or other means and start downloading it under 256-bit encryption. Neither party requires anything more than a browser—not even a Flash plug-in, at that—and the links automatically die after 24 hours.
Streamfile offers larger file sizes (300MB), concurrent streams to multiple downloaders, and boosts the expiration to 48 hours for those who register with a free account, and even bigger files and wait periods for those paying $4.95 per month. As the Download Squad blog points out, however, most anyone signing up for an account will want to head into their settings and un-check the options allowing Streamfile to send marketing messages or share your email with a third party.
Streamfile is a free service, sign-up not required.
Gmail Imports Mail and Contacts from Old Email Accounts [Gmail]
My Clippings August 22nd, 2009 by System
Automatically pulled from My Clippings on NewsGator Online
Earlier this year Gmail allowed new users to import contacts and messages from old email accounts to make switching easier. Today they’ve added that feature for everyone, meaning if you’ve got old email you’d love to import to Gmail, now you can.
Assuming you’re already logged into your Gmail account, just point your browser to the Accounts and Import tab of your Gmail settings and click the Import mail and contacts button to get started. Then just follow along with the simple import wizard; enter your other email address, provide the password, and tell Gmail what you want to import, how you’d like it labeled, and whether or not you want to keep bringing in new mail for the next 30 days.
You’ve always been able to import other email into Gmail via POP fetching, but this simple wizard simplifies and streamlines the process.
