LostInTechnology

5 Excellent Chrome Extensions to Manage Your Google Accounts

Posted on 17. Mar, 2010 by Umar.Anjum.

I am an avid Google fan. From its search engine, to Gmail, to Calendar, I have used many Google services and have always noticed Google’s motto of improvement in action. Nowadays, the Google product I use most is Chrome. I like how quickly it responds to my actions and how it takes less time to load up webpages.

Recently, I started searching for Google-related Chrome extensions. I cannot think of a more fitting way to use Google’s services than through its very own browser. I came across many extensions, picked out the best 5, and decided to share them with all of you.

If you are looking for a Chrome extension for any Google product (from Gmail to Voice, from Reader to Gtalk), take a look at my list below, read each entry, and see which extension best suits your needs.

Continue Reading

Why You Should Use Google Voice

Posted on 15. Mar, 2010 by Squealing.Rat.

Google Voice, previously Grand Central, is a free service that gives you the capacity to merge your phone numbers into one, transcribe your voice mail, send text messages from your computer and more. This service can be extremely helpful for the those who spend a lot of time on their computers and smart phones.

While Google Voice is still in an invite only stage, many have reported that they received an invite within a week after applying for one on the Google Voice invite form.

After getting the invite, you are invited to port your own number over or pick a new one for free. I would suggest that you pick a new number, because it is free and with that you get the full features list. I’ll call this account the full account, because with the full account, you not only get a new number and have access to all of the features, but also the option to port your own number over as well. You can see the difference between a full Google Voice account and a ported number Google Voice account here.

You can pick your Google Voice number by searching through their long list, either by number phrase or word phrase. Once you pick your number (which can have any area code), you are asked to enter your forwarding number. This can either be a cell phone or a land line. While Google Voice is ideal for someone with several numbers, one forwarding number will suffice.

Google Voice will guide you through the process of setting up that forwarding phone. You will be called, and asked to enter a two digit number which is displayed on the screen. After that, you can press one to begin recording your greeting messages.

After that,  you can begin tweaking your settings. If you have another phone you would like to add, click settings at the top of the screen, then add another phone.

If you and your partner both want to have Google Voice accounts point to one number, you are in luck. While Google Voice limits a mobile number to only one account, they do allow you to activate a home phone to two different Google Voice accounts.

Let me take you through some of the features that explain why I recommend Google Voice to others.

Continue Reading

What’s the Buzz with Buzz and Buzzers and Buzzing

Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by Squealing.Rat.

We all remember the beginning of Twitter, right? Before there were tweets, retweets, tweeters, and tweeps? And now, there is a new kid on the block: Buzz. Buzz, by Google, is slowly becoming quite popular. But, being so new, no “buzzwords” (no pun intended) have been officially christened. I thought I’d lay out the new buzzwords for Buzz.

1. Buzz n- The current news on Buzz. The buzz today is all about Tiger Woods.

2. Buzz v- (buzzing, buzzed, buzz) The act of updating to Buzz. I just buzzed about our new baby. He was buzzing constantly about his unbelievable luck. I buzz daily about my personal life.

3. Buzzer n- a user of Buzz. Everyone was talking about the buzzer who took a picture of Steve Jobs using Microsoft Word.

4. Sting n- a particular update that was widely talked about, an attention grabber. Did you see that sting about Obama that Gizmodo buzzed? What a zinger!

5. Boz/Buzz (used interchangeably)  n- an update on Buzz. Leo’s buzz explained the what he like about the service while King’s boz was more negative.

6. Outbuzzed adj- an update on Buzz that was flooded with comments, making it desirable to mute. Boy, Gina’s latest boz was outbuzzed.

7. Unbuzz v- to stop following on buzz. I had to unbuzz him because of his constant barrage of buzzes.

To sum up, buzzers who buzz on Buzz will occasionally see stings, but for the most part, buzzers will see bozes and and outbuzzed buzzes which may cause them to unbuzz those people.

What are your thoughts on Google Buzz?

The writer of this post compiles the latest tech news and more at Squealing Rat, and writes about tricks and tips of deception, trickery and survival at Lone Iguana. Find him on Twitter.

Continue Reading

10 Very Useful Google Services You Should Know

Posted on 18. Feb, 2010 by Alex.Braz.

In only a few years Google has become the king of the Web. It went from a college research project to the most popular search engine that rakes in billions of dollars every year. They’ve expanded to mobile, OSs and, in the past few days, promising the fastest broadband Internet to thousands of homes in the States.

We use the Google search engine on a daily basis, but Google has lots of other great services out there.  Recently, we talked about 5 Great and Unknown Google Products.  I want to dive back into that topic and share a few more services that Google has going that you should know about.

Continue Reading

5 Great and Unknown Google Products

Posted on 27. Jan, 2010 by Prasanth Chandra.

Google has made one’s life on Internet easier. Whether I’m talking about the million pound gorilla, Google Search Engine or Gmail, Google Documents, Google Reader, Picasa, or Google Calendar, each of these products plays a huge a role in our daily lives.

Google lets us discover new things, send mails, organize our stuff, share pictures, and much more. That’s just covers the mainstream Google products.  Google is always experimenting and trying out new things. If I ask you to name all the Google products, you will probably miss several of their lesser know products.  This article is going to tell you about 5 great Google services that aren’t very well known.

Continue Reading

Top 5 Google Chrome Extensions

Posted on 20. Jan, 2010 by UzEE.

About 16 months ago, Google took the world by surprise, when it announced its intention of launching a web browser of its own. Touting it as the web browser for the next generation, Google made several innovations and modifications to the architecture and style of the existing web browsers.

Google Chrome is based on the Webkit layout engine, which is known for its excellent rendering speeds. Besides that, Google introduced a number of other features and enhancements such as the JavaScript processing engine V8, and insanely fast loading speeds along with other improvements such as sandboxing and private browsing mode for improved security. Even though Chrome had all the ingredients for a perfect browser, it still lacks when it comes to add-ons or extensions.

While Google Chrome is still no where near Mozilla Firefox when it comes to extension support, there are still some pretty good add-ons out there which can greatly enhance your browsing experience. Here’s my list of the top 5 extensions that are a must have if you are a Google Chrome user.

Continue Reading

Top 5 Google Docs Tips

Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by UzEE.

In the recent past, we have seen more and more cloud computing services pop up, and they have been getting consistently better. Of course the concept isn’t new, in fact about 30 years ago, the same approach was used by most enterprises which would use dump terminals to access computer servers for all their computing needs. The only difference now is the availability and widespread use of the Internet. We can now access and use our data from anywhere in the world.

The idea has gained so much momentum that entire Operating Systems dedicated for cloud computing have started to emerge, like JoliCloud and Google Chrome OS. The major characteristic of these operating systems is the fact that they don’t store anything locally on your machine and rely on Web Applications for all the processing work.

This is where applications like Google Docs come into play. For those who don’t know, Google Docs is a fully featured online productivity suite which is available to anyone with a Google account. You can create, edit and share documents, presentations, spreadsheets and even web forms in just about any format available. And the fun doesn’t stop there. You can actually use a ton of different tricks and features which aren’t usually visible to be even more productive. Here is my quick list of 5 top tips and tricks you can use Google Docs for.

Continue Reading

Pulp Fiction by Google Wave

Posted on 22. Nov, 2009 by Kyle Judkins.

We only have a couple Google Wave invites left, but I had to share this video that showcases lots of the features of Google Wave.  Also, for people that got the invites, it may take as many as 7 days to receive them.  I’m not sure why, but that’s what I’ve heard. Enjoy!

Continue Reading