Google Shell

I love using Goosh, the unofficial Google shell. It brings back the old days of unix shell command lines. Just enter your Google search on the command line and hit enter!

Below you can see that I did a search for “Affinity Zero” and my results are displayed on the screen.

Thanks Emily Chang for finding this tool! And Max Kiesler has a great demo you can watch.

Source: Stefan Grothkopp

Popularity: 12% [?]

Create Surveys using Google Docs

I just learned how to create simple forms in Google Docs & Spreadsheets today.

First, go here to create you own Survey form. Start typing in the title, description, and adding your questions. This step is very intuitive and easy to use. Creating forms have never been this fun!

Next, click on “Next, choose recipients.” You can send the survey to specific people using the “Invite People” box. Or you can put the “Go to live form” link on your website.

Read more

Popularity: 13% [?]

Google Friend Connect

I’m currently learning about Google Friend Connect. It looks like an amazing way of adding social networking to any website with little effort.

Watch Scobleizer’s video from Google Campfire One.

I love how you can log into AOL, Yahoo, Google, etc. to connect to the websites. No need to create another login!

The website is going to live tonight, but invite only. If or when I get an invite, I’ll write more about it. ;)

Sign up for the preview: Google Friend Connect

Sources: TechCrunch, Scobleizer’s Qik Videos, and Google News

Popularity: 20% [?]

Google To Do List

I’m testing out Lab Pixies “To Do List” gadget. It’s cute, but I can’t seem to be able to save my data. Good thing I took a screen shot of it before navigating to another page. Test it out and tell me if it saves to your iGoogle or not.

Anyhow, what’s on your To-Do list for today? ;)

Popularity: 12% [?]

Google Docs Presentation

It’s been a while since I’ve used Google Docs, but after reading this article on mashable.com, I had to log in and see for myself.

The last time I logged in, only Documents and Spreadsheets were available. So I was really happy to see Presentation, which is Google’s version of Microsoft Office Powerpoint. You can insert new slides, add images, video, text, and even change the theme, just like MS Powerpoint!

But unlike MS Powerpoint, you can have several people edit the file at the same time! You can probably do this in MS Sharepoint, but Google Docs is so much easier.

Here’s my test in Google Presentation:

Sources: Google Docs, Google Docs Blog, and Mashable.com

Popularity: 11% [?]

Googley Design Principles

I really like the Googley Design Principles, which are:

• Focus on people—their lives, their work, their dreams.
• Every millisecond counts.
• Simplicity is powerful.
• Engage beginners and attract experts.
• Dare to innovate.
• Design for the world.
• Plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business.
• Delight the eye without distracting the mind.
• Be worthy of people’s trust.
• Add a human touch.

My favorites are #3, 8, 9, and 10, but they’re all very good points. #3 and 8 are my big goals when designing. I want to create beautiful web applications that are easy to use (maybe fool proof!) as well as pleasing to the eyes.

What about your favorites?

Source: The Official Google Blog

Popularity: 10% [?]

Google and Outlook Calendars

Now you can sync your Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar! I just love this software. :) Read more..

Popularity: 17% [?]

My Maui Google Map

I just love Google Apps. My new favorite app is Google Maps. I started playing with it and created my own maps. After my recent vacation in Maui, I created a map that labeled all the places I went/saw in Maui. How cool is that? :)

View Larger Map

Popularity: 36% [?]

AIM in Google Talk

This is a neat discovery. My friend showed me that you can now log into AIM via Gtalk-Web. This only works in IE 7.0 though.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Group Chat on Google Talk

How long has the Group Chat option been out on Google Talk? I just noticed it today in the web version. Very nice and fast.

Update: I guess it’s not old at all! This was in the new features link today. 11/30

Popularity: 36% [?]

Gmail: A Behind the Scenes Video

Here’s a cute idea. You can take a video of yourself and show how an email travels around the world!

It’s a fun project by google. Add your clip today. :) Read more about the project.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Google Docs New Features

Google Docs and Spreadsheets looks pretty cool from the last time I logged in. There’s folders, and an explorer-like navigation which makes it easier to sort files. And just recently, new features have been launched.

New Features in Google Docs and Spreadsheets include:

• Organize your documents with folders
• Easier invitations
• New keyboard shortcuts
• Right to left text support

Popularity: 19% [?]

Virtual Video Map

Take a Virtual Video of the world with Virtual Video Map. It’s a mashup with YouTube and Google Maps. Pretty neat.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Google Talk Gadget

How neat, now you can use Google Talk with some of the client features, without installing the client!

• Instant messaging
• All of your Gmail contacts
• Video previews in chat
• Photo previews in chat

Popularity: 15% [?]

Google privacy ‘worst on the Web’

I hope Google does something to change this soon.

Google Inc.’s privacy practices are the worst among the Internet’s top destinations, according to a watchdog group seeking to intensify the recent focus on how the online search leader handles personal information about its users. -CNN News

Popularity: 9% [?]

GMail Drive shell extension

Here’s a find that many of you may be interested in. ;)

GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.

GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem on top of your Google GMail account and enables you to save and retrieve files stored on your GMail account directly from inside Windows Explorer. GMail Drive literally adds a new drive to your computer under the My Computer folder, where you can create new folders, copy and drag’n'drop files to.

Ever since Google started to offer users a GMail e-mail account, which includes storage space of a 1000 megabytes, you have had plenty of storage space but not a lot to fill it up with. With GMail Drive you can easily copy files to your GMail account and retrieve them again.

When you create a new file using GMail Drive, it generates an e-mail and posts it to your account. The e-mail appears in your normal Inbox folder, and the file is attached as an e-mail attachment. GMail Drive periodically checks your mail account (using the GMail search function) to see if new files have arrived and to rebuild the directory structures. But basically GMail Drive acts as any other hard-drive installed on your computer.
You can copy files to and from the GMail Drive folder simply by using drag’n'drop like you’re used to with the normal Explorer folders.

Because the GMail files will clutter up your Inbox folder, you may wish to create a filter in GMail to automatically move the files (prefixed with the GMAILFS letters in the subject) to your archived mail folder.

Please note that GMail Drive is still an experimental tool. There’s still a number of limitations of the file-system (such as total filename size must be less than 40 characters).

Source: http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

Popularity: 5% [?]

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