Google Play – One stop for Entertainment Anywhere

Android Market is now Google Play and it seems amazing.

Check it out. 🙂

This is what Google has to say about it.

Introducing Google Play

Your favorite entertainment is now all in one place, always accessible on the web and across your Android devices. Learn more at http://play.google.com/about

Music on Google Play

With Music on Google Play, discover millions of tracks available for purchase, upload 20,00 songs in the cloud for free, and stream music instantly on the web or on your Android device. Shop the store to get personalized recommendations based on what you listen to most. Learn more at http://play.google.com/store/music. And pick up the track featured here from The Bell – Whatever Did You Say at Google Play: http://goo.gl/c0FSE.

Movies on Google Play

With Movies on Google Play choose from an incredible selection of thousands of movies including HD titles, new releases, award-winning films or your favorite classics. Whether you are in the mood for comedy, drama, animation, action or a documentary, there’s a movie that’s right for you. Learn more at http://play.google.com/store/movies. And start watching Drive here http://goo.gl/FCy9C.

Books on Google Play

With Books on Google Play discovering your favorite books and authors has never been easier. Shop the world’s largest selection of eBooks – from thrillers to comedy, cookbooks, bestselling fiction, and everything in between. You’ll find over 4 million books to choose from, including millions of free titles. Learn more at http://play.google.com/store/books. And get Bossypants by Tina Fey here http://goo.gl/vSO6n.

Android Apps on Google Play

With Apps on Google Play download more than 450,000 Android apps and games and begin enjoying them instantly on your Android phone or tablet. Experience all the entertainment you love, anywhere you go. Discover more at http://play.google.com/store/apps. And download Where’s My Water visit http://goo.gl/nCWKH.

Make Site-Specific Searches Within Google Search Results

Google’s “site:whatever.com” function, which lets you search for a term inside a specific web site. Now the search engine has made it possible to do this-site-only searches from a search box underneath certain top results (based on, the company says, “metrics that measure how useful the search box is to users”). It might be convenient if you stumble upon a site you didn’t know about in your own searching, but it’s also an easy way to help your less web-savvy Uncle Bif and Aunt Marge find what they’re looking for, rather than explaining the semantics of search to them.

Search within a site: A tale of teleportation [via ArsGeek]

Sync Your Google Calender to Outlook and Back Automatically

Have your calendar available on the desktop as well as in the cloud with the Google Calendar Sync desktop tool, freshly released from the big G. Sync your primary calendar on your vanilla or Google Apps account to Outlook automatically at a refresh rate you define. Syncing can be one- or two-way, meaning you can add and edit events in Outlook and have them sync to GCal or vice versa automatically. The only catch is that it only works with your primary calendar, not secondary ones. Google Calendar Sync is a free download for Windows only. (Of course, having Outlook helps.) This coupled with Gmail IMAP really makes Outlook a viable GApps client.

Google Calendar Sync [via Lifehacker AU]

Link : Lifehacker

Get Notified of New Gmail in Multiple Accounts with GmailAssistant

Free, open source application GmailAssistant monitors multiple Gmail accounts and alerts you of new mail. The application can monitor anything from your inbox to specific labels, so you can get very granular about what you want to be notified of. The biggest drawback is that GmailAssistant does not support Google Apps on your domain, but if you’ve only got Gmail.com accounts, that won’t matter. Aside from that, GmailAssistant is highly customizable for individual accounts and works like a charm. GmailAssistant is free, Windows and Linux only, requires Java. If you prefer to keep your alerts in the browser or you want support for Google Apps addresses, check out the Gmail Manager Firefox extension.

GmailAssistant [SourceForge via Download Squad]

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Quickly Compose New Gmail Messages with Launchy

Lifehacker reader Samar liked the quick-write convenience of the GmailThis bookmarklet, but wanted to dig deeper to find a solution that would both work with his (and our own) favorite Windows keyword launcher, Launchy, and run whether or not Firefox (or any default Windows browser) was already open. We’re glad he did, because he’s come up with a one-line command that lets you open new Gmail composition windows from anywhere. The tip, and screenshots, after the jump.

Read Complete Article : LifeHacker

New Android SDK gallery

Here it is folks, the latest and greatest that Google has to offer — the new Android SDK. As you can see, they’ve made some major cosmetic changes, as well as added some functionality. Why tell you about when we can show you, though? Take a look at the gallery below and see it all for yourself.

Source : engadget

Gallery : engadget

Google revamps Android UI, backs away from iPhone

Google today surprised developers by issuing a major overhaul of its Android SDK, the developers’ kit for its new mobile operating system. Though referred to just as the m5-rc14 release, the software reveals a major change to the user interface that significantly scales back similarities to Apple technology in its look and feel. The Mac OS X-like dock at the bottom has been replaced with a tray of buttons that bring users directly to the features they like. Other elements such as the full-page web browser and Google Maps are also now more complete and share less of a direct similarity, screenshots show. The upgrade also takes to heart developer complaints about the software and includes several major but less visible upgrades: in addition to easier development of layouts, any app can now translate addresses to map coordinates and back. Audio formats such as MIDI and OGG are now also built-in, according to Google.

Android’s upgrade brings the Linux-based platform much closer to production quality for its expected release, which should start with handsets in the second half of the year from companies such as HTC, Motorola, LG, and Samsung. Most of these devices are understood to focus heavily on Internet access and are expected to include some models with GPS and touchscreens.

Source : Electronista

Get the Most Out of Gmail with These Power Tips

Matt Cutts, an engineer at Google, asked his blog readers for tips on how to improve Gmail—and he then compiled his responses on how to maximize your Gmail experience. While you can’t currently paste images into your email, for example, Matt suggests previously mentioned Firefox extension DragAndDropUpload. If you want to only read unread email in your inbox, you can perform a search for label:unread label:inbox. If you’re looking to compile an email but want to compose your message in a new window, hit the “C” button (whereas lowercase “c” allows you to compile the email without opening a new window).

You can get even more out of Gmail with Lifehacker’s Better Gmail 2 Firefox Extension. Have your own Gmail tips? Let’s hear them in the comments.

11 Power Tips for Gmail [Matt Cutts]

Source : LifeHacker

Google releases Team Edition Software

Google has done it again! The world’s most popular company has released another free program suit which could directly impact Microsoft’s balance sheet. The Team Edition software is an answer to Microsoft’s money minting Office suit, which includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and calendar programs. One of the major benefit of Google’s program is that it lets people in the same organization to share documents and information over internet.

Main Highlight

* Work on the same document together, instead of sorting out changes in attachments
* Share documents and calendars securely with your co-workers with a click
* Access it all from any computer, and even from mobile phones
* Invite other team members to join and share with you

Google Docs – Create and share documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
Google Calendar – Arrange meetings, set schedules, and publish event information.
Google Talk – Instant message with co-workers and make PC-to-PC voice calls for free.
Start Page – Preview your calendar and docs, add gadgets and search the web from one place.

Source : PCLaunches

Power Up Your Google Apps with iGoogleBar

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux) : The iGoogleBar Firefox extension beefs up the default Google menu bar, which displays links to various other Google applications, adding full-on previews for each app by clicking the Google app icon (which iGoogleBar also adds). Aside from the on-click previews, iGoogleBar also gives you your unread Gmail and Google Reader counts. For the most part the app appears to serve up previews of mobile versions of each application, so it provides a quick and useful dashboard look at all of your Google apps through the simple Google apps menu bar. iGoogleBar is free, works wherever Firefox does.

Source : iGoogleBar [via Googlified]

Check Gmail from the Couch with Your Apple Remote

Mac only : Gmail user Vic Shih has released a set of actions for controlling Gmail via remote control. Apple remote control fans may remember our previous post on freeware iRed Lite, which lets you assign actions to the various remote buttons. Vic has done just that, and offered the files for download. Setting this up is a little tricky for iRed Lite newbs, so let me walk you through it.First you’ve got to have iRed Lite installed and running. Download Vic’s .ZIP file of iRed Lite actions and extract it. In iRed Lite, create a new layer—to do so, launch the iRed Lite editor, and from the drop-down to the right of the “Go to Layer…” select box, choose “New Layer.” Enter a layer title (I used “Gmail”) then click on the triangle on the bottom right of the editor to expand the panel and reveal more options. Click the + sign under Applications, and name it “Gmail.” Then click the + sign under Groups and call it, say, “Email.” Now click on the “Import…” button and select an action from the .ZIP file you just extracted. Do this for each action.

Then, once all the actions are listed in the Gmail->Email group, select one, then select a button on the remote map. In the “Button” tab on the left, click the “Assign Action” button to associate that action with the button. Wash, rinse, and repeat for each action and button. Press the Save button when you’re done. Here’s what my completed mapping looked like:

Now, assuming you’re logged into Gmail and using Firefox, you can move between conversations, open messages, increase and decrease text size, and more using your trusty little remote. Fun! Admittedly iRed Lite isn’t the most stable or user-friendly app in the world, but if you’ve got a Mac Mini in the living room, this is a nifty way to check your email from the couch. Vic’s actions are a free download.

Navigate Gmail Using Your Apple Remote [Vic’s Blog]

Source : LifeHacker

Enter Data into Google Spreadsheets via Custom Forms

Google adds an interesting new feature to its online spreadsheets product: the ability to create and share an entry form with others for collecting information (versus giving them full access to the spreadsheet itself). Looks useful for surveys or any kind of easy information collection for a large number of people. Now that you don’t have to be a Gmail user to use Google Docs (and Spreadsheets), it’s open to everyone, too. To make a form for a spreadsheet, in the Share tab, check the “to fill out a form” option under “Invite people.”

Stop sharing spreadsheets, start collecting information [Official Google Docs Blog]

Source : LifeHacker

Google and Dell planning an iPhone rival?

Partners in crime Google and Dell are apparently constructing an iPhone rival. Word is that they will reveal the plans at the 3GSM telecoms conference in Barcelona next month. As usual, no one is opening their mouths for clarifications, and Google insiders deny an announcement is due in the near future. In any case the Gphone rumors have not died although the Android has been announced instead. Android, which will be available this year, will bring all of Google’s online services to mobile users. Presently mobile phones use an assortment of operating systems to hook onto the net, including systems from Microsoft and London-based Symbian. Dell is also planning on venturing into the mobile phone arena; they even poached Motorola executive Ron Garriques to run its new global consumer group.

Dell currently also produces personal digital assistants and strategy analytics director Neil Mawston says: “It makes sense for Dell to have a high-profile entry back into the market because its last effort with PDAs pretty much flopped.”

Source : Link

Google’s Interactive Barcode the Future of advertising on paper.

Are you in the market to advertise something that’s so unique that it is bound to raise a few eyebrows if advertised in the local newspaper? I mean will you even know if someone has even noticed your advert?? Google, through AdWords/AdSense has created perhaps the most advanced advertising measurement system in the world.Google has come up with a unique method to help you, ‘Cryptic/ interactive Barcodes’ . Dan Frommer at Silicon Alley Insider alerts us to this new offering from Google: the ability to purchase ads within newspapers that contain a 2D bar code. If a consumer sees such an ad, they can capture a picture of the barcode, and special software will then de-code it and send them to a specified page on the mobile Web. Apparently, this advertising format is already gaining popularity in Japan. By making newspaper ads interactive, advertisers will have much more insight into how their ads are performing, and presumably, be able to get a better return on their investment. For consumers, the ad format beats writing down a phone number or cutting out a coupon. A mobile exec tells Frommer that probably only around 1% of phones in the US have the necessary software installed. Thus, while including a bar code in a print ad might be a nice novelty, it’s not likely to be a good investment at this time.

That said, with Google Android ramping up this year with the support of most of the carriers, the company clearly has a plan for how to get the software on more phones. As usual, Google is aiming big on this one, and has a very clever strategy for making it work. However, I think it is likely still at least a few years until they get enough traction to make barcode ads commonplace.

Source : Link

Google Experimental Search Views Let You See Results as Timeline, Map and More

Google has just unveiled a handful of new experimental search result views that you can make your new default, delivering you search results in timeline or map form, with new, more robust keyboard shortcuts, with a more detailed left-hand navigation menu or a number of others views.

Some of these, like the timeline or map result views, would only come in handy if you were doing a specific type of search. While they look pretty neat and could come in handy once in a great while, we can’t really envision them catching on in any widespread fashion.

Some of the others, however, look to be much more functional. Shortcut aficionados will love the new keyboard shortcuts, allowing you to zip through a large number of search results without the inefficiency of using a mouse. Don’t be surprised if these start functioning on the main Google search before too long.

You can see samples of all Google’s new search views as well as make any one of them your default now, so go ahead and poke around and see if one catches your fancy.

[Google Experimental Search Views via Official Google Blog]

Better GReader Updated with New Skins and Features

Finally got around to dusting off the Better GReader Firefox extension this weekend and jazzed it up with three new skins and features. My favorite skin is the beautiful Mac OS X skin, but the handy Reader Minimized skin and the updated Optimized options are useful, too. There are also two new Preview Item scripts in the mix, which loads a post’s originating web page in a frame right inside Reader. You can now also bypass that annoying “iGoogle or Reader?” prompt page with the Auto Add to Reader feature. Go grab the download at Better GReader’s homepage, or if you have it installed already, just update from Firefox’s Add-ons dialog box.

Trick out Google Reader with Better GReader [Lifehacker Code]

Source : LifeHacker

Google Sidebars

Firefox and Opera have a little-known feature: the sidebar. You can open any page in a persistent sidebar that sits in the left of your window. Because the sidebar is usually very small, not every web page is usable when added to the sidebar.

If the links from this page don’t automatically create a sidebar, you’ll have to bookmark them and select “Show in panel” (for Opera) or go to the Bookmark Manager, and enable “Load this bookmark in the sidebar” in the bookmark’s properties.

1. Google Notebook – a simplified version of Google Notebook that lets you access your notes and easily add new notes. It’s a good idea to use it if you don’t want to install the extension.

2. Google Talk – the Flash gadget for Google Talk is a good replacement for the desktop client if you don’t use more advanced features like voice chat or file sharing.

3. Google Search – this page was designed for Internet Explorer and it’s useful if you want to see the list of search results in the sidebar.

4. Google Docs & Spreadsheets – the list of your files sorted by the last modified date. (If the sidebar doesn’t show any document, replace 100 with a value smaller than the number of documents from your account. This is a bug.)

5. Google Calendar – it shows the calendar, your agenda and you can use it to quickly add events.

6. As most of these pages were actually created for Google gadgets, you may be wondering if it’s possible to add any gadget to the sidebar. Some of the gadgets can be added by bookmarking this address:

http://gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=[Gadget Source]

where [Gadget Source] is the URL of the gadget’s source code, which can be found if you click on the little arrow from each gadget box and select “About this gadget”.

Example:http://gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://www.counttonine.com/google-sudoku.xml (a Sudoku game).

Now that you have a lot of sidebars, you’ll want a way to organize them.

Opera lets you easily switch between panels and for Firefox there’s an extension called All-in-One Sidebar that adds this functionality.

Google Sidebars by Ionut Alex Chitu

Source : googlesystem.blogspot

Google Maps in Your Sidebar

Mini Map Sidebar is probably the greatest Firefox extension for maps and geographical information. Its simple interface hides a lot of powerful tools that help you find places directly from your browser’s sidebar.

The sidebar lets you drag and drop addresses from the current web page, search the map, get the latitude/longitude, embed the map or send a link by email. It’s also easy to switch from Google Maps to Yahoo Maps, Windows Live Local or Google Earth. You always have a list of recent addresses, so you can go back to another address with just a click or select them when you want to get directions.

The extension also adds two options in the contextual menu that let you open the selected address in the sidebar or in a new tab.

Other interesting features: geodiscovery (if a page has geotags, you can view the locations – for example: some Flickr photos), preview KML files before opening them in Google Earth, find places reviewed at Platial and Tagzania.

Overall, the extension is very useful if you need to map a lot of places and opening Google Maps in a new tab is too time-consuming.

 

Source : Link

Keep Google Docs Close at Hand with gDocs Sidebar

Windows/Mac/Linux : For those who have migrated their day-to-day documents to Google Docs, or those just looking for a good reason to do so, gDocs Sidebar might be the time-saving, access-enabling tool you’re looking for. The free extension for Firefox adds a full-featured sidebar view of your uploaded documents, allowing you to search them, sort by document type, date or author, and narrow your view to specific folders (although sub-folders aren’t supported yet). Better still, those who despaired to see last week’s release of a drag-and-drop uploader released only for Windows get the same functionality in gDocs. My only complaint at this point is with its keyboard shortcut, which I had to re-assign from Ctrl-Shift+G to prevent the “Find” dialog from popping up with. All in all, however, it’s a Google Docs fan’s best friend and time-saver.

gDocs Sidebar is a free download and works wherever Firefox does.

gDocs Bar [via Google Operating System]

Source : LifeHacker

Put Documents Online in One Click with Google Docs Uploader

Windows only : Google has released a simple one-purpose application that lets you upload multiple documents at once to a Google Docs account, as well as add right-click uploading options for all the document types accepted by the free online office suit. Before the free app’s release, meant to show off the Google Docs API, your best bet for posting multiple files was through email, but even that had a 500KB size restriction and only worked with certain document types. Not much more to say—it’s a simple, effective tool, and it seems to work pretty quickly. Google Docs Uploader is a free download for Windows only and requires .NET Framework 2.0.

Google Docs Uploader [Google Data API Blog via Google Operating System]

Source : LifeHacker