Chrome App Launcher on PCs

Chrome App Launcher Makes PCs More Chromebook-Like | TIME.com: " . . . The timing of Google’s Chromebook Pixel, a high-end laptop with a touch screen, doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Google is planning for a future where every computer has a touchscreen, even traditional laptops. The Pixel seems to me like an experiment–a way to get developers to start designing web apps for touchscreens. But as GigaOM points out, developers don’t have much incentive without a big user base, and at $1,399, the Chromebook Pixel will be a niche product at best. That’s why having the same experience on Chrome for Windows starts to make sense. Lots of Windows 8 PCs are starting to include touchscreens, so between the Chromebook Pixel and Windows 8 devices, developers could find the scale they’re looking for. And Google will have ushered Chrome into the touch era, whether it’s on a Chromebook or not." Read more: http://techland.time.com/2013/02/22/googles-crafty-chrome-os-within-an-os-plan-continues/#ixzz2Lf3EwQBk


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Google Retail Stores

A Google Retail Store? Why It's Not As Crazy As It Sounds - Forbes: ". . . Google already has some retail experience. It has “pop-up” Chrome stores inside several hundred Best Buy stores, for instance, that are staffed by people trained by Google. So it’s not as much of a stretch as it might seem.

* The stores would help expand the reach of Google’s brand. At the same time, Google’s brand currently is so well-known and largely well-regarded, its logo so ubiquitous, its very name a common verb, that Google stores wouldn’t represent a big leap in consumers’ minds. It could even sell Google clothes and other brand-oriented gear.

* The stores could serve as a showcase for products made by Google Android partners such as Samsung and Acer. Samsung’s Chromebooks have gotten mostly good reviews, for instance, but even a $250 computer is something most people will want to try out in person first. Same with a $150-plus Galaxy S III, no matter how funny those Samsung ads lampooning Apple fanboys are. . . . "


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Third-Party Web Apps In Google Drive

Google Integrates Third-Party Web Apps More Deeply Into Google Drive | TechCrunch: "Google just added the equivalent of an app store to Google Drive that lets you find Drive-enabled third-party apps like HelloFax, SlideRocket and the Open Office Document Reader right from within the service. Once installed, these apps now also live right in the Google Drive ‘Create’ menu. Until now, users had to go through the Chrome Web Store to findDrive-enabled third-party apps. As Google’s Nicolas Garnier writes this morning, the Drive SDK allows developers to offer users “an experience similar to how Google Docs and Google Sheets interact with Drive.”. . ."

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Microsoft's Mark Penn Mistake

Microsoft's Mark Penn Mistake | New Republic: "As much as Microsoft has tried to make this ad blitz about Google, smear campaigns will always reflect on the entities that attach their names to them. In the political world, the bulk of negative advertising actually comes from outside groups with names like "America's Future PAC" or "Concerned Citizens of Wisconsin," shielding the candidate from having to say such nasty things (and even if the campaign did foot the bill, it’s only acknowledged in a perfunctory message at the end). In this case, lacking a viable surrogate, Microsoft takes on the full burden of looking petty and snide. That already comports with public perception—Microsoft doesn't have the nickname the "Evil Empire" for nothing—but there's no need to make the problem worse. "


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Google+ for Small Businesses

Social Media for Small Businesses: Google+ | SEO Blog by Digital Marketing Agency Mediarun:
Why should small business invest time and effort into Google+? 
1. Get an SEO boost . . . 
2. Earn top rankings overnight with Google Local . . . .
3. Give customers confidence in your offering with customer reviews . . . .
Zagat’s review engine has been incorporated onto Google+ pages and can really help to convince potential customers of your business’s credibility. Should a customer not be sure whether to use your building services, or need convincing of your credentials as a freelance designer for example, a handful of positive reviews can really help to reassure a nervous customer....
Read more at the link above


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Google Drive - share hosted websites by storing HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files

Google Drive now lets developers share hosted websites by storing HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files - The Next Web: "Google on Tuesday announced that it will allow Web developers to share hosted websites via Google Drive. All you have to do is store your HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files, and then share a link to your starting HTML file. In fact, Google is eating its own dog food by hosting the instructions on how to do this yourself, on Google Drive.

Here’s what you have to do:
Create a new folder in Drive and share it as “Public on the web.”
Upload your HTML, JS & CSS files to this folder.
Open the HTML file & you will see “Preview” button in the toolbar.
Share the URL that looks like www.googledrive.com/host/… from the preview window and anyone can view your web page.

It’s a small update, but certainly a welcome one for Web developers. If you build or design sites and need to demo your work for clients, this should be a very useful way to show off what you’ve got so far. . . ."

See also – Google releases faster version of Forms with real-time collaboration, automatic saving, and more and Google releases Save to Drive extension for Chrome, adds zooming and region commenting to images


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Google Web Fonts - making pretty, fast! (video)

Make the Web Fast: Google Web Fonts - making pretty, fast! - YouTube
A technical deep-dive on Web Fonts: how they work, the data formats, performance optimizations, and tips and tricks for making your site both fast and pretty at the same time - turns out, these two goals are not mutually exclusive!


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Get Google Voice Search on your PC

How to get Google Voice Search on your PC | PCWorld: "What you may not know is that you can enjoy a similar experience on your PC. All you need is Google's Chrome browser. And that really is all you need, because it turns out Voice Search is built right in. Just head to Google.com, then click the little microphone on the right side of the search field. (Needless to say, this will work only if your PC has a microphone. Most laptops do; most desktops don't, unless you have a Webcam.) The feature is also available in Google Maps, though it doesn't extend to other Google properties like Calendar, Gmail, and YouTube. . . ."


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Google Tips For Gmail

20 Google Tricks And Tips For Gmail, Maps & Reader: " . . . 1. Use Filtered Search - Gmail’s search bar is very handy for finding that message you got months ago, but most people don’t realise how easy it is to access advanced search. Just click the downward facing arrow on the right-hand side of the search bar and you will be presented with a number of different search options. You can narrow your search down to the person who sent it, the subject, words used, and the dates it would have been sent. . . . 3. Cut Down Text In Email Replies - The annoying thing about email threads is that if the messages are long and numerous, it’s very easy for the context to get lost among the many paragraphs of text. There’s a handy way to get around this as blogger John Graham-Cunning recently discovered. Before you hit reply, highlight the block of text you want quoted and then hit reply. This ensures that only that text you highlighted will be quoted in the email below your message. 4. Keyboard Shortcuts . . .You can find a list of the different keyboard shortcuts by visiting this link. . . ."

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Google Tips For Google News

20 Google Tricks And Tips For Gmail, Maps & Reader: Google News - "18. Personalise Your News
Google News is a handy way to find articles when normal search isn’t enough, but you might not be aware that it can also be used as a news portal. Going to the News homepage will present you with all the major news stories, local and national, for you to read. However, if you’re not happy with the articles you’re presented with, the customize section is what you’re looking for. By clicking on the cog icon at the top right-hand corner, you can adjust the sliders for a number of topics to determine how often they appear. Also, you can add specific news sources to the list and adjust how often they appear on your feed, allowing you a more personalised experience.
19. Adjust Appearance Of Blogs & Press Releases . . ."

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Google Apps platform better and better

This company went Gmail because it's "cool" -- then discovered a surprising thing | CITEworld: "Where Schechtman's days used to be filled with worrying about having enough Exchange servers - and enough backup and disaster recovery capability to support them - for the growing company, he says Google makes it all easy enough to scale and add users that he has a lot more time to focus on projects outside of mere e-mail management. For instance, Quixote now uses Google Single Sign-On (SSO) to integrate identity across the company's Active Directory (AD) domain and Google Apps, and there are nascent plans to turn Google+ into the company's social intranet. Schechtman also praised Google's continual refinement and maturation of the Google Apps platform, finding that the stream of updates and tweaks to the platform are always for the better. "One of the great things about Google is that as we grow, Google is keeping up with us,"  Schechtman says."


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