How to print from Google Nexus tablet

<div class="timetxt" style="font-size:0.75em;line-height:12px;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 10px"><img border="0" src="http://images.photogallery.indiatimes.com/images/spacer.gif" width="5">www.digitalsankalp.org</div> <div class="photo" style="padding:10px 0px 10px 10px;font-size:0.75em;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);line-height:14px"><img border="0" src="http://m.timesofindia.com/thumb.cms?msid=26779830&width=283&resizemode=4" style="width: 286px; height: 209px; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); float: left;"><div class="clear" style="clear:both;height:3px"> </div>Third-party printing apps in the Google Play store offer a few ways to print from an Android tablet.</div><div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"> <div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px">Third-party printing apps in the Google Play store offer a few ways to print from an Android tablet, but Google has its own solution as well: Google Cloud Print. It connects a home printer to the web, where webconnected devices like Android tablets and smartphones can see and use it. <br> Although the technology works a bit more smoothly with printer models classified as "Cloud Ready," you can also use an older printer — as long as that printer is connected to your computer. You need a free Google account and the company's Chrome browser installed on the computer that is connected to the printer. You also need Google's Cloud Print app from the Play store on your tablet or smartphone to manage print jobs and printer options. <br> A bit of setup is involved before you can start printing, including registering the printer with the Google Cloud Print service using the Chrome browser. You can find instructions, answers to common questions, a list of Cloud Ready printer models and troubleshooting guides at support. <a href="http://google.com/cloudprint">google.com/cloudprint</a>. <br> If you have updated your device to Android 4.4 (KitKat), a built-in printing function is included; the Talk Android site has a how-to video</div></div>

How to print from Google Nexus tablet

www.digitalsankalp.org Third-party printing apps in the Google Play store offer a few ways to print from an Android tablet. Third-part...

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Protect your Google account with two-factor authentication

<p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">If you're a heavy Google user, your Google account is kind of a big deal. It's the gatekeeper to your <a href="https://mail.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">email</a>, and your <a href="https://plus.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">Google+</a> account, important<a href="https://drive.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">files</a>, online <a href="http://picasa.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">photo storage</a>...that Google account is your <em style>life</em>. With so much at stake, you probably want to keep hackers as far away as possible. Two-factor authentication can help.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">Two-factor authentication—called <em style="line-height:1.45em">2-step verification</em> in Google's parlance—adds a second step to your Google login. Not only do you have to enter your username and password, but also a single-use security code, which usually gets sent to your phone via an app or text message. In return for the extra effort, you'll get an extra layer of protection that can help keep hackers out of your persona data.</p> <h2 style="font-family:ff-enzo-web,sans-serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:0.25em;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Setting up 2-step verification</h2><p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> If you have an account for any of Google's services (Gmail, Google+, and so on), the setting up 2-step verification fairly straightforward. Start by visiting <a href="http://www.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">Google.com</a>, and press the blue <em style>Sign In</em> button in the upper right hand corner, and log in. Once signed in, look for your profile picture in the upper right corner and click it, then select <em style>Account</em> from the menu that appears. (If you didn't set a photo to go with your account, you'll see a generic sillouette in its place).</p> <img alt="" border="0" height="142" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/10/2step_verification-100065992-large.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%; float: left;" width="580">Click the <em style>Edit</em> link to get started.<p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> Once you're at the Accounts settings page, select <em style>Security</em> from the list along the left. Click the <em style>Edit</em> link next to the <em style>2-step verification</em> heading to begin the process of setting it up. Google will give you a brief pictoral overview of what to expect: Give it a once-over, then press <em style>Start setup</em>when you're ready to rock.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">On the next screen, Google will ask you for your cellphone number. Select your country from the drop-down list (as represented by the flag icon), enter your number as instructed, then choose how you want to receive your security codes.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">You can get security codes either via text message or voice call: If you're hearing impaired or aren't great at remembering strings of numbers, you'd probably be better off going with the <em style="line-height:1.45em">Text message</em> option. On the other hand, the <em style="line-height:1.45em">Voice Call</em> option might be a better choice if you have a limited—or no—text message plan.</p> <img alt="" border="0" height="325" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/10/where_to_send_codes-100065990-large.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%; float: left;" width="580">Enter your phone number then choose how you want to receive security codes.<p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> Once you've entered your number and chosen how you want to recieve security codes, press <em style>Send code</em>, and Google will send a test code to your phone. On the next screen, enter this test code where instructed, then press the <em style>Verify</em> button.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">You're almost done! Google will ask you if you want to trust the computer you're logged in on: If you "trust" a computer, you don't need to use a security code on it. This might be useful if you lose your phone and need to get into your Google account, or you're sick of entering security codes on your locked-down, highly secure office computer. Make your choice and press <em style>Next</em>; you can go back and change this setting later if you change your mind.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">Finally, Google will have you confirm one last time that you want to use 2-step verification. Press <em style>Confirm</em>, and you're all set to go.</p> <h2 style="font-family:ff-enzo-web,sans-serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:0.25em;color:rgb(34,34,34)">There's always a catch...</h2><img alt="" border="0" height="173" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/10/reconnect_your_apps-100065993-medium.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%; float: left;" width="300"><p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> There is a catch: If you use any of Google's services through Apple's Mail, Calendar, or Contacts apps on iOS or OS X—or through the Mail app on BlackBerry or Windows Phone—you will need to "reconnect" your apps and devices to your Google account. This will let you generate special app-specific passwords so you can still log into your Google accounts through other apps.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">How you reconnect your apps varies some depending on the apps you use, so we won't get into too much detail here, but when prompted, press <em style>Reconnect my apps</em>, and Google will step you through the process.</p>

Protect your Google account with two-factor authentication

If you're a heavy Google user, your Google account is kind of a big deal. It's the gatekeeper to your  email , and your  Google+  ac...

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Protect your Google account with two-factor authentication

<p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">If you're a heavy Google user, your Google account is kind of a big deal. It's the gatekeeper to your <a href="https://mail.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">email</a>, and your <a href="https://plus.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">Google+</a> account, important<a href="https://drive.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">files</a>, online <a href="http://picasa.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">photo storage</a>...that Google account is your <em style>life</em>. With so much at stake, you probably want to keep hackers as far away as possible. Two-factor authentication can help.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">Two-factor authentication—called <em style="line-height:1.45em">2-step verification</em> in Google's parlance—adds a second step to your Google login. Not only do you have to enter your username and password, but also a single-use security code, which usually gets sent to your phone via an app or text message. In return for the extra effort, you'll get an extra layer of protection that can help keep hackers out of your persona data.</p> <h2 style="font-family:ff-enzo-web,sans-serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:0.25em;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Setting up 2-step verification</h2><p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> If you have an account for any of Google's services (Gmail, Google+, and so on), the setting up 2-step verification fairly straightforward. Start by visiting <a href="http://www.google.com/" style="color:rgb(37,167,215)">Google.com</a>, and press the blue <em style>Sign In</em> button in the upper right hand corner, and log in. Once signed in, look for your profile picture in the upper right corner and click it, then select <em style>Account</em> from the menu that appears. (If you didn't set a photo to go with your account, you'll see a generic sillouette in its place).</p> <img alt="" border="0" height="142" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/10/2step_verification-100065992-large.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%; float: left;" width="580">Click the <em style>Edit</em> link to get started.<p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> Once you're at the Accounts settings page, select <em style>Security</em> from the list along the left. Click the <em style>Edit</em> link next to the <em style>2-step verification</em> heading to begin the process of setting it up. Google will give you a brief pictoral overview of what to expect: Give it a once-over, then press <em style>Start setup</em>when you're ready to rock.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">On the next screen, Google will ask you for your cellphone number. Select your country from the drop-down list (as represented by the flag icon), enter your number as instructed, then choose how you want to receive your security codes.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">You can get security codes either via text message or voice call: If you're hearing impaired or aren't great at remembering strings of numbers, you'd probably be better off going with the <em style="line-height:1.45em">Text message</em> option. On the other hand, the <em style="line-height:1.45em">Voice Call</em> option might be a better choice if you have a limited—or no—text message plan.</p> <img alt="" border="0" height="325" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/10/where_to_send_codes-100065990-large.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%; float: left;" width="580">Enter your phone number then choose how you want to receive security codes.<p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> Once you've entered your number and chosen how you want to recieve security codes, press <em style>Send code</em>, and Google will send a test code to your phone. On the next screen, enter this test code where instructed, then press the <em style>Verify</em> button.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">You're almost done! Google will ask you if you want to trust the computer you're logged in on: If you "trust" a computer, you don't need to use a security code on it. This might be useful if you lose your phone and need to get into your Google account, or you're sick of entering security codes on your locked-down, highly secure office computer. Make your choice and press <em style>Next</em>; you can go back and change this setting later if you change your mind.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">Finally, Google will have you confirm one last time that you want to use 2-step verification. Press <em style>Confirm</em>, and you're all set to go.</p> <h2 style="font-family:ff-enzo-web,sans-serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:0.25em;color:rgb(34,34,34)">There's always a catch...</h2><img alt="" border="0" height="173" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/10/reconnect_your_apps-100065993-medium.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%; float: left;" width="300"><p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif"> There is a catch: If you use any of Google's services through Apple's Mail, Calendar, or Contacts apps on iOS or OS X—or through the Mail app on BlackBerry or Windows Phone—you will need to "reconnect" your apps and devices to your Google account. This will let you generate special app-specific passwords so you can still log into your Google accounts through other apps.</p> <p style="line-height:1.7em;margin:0px 0px 0.7em;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif">How you reconnect your apps varies some depending on the apps you use, so we won't get into too much detail here, but when prompted, press <em style>Reconnect my apps</em>, and Google will step you through the process.</p>

Protect your Google account with two-factor authentication

If you're a heavy Google user, your Google account is kind of a big deal. It's the gatekeeper to your  email , and your  Google+  ac...

Read more »

Google feeds 'net giants India and China from data centers next door

Google Inc opened its first two data centers in Asia on Wednesday to cater to the world's fastest growing consumer technology markets, but the company has no plans to open one in China or India.<p>Choosing Taiwan and Singapore instead illustrates the problem that tech companies face in trying to feed data demand in the world's two most populous countries: With regulations in flux in India and cyberspace censorship in China, Google had to look next door.<p>Mobile data traffic in emerging Asia-Pacific countries will likely rise 68 percent in 2014, well ahead of the global growth rate of 48 percent and the fastest growing region in the world, according to Analysys Mason, a research consultancy. Tech companies normally try to keep data centers as close to the customer base as possible because distance hurts speed.<p>"While we've been busy building, the growth in Asia's Internet has been amazing. The number of Internet users in India doubled, from 100 million to 200 million. It took six years to achieve that milestone in the U.S.," Google's vice president of data centers, Joe Kava, said in a statement.<p>"And this growth probably won't slow for some time, since the majority of people that have yet to come online also happen to live in Asia," he said.<p>Kava said the cost of building the centers was one consideration for locating in Taiwan, but things like data privacy policies, a highly trained workforce and network infrastructure were equally important.<p>"It's no secret that the Taiwanese ecosystem for technology companies is outstanding," he told reporters. "Being close to the technology companies will give us opportunity to further some of our partnerships" in Taiwan.<p>The importance of a country's data policies was highlighted by the way Google opened its centers in Taiwan and Singapore and its decision to double spending in Taiwan to $600 million compared to $120 million in Singapore.<p>While Google brought out executives and media to celebrate its Taiwan opening on Wednesday, the Singapore launch received no such fanfare.<p>The company has expressed concern over a Singapore regulation announced in May that requires certain websites that regularly report on Singapore to be licensed, put up a S$50,000 ($40,000) performance bond and take down within 24 hours any content that authorities deemed objectionable.<p>Singaporean opinion news site Breakfast Network effectively shut down this week as a result, saying the "demand to register has created a wrinkle in our barely formed plans to become a sustainable and professional outfit".<p>Google also announced it abandoned plans to build a third data centre in Hong Kong, citing primarily a lack of land.<p>SERVING 2.5 BILLION<p>Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are all popular with global tech companies because they boast well-established privacy laws, reliable power and fiber broadband infrastructure, and skilled workforces, all essential to operating data centers.<p>Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp are also building data centers in Asia in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. But the real appeal is the giant number of Internet users in China and India.<p>Google left mainland China in 2010 after a cyber attack and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal last month that the company is in no hurry to return.<p>"China's censorship regime has gotten significantly worse since we left so something would have to change before we come back," he said.<p>That left an opening for China's Baidu Inc to further dominate the search engine market with a 66 percent share this year, according to web analytical tool StatCounter, and another local rival, 360 Search, to emerge, grabbing 21 percent. Google's share dropped to 9 percent from 41 percent in 2009 before its exit China.<p>"The regulatory environment in China is designed in a way to nurture local service providers such as Alibaba, so it makes it harder for foreign companies to enter the market," tech researcher IDC analyst Leon Kao, who is based in Taipei, said.<p>"But adding service support in Asia such as Hong Kong still increases a company's flexibility. For example, Amazon is able to deliver goods in a much shorter time now if there's a sudden surge in orders."<p>In India, Google dominates 97 percent share of the search engine market, data from StatCounter showed.<p>"In India, the challenge is mostly the cost of infrastructure and the ability of building infrastructure", said RadhaKrishna Hiremane, Intel Corp's Asia-Pacific regional product marketing manager of data centre business, based in Singapore.<p>He said putting an India-focused data centre in Singapore may not cost more, but it could affect speed.<p>"What matters is latency. At the end of the day, if a service provider is able to provide acceptable latency for the end customers by serving from outside the region and there's no conflicting regulation such as data sovereignty, then there's not anything in the APEC countries we know would be an issue right now."<p>($1 = 1.2495 Singapore dollars)

Google feeds 'net giants India and China from data centers next door

Google Inc opened its first two data centers in Asia on Wednesday to cater to the world's fastest growing consumer technology markets, b...

Read more »

Google feeds 'net giants India and China from data centers next door

Google Inc opened its first two data centers in Asia on Wednesday to cater to the world's fastest growing consumer technology markets, but the company has no plans to open one in China or India.<p>Choosing Taiwan and Singapore instead illustrates the problem that tech companies face in trying to feed data demand in the world's two most populous countries: With regulations in flux in India and cyberspace censorship in China, Google had to look next door.<p>Mobile data traffic in emerging Asia-Pacific countries will likely rise 68 percent in 2014, well ahead of the global growth rate of 48 percent and the fastest growing region in the world, according to Analysys Mason, a research consultancy. Tech companies normally try to keep data centers as close to the customer base as possible because distance hurts speed.<p>"While we've been busy building, the growth in Asia's Internet has been amazing. The number of Internet users in India doubled, from 100 million to 200 million. It took six years to achieve that milestone in the U.S.," Google's vice president of data centers, Joe Kava, said in a statement.<p>"And this growth probably won't slow for some time, since the majority of people that have yet to come online also happen to live in Asia," he said.<p>Kava said the cost of building the centers was one consideration for locating in Taiwan, but things like data privacy policies, a highly trained workforce and network infrastructure were equally important.<p>"It's no secret that the Taiwanese ecosystem for technology companies is outstanding," he told reporters. "Being close to the technology companies will give us opportunity to further some of our partnerships" in Taiwan.<p>The importance of a country's data policies was highlighted by the way Google opened its centers in Taiwan and Singapore and its decision to double spending in Taiwan to $600 million compared to $120 million in Singapore.<p>While Google brought out executives and media to celebrate its Taiwan opening on Wednesday, the Singapore launch received no such fanfare.<p>The company has expressed concern over a Singapore regulation announced in May that requires certain websites that regularly report on Singapore to be licensed, put up a S$50,000 ($40,000) performance bond and take down within 24 hours any content that authorities deemed objectionable.<p>Singaporean opinion news site Breakfast Network effectively shut down this week as a result, saying the "demand to register has created a wrinkle in our barely formed plans to become a sustainable and professional outfit".<p>Google also announced it abandoned plans to build a third data centre in Hong Kong, citing primarily a lack of land.<p>SERVING 2.5 BILLION<p>Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are all popular with global tech companies because they boast well-established privacy laws, reliable power and fiber broadband infrastructure, and skilled workforces, all essential to operating data centers.<p>Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp are also building data centers in Asia in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. But the real appeal is the giant number of Internet users in China and India.<p>Google left mainland China in 2010 after a cyber attack and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal last month that the company is in no hurry to return.<p>"China's censorship regime has gotten significantly worse since we left so something would have to change before we come back," he said.<p>That left an opening for China's Baidu Inc to further dominate the search engine market with a 66 percent share this year, according to web analytical tool StatCounter, and another local rival, 360 Search, to emerge, grabbing 21 percent. Google's share dropped to 9 percent from 41 percent in 2009 before its exit China.<p>"The regulatory environment in China is designed in a way to nurture local service providers such as Alibaba, so it makes it harder for foreign companies to enter the market," tech researcher IDC analyst Leon Kao, who is based in Taipei, said.<p>"But adding service support in Asia such as Hong Kong still increases a company's flexibility. For example, Amazon is able to deliver goods in a much shorter time now if there's a sudden surge in orders."<p>In India, Google dominates 97 percent share of the search engine market, data from StatCounter showed.<p>"In India, the challenge is mostly the cost of infrastructure and the ability of building infrastructure", said RadhaKrishna Hiremane, Intel Corp's Asia-Pacific regional product marketing manager of data centre business, based in Singapore.<p>He said putting an India-focused data centre in Singapore may not cost more, but it could affect speed.<p>"What matters is latency. At the end of the day, if a service provider is able to provide acceptable latency for the end customers by serving from outside the region and there's no conflicting regulation such as data sovereignty, then there's not anything in the APEC countries we know would be an issue right now."<p>($1 = 1.2495 Singapore dollars)

Google feeds 'net giants India and China from data centers next door

Google Inc opened its first two data centers in Asia on Wednesday to cater to the world's fastest growing consumer technology markets, b...

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How and why to use Google+, the surprising champ of photo sharing

Google boasted in October that its social network, Google+, now has 300 million monthly active users. It was a lofty claim, one to which many critics replied: Uh, no way. Google has found sneaky ways to inflate its user numbers in the past, but even naysayers have to admit that the company's two-year-old social network has some die-hard fans.<p>I've never encountered a person who uses Google+ exclusively—no one is fleeing Facebook and running straight into Google's protective embrace—but plenty of folks have a Google+ account, especially because the network is so closely tied to Gmail, Google Drive, Maps, and other popular services. Google+ is a natural extension of those products.<p>But it's not uncommon to sign up for Google+, fill out a bio, maybe add a photo, and then promptly forget about it. (Stop me if you've heard this before.) In its quest to become a superpower social network, Google+ has baked in tons of settings, tools, and resources, and is constantly adding new ones, but such efforts make the whole thing overwhelming. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine—those are simple social networks. Google+ is a lot more complicated, starting with: Who should you add to your circles? Wait—what on earth is a circle? Let's go back to basics.<p>The dummy's guide to using Google+<p>Most of us don't really need another social network in our lives, but given that we interact with Google on a daily basis, natural curiosity has fueled the growth of Google+. There are those who use the network to somehow game Google's search rankings in the interest of self-promotion. There are businesses that use the network's private communities to discuss company matters. And then there are regular people (you and me) who just want to know what Google+ is good for.<p>Like every other social network, Google+ is useless unless you build up a profile so that people want to friend you, and it helps if a passel of your friends are already signed up. Profile, friends—these things are key. Google+ helpfully culls your email contacts and recommends people to add based on where you've worked or gone to school, or you can search by name. Do both.<p>This is where circles come in. Like Facebook, Google+ allows you to limit the audience for each of your posts. Some stuff you want everyone to see, other stuff you might want only a few people to see. You can add the same people to multiple circles—some could be both friends and colleagues, for instance—and change the audience on any post.<p>Google+ has tons of settings that most social networks don't offer.<p>Google+ has tons of options once you get the hang of it. You can join or start communities, mute uninteresting posts, and share stories from around the Internet. Basic social networking stuff. Google's wide reach means that Google+ can work with Maps and Gmail—when you search for nearby restaurants, Google+ shows you establishments that your friends have visited or reviewed on the network. You can share content directly from Gmail to your G+ page, too. It's the little things.<p>Google+ offers almost too many options, and they're not always obvious. For instance, when you write a post, you can click a little arrow that gives you the ability to disable comments and shares on what you write. Facebook offers nothing like that. You also have the world of Chrome extensions for Google+, which let you do everything from +1 (the equivalent of a Facebook like) any page on the Internet to schedule future posts.<p>But there's the problem of what to post. If you already use Facebook and Twitter, thinking of interesting things to say or articles to share that your Google+ followers haven't already seen or heard of is an exercise in futility. If you want to keep your Google+ account active but can't think of different content to post across all your networks, you can easily cross-post the same article or thoughtful musing across multiple sites using services such as Buffer or the aforementioned Chrome extension.<p>Google+ gives you an extensive selection of photo-editing tools.<p>Photo features worth using<p>Google+ isn't difficult to use, but once you drill down, you realize that the social network is pretty much like all the others. Where Google+ really shines compared with its competitors is in photo sharing.<p>Over the past year, the network has planted its flag in photography, and the strategy is clearly paying off. As of October, some 1.5 billion photos are uploaded to Google+ each week.<p>Uploading your photos to the network is easiest via Chrome, where you can drag and drop your photos into the network with ease. The Google+ iOS and Android apps let you turn on an auto-backup setting for your images, so every photo you take on your phone is uploaded and stored in a private album on G+.<p>Once your photos are in the Googlesphere, you can edit them in the network's Lightbox. The swath of photo-editing tools is available only to desktop users—Google+ falls short here, because as Instagram has proved, people want the option to put a filter on their images while they're out and about with their phones. You can turn on the G+ auto-enhance feature in the apps for a light but pretty great edit performed by Google itself, and do some basic cropping. For more hands-on work, however, including adjusting the auto-enhance level from low to high, you'll have to open Chrome.<p>The desktop-based editing tools are solid and go way beyond those of any other social network. They range from your rudimentary crop and rotate functions to vintage filters, frames, sharpen/blur effects, center focus, and a crazy tilt-shift option. You can create square images or make your photos look as if they came straight from a sun-bleached 1960s film strip. If you upload multiple images that are clearly frames of the same action, the network's Auto Awesome feature takes the stack and creates a composite image, a GIF, an HDR image, or a mix that catches everyone looking their best. Google+ on Thursday released a holiday update to Auto Awesome that turns stills of snow falling into GIFs of snow falling. The same goes for twinkling lights. The best part is that you can share some of your work publicly and save the private family photos for just your closest circles.<p>That's the problem with Google+. People get so overwhelmed by the litany of options and boxes to check and uncheck on every page that they give up on the network altogether. But if you're tired of Facebook and want a new place to share your photos that has more tools and privacy settings than Instagram offers, Google+ might be your best bet. You don't have to use every setting all at once. Trying it can be as easy as auto-uploading your finest smartphone photography and letting Google+ pick and polish your images.

How and why to use Google+, the surprising champ of photo sharing

Google boasted in October that its social network, Google+, now has 300 million monthly active users. It was a lofty claim, one to which man...

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How and why to use Google+, the surprising champ of photo sharing

Google boasted in October that its social network, Google+, now has 300 million monthly active users. It was a lofty claim, one to which many critics replied: Uh, no way. Google has found sneaky ways to inflate its user numbers in the past, but even naysayers have to admit that the company's two-year-old social network has some die-hard fans.<p>I've never encountered a person who uses Google+ exclusively—no one is fleeing Facebook and running straight into Google's protective embrace—but plenty of folks have a Google+ account, especially because the network is so closely tied to Gmail, Google Drive, Maps, and other popular services. Google+ is a natural extension of those products.<p>But it's not uncommon to sign up for Google+, fill out a bio, maybe add a photo, and then promptly forget about it. (Stop me if you've heard this before.) In its quest to become a superpower social network, Google+ has baked in tons of settings, tools, and resources, and is constantly adding new ones, but such efforts make the whole thing overwhelming. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine—those are simple social networks. Google+ is a lot more complicated, starting with: Who should you add to your circles? Wait—what on earth is a circle? Let's go back to basics.<p>The dummy's guide to using Google+<p>Most of us don't really need another social network in our lives, but given that we interact with Google on a daily basis, natural curiosity has fueled the growth of Google+. There are those who use the network to somehow game Google's search rankings in the interest of self-promotion. There are businesses that use the network's private communities to discuss company matters. And then there are regular people (you and me) who just want to know what Google+ is good for.<p>Like every other social network, Google+ is useless unless you build up a profile so that people want to friend you, and it helps if a passel of your friends are already signed up. Profile, friends—these things are key. Google+ helpfully culls your email contacts and recommends people to add based on where you've worked or gone to school, or you can search by name. Do both.<p>This is where circles come in. Like Facebook, Google+ allows you to limit the audience for each of your posts. Some stuff you want everyone to see, other stuff you might want only a few people to see. You can add the same people to multiple circles—some could be both friends and colleagues, for instance—and change the audience on any post.<p>Google+ has tons of settings that most social networks don't offer.<p>Google+ has tons of options once you get the hang of it. You can join or start communities, mute uninteresting posts, and share stories from around the Internet. Basic social networking stuff. Google's wide reach means that Google+ can work with Maps and Gmail—when you search for nearby restaurants, Google+ shows you establishments that your friends have visited or reviewed on the network. You can share content directly from Gmail to your G+ page, too. It's the little things.<p>Google+ offers almost too many options, and they're not always obvious. For instance, when you write a post, you can click a little arrow that gives you the ability to disable comments and shares on what you write. Facebook offers nothing like that. You also have the world of Chrome extensions for Google+, which let you do everything from +1 (the equivalent of a Facebook like) any page on the Internet to schedule future posts.<p>But there's the problem of what to post. If you already use Facebook and Twitter, thinking of interesting things to say or articles to share that your Google+ followers haven't already seen or heard of is an exercise in futility. If you want to keep your Google+ account active but can't think of different content to post across all your networks, you can easily cross-post the same article or thoughtful musing across multiple sites using services such as Buffer or the aforementioned Chrome extension.<p>Google+ gives you an extensive selection of photo-editing tools.<p>Photo features worth using<p>Google+ isn't difficult to use, but once you drill down, you realize that the social network is pretty much like all the others. Where Google+ really shines compared with its competitors is in photo sharing.<p>Over the past year, the network has planted its flag in photography, and the strategy is clearly paying off. As of October, some 1.5 billion photos are uploaded to Google+ each week.<p>Uploading your photos to the network is easiest via Chrome, where you can drag and drop your photos into the network with ease. The Google+ iOS and Android apps let you turn on an auto-backup setting for your images, so every photo you take on your phone is uploaded and stored in a private album on G+.<p>Once your photos are in the Googlesphere, you can edit them in the network's Lightbox. The swath of photo-editing tools is available only to desktop users—Google+ falls short here, because as Instagram has proved, people want the option to put a filter on their images while they're out and about with their phones. You can turn on the G+ auto-enhance feature in the apps for a light but pretty great edit performed by Google itself, and do some basic cropping. For more hands-on work, however, including adjusting the auto-enhance level from low to high, you'll have to open Chrome.<p>The desktop-based editing tools are solid and go way beyond those of any other social network. They range from your rudimentary crop and rotate functions to vintage filters, frames, sharpen/blur effects, center focus, and a crazy tilt-shift option. You can create square images or make your photos look as if they came straight from a sun-bleached 1960s film strip. If you upload multiple images that are clearly frames of the same action, the network's Auto Awesome feature takes the stack and creates a composite image, a GIF, an HDR image, or a mix that catches everyone looking their best. Google+ on Thursday released a holiday update to Auto Awesome that turns stills of snow falling into GIFs of snow falling. The same goes for twinkling lights. The best part is that you can share some of your work publicly and save the private family photos for just your closest circles.<p>That's the problem with Google+. People get so overwhelmed by the litany of options and boxes to check and uncheck on every page that they give up on the network altogether. But if you're tired of Facebook and want a new place to share your photos that has more tools and privacy settings than Instagram offers, Google+ might be your best bet. You don't have to use every setting all at once. Trying it can be as easy as auto-uploading your finest smartphone photography and letting Google+ pick and polish your images.

How and why to use Google+, the surprising champ of photo sharing

Google boasted in October that its social network, Google+, now has 300 million monthly active users. It was a lofty claim, one to which man...

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Clean up your public Internet profile

Maggs2378 found personal information "on one of those 'people search' web sites" and wants to know how to get it removed.<p>Removing your private information from one site isn't particularly difficult, but it can be a hassle. You have to go to the site, search for your own name, and make sure you're there. Then you have to find the site's privacy policy page and read it carefully--a task that isn't always easy if you're not a lawyer. Then you have to follow the instructions.<p>When you're done, it's time to go on to the next site.<p>To get a taste of the experience, I took my name off two such sites.<p>The first was Intelius. I visited the company's verbose Privacy Policy page, and found a section called "How to Remove your Information from the Intelius Public Records Databases." Within that single section's 611 words, I found an online form.<p>The first field on the form required me to photograph my driver's license, cross out the license number, and upload the photo to them. (I "crossed out" the number in the most analog way possible; I covered it with a sliver of a Post-It before taking the picture.)<p>The other two fields were much easier. One asked for my email address. I left the optional third field, Additional Information, blank.<p>I got a response immediately, informing me that they'd received my request and giving me a confirmation number.<p>The big, pleasant surprise came in another email only a few minutes later: "Your opt-out request has been completed." And sure enough, it was.<p>I had an easier experience with Spokeo. The Privacy page pointed me to their Remove A Listing tool. All the tool asked for was the profile URL, an Email address, and a CAPTHCA to prove that I'm human.<p>When I clicked the Remove This Listing button, I was told to "Please check your email for further instructions." Sure enough, there was an email, but it didn't have instructions. It simply told me that "This directory listing has been removed."<p>And it was.<p>After you've removed yourself from one of these sites, your private information may still pop up in Internet searches. But that won't happen for long. Google and other search sites cache pages, but they flush the cache regularly to remain up-to-date.<p>There's a saying that nothing on the Internet ever goes away. That's not entirely true. I've written articles for the Web that have totally disappeared--much to my dismay. But there's a real possibility that your information will continue to pop up from time to time.<p>And if something goes viral, you'll never get rid of it. So just hope you're never too popular.

Clean up your public Internet profile

Maggs2378 found personal information "on one of those 'people search' web sites" and wants to know how to get it removed. ...

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Clean up your public Internet profile

Maggs2378 found personal information "on one of those 'people search' web sites" and wants to know how to get it removed.<p>Removing your private information from one site isn't particularly difficult, but it can be a hassle. You have to go to the site, search for your own name, and make sure you're there. Then you have to find the site's privacy policy page and read it carefully--a task that isn't always easy if you're not a lawyer. Then you have to follow the instructions.<p>When you're done, it's time to go on to the next site.<p>To get a taste of the experience, I took my name off two such sites.<p>The first was Intelius. I visited the company's verbose Privacy Policy page, and found a section called "How to Remove your Information from the Intelius Public Records Databases." Within that single section's 611 words, I found an online form.<p>The first field on the form required me to photograph my driver's license, cross out the license number, and upload the photo to them. (I "crossed out" the number in the most analog way possible; I covered it with a sliver of a Post-It before taking the picture.)<p>The other two fields were much easier. One asked for my email address. I left the optional third field, Additional Information, blank.<p>I got a response immediately, informing me that they'd received my request and giving me a confirmation number.<p>The big, pleasant surprise came in another email only a few minutes later: "Your opt-out request has been completed." And sure enough, it was.<p>I had an easier experience with Spokeo. The Privacy page pointed me to their Remove A Listing tool. All the tool asked for was the profile URL, an Email address, and a CAPTHCA to prove that I'm human.<p>When I clicked the Remove This Listing button, I was told to "Please check your email for further instructions." Sure enough, there was an email, but it didn't have instructions. It simply told me that "This directory listing has been removed."<p>And it was.<p>After you've removed yourself from one of these sites, your private information may still pop up in Internet searches. But that won't happen for long. Google and other search sites cache pages, but they flush the cache regularly to remain up-to-date.<p>There's a saying that nothing on the Internet ever goes away. That's not entirely true. I've written articles for the Web that have totally disappeared--much to my dismay. But there's a real possibility that your information will continue to pop up from time to time.<p>And if something goes viral, you'll never get rid of it. So just hope you're never too popular.

Clean up your public Internet profile

Maggs2378 found personal information "on one of those 'people search' web sites" and wants to know how to get it removed. ...

Read more »

10 Useful Google Tools

Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to find what we need. Other days it seems like the company plans to take over the entire world. And with a code of conduct that includes the direction of "don't be evil," maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing<br> <br> There's no denying it -- Google is an Internet powerhouse. It's such an influential presence on the Web that when Yahoo! partnered with Google to put Google Ads on Yahoo! search results pages, people began to worry that Google would monopolize the search engine advertising business. Even the U.S. Congress began to question the allegiance [source: Hart]. Google has certainly come a long way -- the company grew from a haphazard collection of computers networked together in a garage to a global<br> <br> The backbone to Google's business is its search engine, but that's not the only service Google offers. Do a little digging on Google's site and you'll come across everything from productivity applications to an instant messaging client. Google developed some of these products and features itself. But in some cases, Google products started out as independent projects designed by other companies. If Google executives see an interesting application that helps the company achieve its goals, there's a chance<br> <br> It seems that Google is reluctant to promote many of its projects from beta versions --early releases that may still have problems with functionality -- to completed products. Even Gmail, Google's e-mail client that launched in 2004, is still in beta. But some of the company's initiatives are less finished than others. Google allows users to try experimental services at the Google Labs Web site, but admits that the services "aren't<br> <br> Let's dive right into the diverse world of Google products. We'll start by taking a closer  look at Gmail.<br> <br> Google E-mail<br> In 2004, a Google press release revealed that the company wasn't satisfied with dominating Internet searches -- the second-most popular online activity. Google wanted to tackle the biggest online service on the Internet: e-mail. To that end, Google announced it would allow a select number of people to test a Web-hosted e-mail service called Gmail [source: Google].<br> <br> Gmail started out as Google's internal e-mail service. When Google decided to make Gmail available to people outside of the company, it chose to take a gradual approach. At first, the only way to get a Gmail account was to receive an invitation from someone else. Nearly three years after announcing Gmail, Google opened up access to the public at large. Now anyone can<br> <br> Gmail organizes messages into "conversations." If someone sends you a message and you respond, Gmail will present the two messages together in a stack. The original e-mail will be on top and your reply will appear beneath it. Future messages will appear under the originals, which Gmail collapses so that they don't take up too much space on your screen. By grouping messages and responses together, Gmail makes it easier for<br> <br> Some people think that communication by e-mail is dying (or is already dead). Google appears to have an answer to that as well: Google Talk.<br> <br> GTalk<br> Just when you thought the Internet had its fill of instant messaging clients, along came Google Talk. Introduced in 2005, Google Talk is an application that lets users send messages to each other. Unlike Gmail, the Google Talk client isn't entirely Web-based. Users must first download an application to their own computers in order to access its full set of features.<br> <br> Those features go beyond simple messages. You can send unlimited files -- of unlimited size -- to other users. Just remember that if you choose to send someone a big file, it's going to take a while to transfer to the other user, especially over slower connections. Also, if you have a cap on how much data you can transfer over your network, you might face some hefty fees from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).<br> <br> Google Talk is also a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) client. That means you can make PC-to-PC calls to other Google Talk users. You and your contact will both need microphones and speakers, but Google Talk handles the rest. Real-time voice transmission can take up a lot of bandwidth. Just like file transfers, you might risk going over your data cap with your ISP if you use this feature a lot.<br> <br> Users can also download the Google Talk Gadget, a Web-based application that allows users to access many (but not all) Google Talk functions from a personal Web site like a blog or an iGoogle page. That means you can use any computer connected to the Internet to navigate to the right site and use Google Talk. Right now, using a Google Talk Gadget is the easiest way Mac owners can access any of Google Talk's features.<br> <br> That pretty much covers communication. What else can Google organize? How about Internet shopping? Read all about the Google Checkout service in the next section.<br> <br> Google Checkout<br> Many people use the Internet to shop. One of the drawbacks of online shopping involves transmitting your personal information over the Internet. If you want to purchase items at different Web sites, you have to enter all your information multiple times. Google saw the opportunity to create a tool that would allow merchants and users<br> <br> Here's how it works: first you create a Google account. If you already have a Google account, you'll need to enhance it by providing a credit card number, billing address, shipping address and a phone number. Once you complete this step, you can go<br> <br> All you have to do is log in to your Google account and look for Web sites that subscribe to Google Checkout. When you see the checkout symbol listed next to an entry on a search results page, you know that you can purchase items from that site using your Google account. You'll be prompted to provide your Google Checkout password, but you won't have to enter your credit card number or personal information again. You make your selections and Google handles the rest of the transaction. The merchant never<br> <br> Google Checkout is free for consumers. Merchants must pay 2 percent plus 20 cents per sales transaction. But Google gives a discount to merchants who use Google AdWords. For every dollar a merchant spends in AdWords advertising per month, Google will process $10 of sales without charge [source: Google Checkout].<br> <br> Google also offers products designed to help you organize your life. Find out more<br> <br> Some people may feel nervous about giving Google their credit card information. Google stresses that it takes security and privacy very seriously. Since the merchant never sees the credit card number, there's less of a chance for someone to abuse the user's information. But it also means that Google's databases become an attractive target for hackers who want access to lots of credit card numbers.<br> <br> Google Calendar<br> In April 2006, Google released a free online calendar application called Google Calendar. If you have a Google account, you can create a Google Calendar. If you don't have one, you can register for a free account.<br> <br> You can use Google Calendar to schedule events and invite people to participate. By sharing folders, you can compare your schedule with other users. If everyone keeps his or her calendar up to date, it's easy to avoid conflicts. A single user can open multiple calendars and view all the scheduled events in a single window. Since this can get confusing, Google displays<br> <br> Google includes its search feature within the Google Calendar system. You can search for specific calendars. Calendar owners can choose to keep a calendar private or share it openly with everyone. It's also possible to create multiple calendars with one account. That can come in handy for organizations that have multiple customer bases. For example, a theatre might have one calendar for the general public that shows the times of performances and a second calendar for actors to let them know about auditions and<br> <br> Another Google product that's gaining popularity is a suite of applications that you'd usually find in office desktop software. It's the Google Docs suite of programs. Find out<br> <br> Google is big on giving users an integrated experience. That's why Google is one of the companies leading the OpenSocial initiative. The concept is simple: build a system in which a user can create login information and profiles in a central location, then use that information whenever he or she wants to join a social network. It also benefits application developers -- instead of building the same application for each social network, developers can create one version using the OpenSocial standards and port it across every network. Google walks the walk by using a similar approach with its products -- you can access most of them by creating a single Google account.<br> <br> Google Docs<br> The Google Docs suite marks Google's attempt at getting into the online productivity software game. The free suite includes a word processor, a spreadsheet editor and a presentation application. In short, it has the basic software applications many<br> <br> Google Docs uses a simple folder and file organizational system.<br> <br>  businesses need. Instead of saving all your data to your computer's hard drive, you save your Google Docs files to a remote Google file system. Because the files are hosted on the Web, you can access them from any computer connected to the Internet. Your documents aren't tied to a specific device.<br> <br> Another feature of Google Docs is the ability to share documents and editing capabilities with other Google users. Multiple people can make edits to the same document at the same time. With traditional desktop applications, a project manager might have to handle multiple copies of the same file as various collaborators make edits and additions to the document. With Google Docs, everyone can make his or her changes directly to the file saved on Google's servers. Google Docs also keeps track of earlier versions of the document -- project managers don't have to worry about someone accidentally deleting an entire section.<br> <br> One drawback to Google Docs is that none of the applications are as robust as popular desktop productivity software suites like Microsoft Office. If you only need basic functionality, Google Docs can be useful. If you're accustomed to creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations with all the bells and whistles, you'll probably want to stick to traditional software.<br> <br> Google Maps<br> Google launched its online map feature in 2005, nearly 10 years after MapQuest's online debut. Like its competitor, Google Maps lets users view maps of specific regions and get directions from one location to another. Google Maps allows users to view street maps, topographical terrain maps or even satellite views. For some areas, Google also has a traffic map feature that can<br> <br> The Google Maps feature relies on digital map images from NAVTEQ. NAVTEQ provides map data to many different clients, including in-vehicle navigation systems. A company called deCarta -- formerly Telcontar -- provides the applications that power the mapping features. Google employees create the applications that combine the images from NAVTEQ and the mapping capabilities provided by deCarta to create the features<br> <br> In 2008, Google added a new feature to Google Maps. Now you can get walking directions from one location to another. Previously, Google Maps only plotted out driving directions, which have to take things like one-way streets into account. Now users can find the shortest walking route between two points.<br> <br> Sometimes Google's decisions don't go over as well as they had planned. Google's Street View feature for Google Maps is a good example. Google mounted special cameras to cars, then sent them through cities across the United States and France. The cameras pointed in different directions and took pictures every few seconds, giving users a street-level view of certain cities. But some people say that Google's actions violate privacy. Google responded by blurring people's faces in the photos to protect<br> <br> Google Maps is closely related to the Google products suite called Google Earth. We'll look at it more closely in the next section.<br> <br> Google Earth Maps<br> Google is always looking at new ways to organize and present information. One of those ways is to geotag data. Geotagging is a way of linking information to a real-world location. You view geotagged information on a map. While Google Maps could serve as a way to provide geotagged information to users, Google decided to go with an alternative. Google chose a digital globe and called it Google Earth.<br> <br> Google acquired a company called Keyhole in 2005. Keyhole built the foundation for Google Earth, a digital globe that gave users the ability to zoom in and out of views ranging from a few dozen feet from the surface of the Earth to the equivalent of orbiting the planet. Google Earth gives the user dozens of choices, from viewing satellite images of the planet to overlaying maps, three dimensional terrain features and even fully-rendered cityscapes.<br> <br> Google Earth also allows developers to create applications to link information to specific locations on the globe. Users can elect to view geotagged information ranging from general news reports to customized data. Google Earth makes it possible to illustrate news stories in a new way. For example, a news agency could illustrate a story about<br> <br> Originally, the only way users could access Google Earth was to download an application and install it on their own computers. The application accesses the Internet to get the latest information and updates, but the user's computer hosts most of the application's features. In 2008, Google launched a new Google Earth application that's entirely Web-based. But since the full version of Google Earth needs a lot of computing resources to run smoothly, the Web-based version is a streamlined variation with fewer<br> <br> When Google executives say they want to organize the world's information, they're not kidding. And they aren't stopping with just the Web -- they want to organize your information too. That's where the Google Desktop application comes in. Read more<br> <br> One important application related to Google Earth is SketchUp, a program that allows computer artists to create 3-D buildings. Artists can export their creations to Google Earth. They can add textures to their buildings, making them even more realistic. Visit cities like Tokyo or New York City in Google Earth and you'll see many buildings laid out exactly the way they are in the real world<br> <br> Google Desktop<br> Have you ever had to search for a particular file on your computer? How about an e-mail that's somewhere in the middle of a folder that has thousands of messages in it? The experience can be frustrating, and those of us who are organizationally challenged can endure a lot of stress while trying to dig up a particular piece of information.<br> <br> That's where Google Desktop can come in handy. It's a downloadable application Google offers free of charge. Once a user downloads and installs the application on a computer, Google Desktop goes to work. It searches and indexes the files on the user's computer. It does all this during the idle time when the computer isn't working on other<br> <br> It doesn't just index the name of a file -- it searches the contents as well. Maybe you don't remember the subject of a particular e-mail, but you remember it mentioned something about a new sushi restaurant in town. You can search for the term "sushi" using Google Desktop and it will return results relevant to that term. The results look a lot like the search engine results pages Google generates for Web searches. One of<br> <br> Google Desktop also gives users the option to install personalized Google Gadgets. Gadgets retrieve information on the Web and present it in a window that stays on the user's desktop. Information might include traffic and weather updates, news feeds or to-<br> <br> If the Google Desktop doesn't gather enough information for your liking, you can always create a specialized Google homepage that can pull information and applications from hundreds of sources. That's the idea behind iGoogle, which we'll look at in the next section.<br> <br> iGoogle<br> You probably have a small number of Web sites or applications that you use more than others. What if you had a way to collect those Web sites so that you could go to a single location on the Web to access all of them at once? That's the concept behind iGoogle, a free aggregator or portal Web service.<br> <br> The iGoogle service allows users to select multiple applications and news feeds from across the Internet. Each user can customize his or her own iGoogle page. For example, sports fans can add applications that grab the latest scores and statistics of their favorite teams from the Internet and display them in a dedicated window on the iGoogle page.<br> <br> Google lets users organize their own iGoogle pages using a set of simple tools. One of those tools is a series of tabs at the top of the iGoogle page. Account holders can create tabs for specific categories of applications or news feeds. This makes it easier for users to find the information they want when they want it. Once the user sets up his or her<br> <br> While you can choose to include Google apps like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs in your iGoogle page, you aren't limited to Google applications. Third party developers have created iGoogle applications that let you access lots of different Web-based programs. With the right application installed in iGoogle, you can access things<br> <br> The final Google product we'll look at is possibly the most controversial one. That's because it's an attempt to organize medical documents.<br> <br> Google Health<br> Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to find what we need. Other days it seems like the company plans to take over the entire world. And with a code of conduct that includes the direction of "don't be evil," maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing<br> <br> There's no denying it -- Google is an Internet powerhouse. It's such an influential presence on the Web that when Yahoo! partnered with Google to put Google Ads on Yahoo! search results pages, people began to worry that Google would monopolize the search engine advertising business. Even the U.S. Congress began to question the allegiance [source: Hart]. Google has certainly come a long way -- the company grew from a haphazard collection of computers networked together in a garage to a global<br> <br> The backbone to Google's business is its search engine, but that's not the only service Google offers. Do a little digging on Google's site and you'll come across everything from productivity applications to an instant messaging client. Google developed some of these products and features itself. But in some cases, Google products started out as independent projects designed by other companies. If Google executives see an interesting application that helps the company achieve its goals, there's a chance<br> <br> It seems that Google is reluctant to promote many of its projects from beta versions --early releases that may still have problems with functionality -- to completed products. Even Gmail, Google's e-mail client that launched in 2004, is still in beta. But some of the company's initiatives are less finished than others. Google allows users to try experimental services at the Google Labs Web site, but admits that the services "aren't<br> <br> Let's dive right into the diverse world of Google products. We'll start by taking a closer  look at Gmail.<br>

10 Useful Google Tools

Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to f...

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10 Useful Google Tools

Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to find what we need. Other days it seems like the company plans to take over the entire world. And with a code of conduct that includes the direction of "don't be evil," maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing<br> <br> There's no denying it -- Google is an Internet powerhouse. It's such an influential presence on the Web that when Yahoo! partnered with Google to put Google Ads on Yahoo! search results pages, people began to worry that Google would monopolize the search engine advertising business. Even the U.S. Congress began to question the allegiance [source: Hart]. Google has certainly come a long way -- the company grew from a haphazard collection of computers networked together in a garage to a global<br> <br> The backbone to Google's business is its search engine, but that's not the only service Google offers. Do a little digging on Google's site and you'll come across everything from productivity applications to an instant messaging client. Google developed some of these products and features itself. But in some cases, Google products started out as independent projects designed by other companies. If Google executives see an interesting application that helps the company achieve its goals, there's a chance<br> <br> It seems that Google is reluctant to promote many of its projects from beta versions --early releases that may still have problems with functionality -- to completed products. Even Gmail, Google's e-mail client that launched in 2004, is still in beta. But some of the company's initiatives are less finished than others. Google allows users to try experimental services at the Google Labs Web site, but admits that the services "aren't<br> <br> Let's dive right into the diverse world of Google products. We'll start by taking a closer  look at Gmail.<br> <br> Google E-mail<br> In 2004, a Google press release revealed that the company wasn't satisfied with dominating Internet searches -- the second-most popular online activity. Google wanted to tackle the biggest online service on the Internet: e-mail. To that end, Google announced it would allow a select number of people to test a Web-hosted e-mail service called Gmail [source: Google].<br> <br> Gmail started out as Google's internal e-mail service. When Google decided to make Gmail available to people outside of the company, it chose to take a gradual approach. At first, the only way to get a Gmail account was to receive an invitation from someone else. Nearly three years after announcing Gmail, Google opened up access to the public at large. Now anyone can<br> <br> Gmail organizes messages into "conversations." If someone sends you a message and you respond, Gmail will present the two messages together in a stack. The original e-mail will be on top and your reply will appear beneath it. Future messages will appear under the originals, which Gmail collapses so that they don't take up too much space on your screen. By grouping messages and responses together, Gmail makes it easier for<br> <br> Some people think that communication by e-mail is dying (or is already dead). Google appears to have an answer to that as well: Google Talk.<br> <br> GTalk<br> Just when you thought the Internet had its fill of instant messaging clients, along came Google Talk. Introduced in 2005, Google Talk is an application that lets users send messages to each other. Unlike Gmail, the Google Talk client isn't entirely Web-based. Users must first download an application to their own computers in order to access its full set of features.<br> <br> Those features go beyond simple messages. You can send unlimited files -- of unlimited size -- to other users. Just remember that if you choose to send someone a big file, it's going to take a while to transfer to the other user, especially over slower connections. Also, if you have a cap on how much data you can transfer over your network, you might face some hefty fees from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).<br> <br> Google Talk is also a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) client. That means you can make PC-to-PC calls to other Google Talk users. You and your contact will both need microphones and speakers, but Google Talk handles the rest. Real-time voice transmission can take up a lot of bandwidth. Just like file transfers, you might risk going over your data cap with your ISP if you use this feature a lot.<br> <br> Users can also download the Google Talk Gadget, a Web-based application that allows users to access many (but not all) Google Talk functions from a personal Web site like a blog or an iGoogle page. That means you can use any computer connected to the Internet to navigate to the right site and use Google Talk. Right now, using a Google Talk Gadget is the easiest way Mac owners can access any of Google Talk's features.<br> <br> That pretty much covers communication. What else can Google organize? How about Internet shopping? Read all about the Google Checkout service in the next section.<br> <br> Google Checkout<br> Many people use the Internet to shop. One of the drawbacks of online shopping involves transmitting your personal information over the Internet. If you want to purchase items at different Web sites, you have to enter all your information multiple times. Google saw the opportunity to create a tool that would allow merchants and users<br> <br> Here's how it works: first you create a Google account. If you already have a Google account, you'll need to enhance it by providing a credit card number, billing address, shipping address and a phone number. Once you complete this step, you can go<br> <br> All you have to do is log in to your Google account and look for Web sites that subscribe to Google Checkout. When you see the checkout symbol listed next to an entry on a search results page, you know that you can purchase items from that site using your Google account. You'll be prompted to provide your Google Checkout password, but you won't have to enter your credit card number or personal information again. You make your selections and Google handles the rest of the transaction. The merchant never<br> <br> Google Checkout is free for consumers. Merchants must pay 2 percent plus 20 cents per sales transaction. But Google gives a discount to merchants who use Google AdWords. For every dollar a merchant spends in AdWords advertising per month, Google will process $10 of sales without charge [source: Google Checkout].<br> <br> Google also offers products designed to help you organize your life. Find out more<br> <br> Some people may feel nervous about giving Google their credit card information. Google stresses that it takes security and privacy very seriously. Since the merchant never sees the credit card number, there's less of a chance for someone to abuse the user's information. But it also means that Google's databases become an attractive target for hackers who want access to lots of credit card numbers.<br> <br> Google Calendar<br> In April 2006, Google released a free online calendar application called Google Calendar. If you have a Google account, you can create a Google Calendar. If you don't have one, you can register for a free account.<br> <br> You can use Google Calendar to schedule events and invite people to participate. By sharing folders, you can compare your schedule with other users. If everyone keeps his or her calendar up to date, it's easy to avoid conflicts. A single user can open multiple calendars and view all the scheduled events in a single window. Since this can get confusing, Google displays<br> <br> Google includes its search feature within the Google Calendar system. You can search for specific calendars. Calendar owners can choose to keep a calendar private or share it openly with everyone. It's also possible to create multiple calendars with one account. That can come in handy for organizations that have multiple customer bases. For example, a theatre might have one calendar for the general public that shows the times of performances and a second calendar for actors to let them know about auditions and<br> <br> Another Google product that's gaining popularity is a suite of applications that you'd usually find in office desktop software. It's the Google Docs suite of programs. Find out<br> <br> Google is big on giving users an integrated experience. That's why Google is one of the companies leading the OpenSocial initiative. The concept is simple: build a system in which a user can create login information and profiles in a central location, then use that information whenever he or she wants to join a social network. It also benefits application developers -- instead of building the same application for each social network, developers can create one version using the OpenSocial standards and port it across every network. Google walks the walk by using a similar approach with its products -- you can access most of them by creating a single Google account.<br> <br> Google Docs<br> The Google Docs suite marks Google's attempt at getting into the online productivity software game. The free suite includes a word processor, a spreadsheet editor and a presentation application. In short, it has the basic software applications many<br> <br> Google Docs uses a simple folder and file organizational system.<br> <br>  businesses need. Instead of saving all your data to your computer's hard drive, you save your Google Docs files to a remote Google file system. Because the files are hosted on the Web, you can access them from any computer connected to the Internet. Your documents aren't tied to a specific device.<br> <br> Another feature of Google Docs is the ability to share documents and editing capabilities with other Google users. Multiple people can make edits to the same document at the same time. With traditional desktop applications, a project manager might have to handle multiple copies of the same file as various collaborators make edits and additions to the document. With Google Docs, everyone can make his or her changes directly to the file saved on Google's servers. Google Docs also keeps track of earlier versions of the document -- project managers don't have to worry about someone accidentally deleting an entire section.<br> <br> One drawback to Google Docs is that none of the applications are as robust as popular desktop productivity software suites like Microsoft Office. If you only need basic functionality, Google Docs can be useful. If you're accustomed to creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations with all the bells and whistles, you'll probably want to stick to traditional software.<br> <br> Google Maps<br> Google launched its online map feature in 2005, nearly 10 years after MapQuest's online debut. Like its competitor, Google Maps lets users view maps of specific regions and get directions from one location to another. Google Maps allows users to view street maps, topographical terrain maps or even satellite views. For some areas, Google also has a traffic map feature that can<br> <br> The Google Maps feature relies on digital map images from NAVTEQ. NAVTEQ provides map data to many different clients, including in-vehicle navigation systems. A company called deCarta -- formerly Telcontar -- provides the applications that power the mapping features. Google employees create the applications that combine the images from NAVTEQ and the mapping capabilities provided by deCarta to create the features<br> <br> In 2008, Google added a new feature to Google Maps. Now you can get walking directions from one location to another. Previously, Google Maps only plotted out driving directions, which have to take things like one-way streets into account. Now users can find the shortest walking route between two points.<br> <br> Sometimes Google's decisions don't go over as well as they had planned. Google's Street View feature for Google Maps is a good example. Google mounted special cameras to cars, then sent them through cities across the United States and France. The cameras pointed in different directions and took pictures every few seconds, giving users a street-level view of certain cities. But some people say that Google's actions violate privacy. Google responded by blurring people's faces in the photos to protect<br> <br> Google Maps is closely related to the Google products suite called Google Earth. We'll look at it more closely in the next section.<br> <br> Google Earth Maps<br> Google is always looking at new ways to organize and present information. One of those ways is to geotag data. Geotagging is a way of linking information to a real-world location. You view geotagged information on a map. While Google Maps could serve as a way to provide geotagged information to users, Google decided to go with an alternative. Google chose a digital globe and called it Google Earth.<br> <br> Google acquired a company called Keyhole in 2005. Keyhole built the foundation for Google Earth, a digital globe that gave users the ability to zoom in and out of views ranging from a few dozen feet from the surface of the Earth to the equivalent of orbiting the planet. Google Earth gives the user dozens of choices, from viewing satellite images of the planet to overlaying maps, three dimensional terrain features and even fully-rendered cityscapes.<br> <br> Google Earth also allows developers to create applications to link information to specific locations on the globe. Users can elect to view geotagged information ranging from general news reports to customized data. Google Earth makes it possible to illustrate news stories in a new way. For example, a news agency could illustrate a story about<br> <br> Originally, the only way users could access Google Earth was to download an application and install it on their own computers. The application accesses the Internet to get the latest information and updates, but the user's computer hosts most of the application's features. In 2008, Google launched a new Google Earth application that's entirely Web-based. But since the full version of Google Earth needs a lot of computing resources to run smoothly, the Web-based version is a streamlined variation with fewer<br> <br> When Google executives say they want to organize the world's information, they're not kidding. And they aren't stopping with just the Web -- they want to organize your information too. That's where the Google Desktop application comes in. Read more<br> <br> One important application related to Google Earth is SketchUp, a program that allows computer artists to create 3-D buildings. Artists can export their creations to Google Earth. They can add textures to their buildings, making them even more realistic. Visit cities like Tokyo or New York City in Google Earth and you'll see many buildings laid out exactly the way they are in the real world<br> <br> Google Desktop<br> Have you ever had to search for a particular file on your computer? How about an e-mail that's somewhere in the middle of a folder that has thousands of messages in it? The experience can be frustrating, and those of us who are organizationally challenged can endure a lot of stress while trying to dig up a particular piece of information.<br> <br> That's where Google Desktop can come in handy. It's a downloadable application Google offers free of charge. Once a user downloads and installs the application on a computer, Google Desktop goes to work. It searches and indexes the files on the user's computer. It does all this during the idle time when the computer isn't working on other<br> <br> It doesn't just index the name of a file -- it searches the contents as well. Maybe you don't remember the subject of a particular e-mail, but you remember it mentioned something about a new sushi restaurant in town. You can search for the term "sushi" using Google Desktop and it will return results relevant to that term. The results look a lot like the search engine results pages Google generates for Web searches. One of<br> <br> Google Desktop also gives users the option to install personalized Google Gadgets. Gadgets retrieve information on the Web and present it in a window that stays on the user's desktop. Information might include traffic and weather updates, news feeds or to-<br> <br> If the Google Desktop doesn't gather enough information for your liking, you can always create a specialized Google homepage that can pull information and applications from hundreds of sources. That's the idea behind iGoogle, which we'll look at in the next section.<br> <br> iGoogle<br> You probably have a small number of Web sites or applications that you use more than others. What if you had a way to collect those Web sites so that you could go to a single location on the Web to access all of them at once? That's the concept behind iGoogle, a free aggregator or portal Web service.<br> <br> The iGoogle service allows users to select multiple applications and news feeds from across the Internet. Each user can customize his or her own iGoogle page. For example, sports fans can add applications that grab the latest scores and statistics of their favorite teams from the Internet and display them in a dedicated window on the iGoogle page.<br> <br> Google lets users organize their own iGoogle pages using a set of simple tools. One of those tools is a series of tabs at the top of the iGoogle page. Account holders can create tabs for specific categories of applications or news feeds. This makes it easier for users to find the information they want when they want it. Once the user sets up his or her<br> <br> While you can choose to include Google apps like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs in your iGoogle page, you aren't limited to Google applications. Third party developers have created iGoogle applications that let you access lots of different Web-based programs. With the right application installed in iGoogle, you can access things<br> <br> The final Google product we'll look at is possibly the most controversial one. That's because it's an attempt to organize medical documents.<br> <br> Google Health<br> Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to find what we need. Other days it seems like the company plans to take over the entire world. And with a code of conduct that includes the direction of "don't be evil," maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing<br> <br> There's no denying it -- Google is an Internet powerhouse. It's such an influential presence on the Web that when Yahoo! partnered with Google to put Google Ads on Yahoo! search results pages, people began to worry that Google would monopolize the search engine advertising business. Even the U.S. Congress began to question the allegiance [source: Hart]. Google has certainly come a long way -- the company grew from a haphazard collection of computers networked together in a garage to a global<br> <br> The backbone to Google's business is its search engine, but that's not the only service Google offers. Do a little digging on Google's site and you'll come across everything from productivity applications to an instant messaging client. Google developed some of these products and features itself. But in some cases, Google products started out as independent projects designed by other companies. If Google executives see an interesting application that helps the company achieve its goals, there's a chance<br> <br> It seems that Google is reluctant to promote many of its projects from beta versions --early releases that may still have problems with functionality -- to completed products. Even Gmail, Google's e-mail client that launched in 2004, is still in beta. But some of the company's initiatives are less finished than others. Google allows users to try experimental services at the Google Labs Web site, but admits that the services "aren't<br> <br> Let's dive right into the diverse world of Google products. We'll start by taking a closer  look at Gmail.<br>

10 Useful Google Tools

Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to f...

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Google's latest company Calico plans to do anti-ageing research

<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-lATS1vDY8HZ3p1LY6woTZowPF0trHsCA-jTHHqTPOLiNvVH81f3l01ZYFS60-51mmhIDAtNfFk6_Ad_rK8ESLZn1nf1uKWLmCCt4O5CNr9qv_dSOVI_5n3FbAgd2BFnUqBbfgOVpd_a/s1600/1-754040.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952440934990681570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-lATS1vDY8HZ3p1LY6woTZowPF0trHsCA-jTHHqTPOLiNvVH81f3l01ZYFS60-51mmhIDAtNfFk6_Ad_rK8ESLZn1nf1uKWLmCCt4O5CNr9qv_dSOVI_5n3FbAgd2BFnUqBbfgOVpd_a/s320/1-754040.jpg" /></a><br><br> <p><span>Does Google want to make you immortal? Larry Page is backing a company that invests in anti-ageing technology.</span> </p> <p>Start of sidebar. <a href="http://www.news.com.au/money/investing/googles-latest-company-calico-plans-to-do-antiageing-research/story-e6frfmdr-1226769532121#sidebar-end" target="_blank">Skip to end of sidebar.</a></p> <p>End of sidebar. <a href="http://www.news.com.au/money/investing/googles-latest-company-calico-plans-to-do-antiageing-research/story-e6frfmdr-1226769532121#sidebar-start" target="_blank">Return to start of sidebar.</a></p> <p><b>THEY'RE famed for their limitless sense of possibility, whether it's mapping the world's streets or creating driverless cars. </b></p> <p>Now Google bosses have turned their sights on a much more complex subject - the human body.</p> <p>The tech giant has recently embarked on a series of high profile hires for its new venture Calico, a company which wants to extend human life by up to 100 years.</p> <p>Short for California Life Company, Calico is headed up by Art Levinson, the former CEO of biotech company Genentech and Apple board member, who this week <a href="https://plus.google.com/108880830087528406119/posts" target="_blank">announced the elite recruits on Google+</a>.</p> <p>Pharmaceutical guru Hal Barron will serve as President of research and development, while David Botsein, the former head of Princeton's Genome Unit will be chief scientific officer.</p> <p>Genetics expert Cynthia Kenyon and oncology expert Robert Cohen will also join the company.</p> <p>So far the company, which is backed by Google but run as a separate entity, has kept its cards close to its chest with no details on the amount of funding they have received.</p> <p>However it fits with co-founder Larry Page's vision that Google should think about big ideas that can make the world exponentially better.</p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UHBWXAjOWt8HOcDeWWudTj-87czbSkAEE_JDcpfC3PXYjqIuSkTluArzdYwOLsUmDJoGkBpVZn-cHzRUbaTP3km_zzn_iKi_HWH8K80Tx42t382zFzMX7cG1cSt9b-GhtoraE9P8BZZu/s1600/2-757842.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952440955370019186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UHBWXAjOWt8HOcDeWWudTj-87czbSkAEE_JDcpfC3PXYjqIuSkTluArzdYwOLsUmDJoGkBpVZn-cHzRUbaTP3km_zzn_iKi_HWH8K80Tx42t382zFzMX7cG1cSt9b-GhtoraE9P8BZZu/s320/2-757842.jpg" /></a> <p><span>Google co-founders Sergey Brin (L) and Larry Page have plans well beyond search and email.</span> </p> <p>"OK … so you're probably thinking wow! That's a lot different from what Google does today. And you're right. But as we explained in our first letter to shareholders, there's tremendous potential for technology more generally to improve people's lives," Mr Page <a href="https://plus.google.com/+LarryPage/posts/Lh8SKC6sED1" target="_blank">posted on Google+ when the new venture was announced. </a></p> <p>"So don't be surprised if we invest in projects that seem strange or speculative compared with our existing internet businesses. And please remember that new investments like this are very small by comparison to our core business."</p> <p>It comes after the company hired Ray Kurzweil as engineering director, the 65-year-old credited with inventing speech recognition technology who also has unusual views on mortality.</p> <p>The futurist and inventor is renowned for publishing <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Singularity-Is-Near-Transcend/dp/0143037889" target="_blank">The Singularity</a> </i>, a book which envisions a world where man and machine merge to create the path to immortality.</p> <p>He also takes 150 supplements a day to keep his body in optimum condition until the "nanotechnology revolution" takes place.</p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIwo1wRLFt5T-VSnsSK0svTyNz_Uu-kU-SD_s9vVVC6KY6cEjUOrF_rAjAmkb1RyqFbNi_7BKnny5TyeAWIMP68q1FWKVni0OMjDs1f_uMPtQpulmhLxyjAlHLxDbUcAJK_mLFsO0HMl7/s1600/3-762163.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952440972583542818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIwo1wRLFt5T-VSnsSK0svTyNz_Uu-kU-SD_s9vVVC6KY6cEjUOrF_rAjAmkb1RyqFbNi_7BKnny5TyeAWIMP68q1FWKVni0OMjDs1f_uMPtQpulmhLxyjAlHLxDbUcAJK_mLFsO0HMl7/s320/3-762163.jpg" /></a><br><br> <p class=""><span class="">Ray Kurzweil takes 150 supplements a day and believes human bodies will merge with machines. Picture: AP.</span> </p> <p>"Biology is a software process. Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells, each governed by this process. You and I are walking around with outdated software running in our bodies, which evolved in a very different era," Kurzweil said in an interview with <a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/10/14/how-nanobots-will-help-the-immune-system-and-why-well-be-much-smarter-thanks-to-machines-2/" target="_blank"><i>Maclean</i>'s. </a></p> <p>"At that point, we can have little robots, sometimes called nanobots, that augment your immune system. We can create an immune system that recognises all disease, and if a new disease emerged, it could be reprogrammed to deal with new pathogens," he said.</p> <p>Google's not the only one getting on board with immortality.</p> <p>Russian millionaire Dmitry Itskov's <a href="http://2045.com/" target="_blank">2045 Initiative</a> is working on building an avatar with a human brain, where one's personality can be transferred at the end of their human life.</p> <p>Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison donated $445 million to fight ageing diseases, while PayPal founder Peter Thiel also gave $3.5 million to work on anti-ageing efforts, the <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/18/business/la-fi-google-aging-20130919" target="_blank">LA Times </a>reports.</p> </div>

Google's latest company Calico plans to do anti-ageing research

Does Google want to make you immortal? Larry Page is backing a company that invests in anti-ageing technology. Start of sidebar. ...

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Google officially launches its election portal in India

<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ez_lTeNPMr0MIr6rqp1NP30CA0iqB3xfJm3mLFWz3KDBD7KNRSC8vLAwzmJ5lgGP27PVI7RqkuebA7_h6HIhY5jxrCdnppmH7s-xQ19wQ-nOx_jdoE6ZbQYN9NJq8KaxOKJqlGh4rHkq/s1600/google-hyd-big-753469.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952343435337935010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ez_lTeNPMr0MIr6rqp1NP30CA0iqB3xfJm3mLFWz3KDBD7KNRSC8vLAwzmJ5lgGP27PVI7RqkuebA7_h6HIhY5jxrCdnppmH7s-xQ19wQ-nOx_jdoE6ZbQYN9NJq8KaxOKJqlGh4rHkq/s320/google-hyd-big-753469.jpg" /></a><br>After Facebook, Google has jumped on the bandwagon of polls in India, the world's biggest democracy, by setting up an election portal that gives all polls and politics related news to users in India.<p>The US-based search engine major Thursday launched its election portal which also provides information on political parties.</p><p>"Election portal will serve as a one-stop destination to help voters get answers to their elections and voting-related queries to make an informed decision," <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/google">Google</a> said in official blog.</p><p>In the first phase of the launch, the portal will cover news information and videos related to state elections in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram covering news from leading publications and broadcasters both in English and Hindi.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxZIK7WOfITml2Byrnwqpal7Q2Ke5BFhvsTzSnypsqPiWzMQkNIZWfAA1ArX3TCbR4Brg87QDyeIPVrYHOINZUDLJboDnLBYAFoIliOdK-waup-dicFulhbmeI2BrN9HWCabCNexgmoi4/s1600/google-indian-election-portal-page-635-756392.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952343449216773490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxZIK7WOfITml2Byrnwqpal7Q2Ke5BFhvsTzSnypsqPiWzMQkNIZWfAA1ArX3TCbR4Brg87QDyeIPVrYHOINZUDLJboDnLBYAFoIliOdK-waup-dicFulhbmeI2BrN9HWCabCNexgmoi4/s320/google-indian-election-portal-page-635-756392.jpg" /></a></p><p>Users will also be able to watch content hosted by <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/youtube">YouTube</a> partners on elections and links to Hangouts done by political representatives in the recent past.</p><p>Earlier this month, social networking site <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/facebook">Facebook</a> joined hands with the Association for Democratic Reforms to help the voters access election candidates' criminal, financial, educational, professional information directly on their mobile via Facebook using USSD technology.</p><p>Facebook launched 'Register to Vote' feature, which seeks to promote its users to exercise their voting rights.</p><p>The feature encourages users to add on his/her Facebook timeline as a life event that the person has registered to vote and share this story with other connected users.</p><p><a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/internet-users-in-india-set-to-reach-243-million-by-2014-report-446653">With over 200 million Internet users</a> in the country, the Internet audience in India has reached a critical scale and it will play an important role in influencing decisions of a large proportion of the urban Indian population in the upcoming elections, Google said.</p><p>"Elections related search queries on Google have shown a considerable increase and the interest in news information related to elections and politics have started to peak," Google India Head of Public Policy and Government Relations Chetan Krishnaswamy said.</p><p>Leading political parties are active on most social media platforms, and users will be able to access all information sent out by the political parties on platforms like YouTube, <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/google-plus">Google+</a> and connect directly with the candidates in their constituency, he added.</p><br></div>

Google officially launches its election portal in India

After Facebook, Google has jumped on the bandwagon of polls in India, the world's biggest democracy, by setting up an election portal ...

Read more »

Google officially launches its election portal in India

<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ez_lTeNPMr0MIr6rqp1NP30CA0iqB3xfJm3mLFWz3KDBD7KNRSC8vLAwzmJ5lgGP27PVI7RqkuebA7_h6HIhY5jxrCdnppmH7s-xQ19wQ-nOx_jdoE6ZbQYN9NJq8KaxOKJqlGh4rHkq/s1600/google-hyd-big-753469.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952343435337935010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ez_lTeNPMr0MIr6rqp1NP30CA0iqB3xfJm3mLFWz3KDBD7KNRSC8vLAwzmJ5lgGP27PVI7RqkuebA7_h6HIhY5jxrCdnppmH7s-xQ19wQ-nOx_jdoE6ZbQYN9NJq8KaxOKJqlGh4rHkq/s320/google-hyd-big-753469.jpg" /></a><br>After Facebook, Google has jumped on the bandwagon of polls in India, the world's biggest democracy, by setting up an election portal that gives all polls and politics related news to users in India.<p>The US-based search engine major Thursday launched its election portal which also provides information on political parties.</p><p>"Election portal will serve as a one-stop destination to help voters get answers to their elections and voting-related queries to make an informed decision," <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/google">Google</a> said in official blog.</p><p>In the first phase of the launch, the portal will cover news information and videos related to state elections in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram covering news from leading publications and broadcasters both in English and Hindi.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxZIK7WOfITml2Byrnwqpal7Q2Ke5BFhvsTzSnypsqPiWzMQkNIZWfAA1ArX3TCbR4Brg87QDyeIPVrYHOINZUDLJboDnLBYAFoIliOdK-waup-dicFulhbmeI2BrN9HWCabCNexgmoi4/s1600/google-indian-election-portal-page-635-756392.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5952343449216773490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxZIK7WOfITml2Byrnwqpal7Q2Ke5BFhvsTzSnypsqPiWzMQkNIZWfAA1ArX3TCbR4Brg87QDyeIPVrYHOINZUDLJboDnLBYAFoIliOdK-waup-dicFulhbmeI2BrN9HWCabCNexgmoi4/s320/google-indian-election-portal-page-635-756392.jpg" /></a></p><p>Users will also be able to watch content hosted by <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/youtube">YouTube</a> partners on elections and links to Hangouts done by political representatives in the recent past.</p><p>Earlier this month, social networking site <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/facebook">Facebook</a> joined hands with the Association for Democratic Reforms to help the voters access election candidates' criminal, financial, educational, professional information directly on their mobile via Facebook using USSD technology.</p><p>Facebook launched 'Register to Vote' feature, which seeks to promote its users to exercise their voting rights.</p><p>The feature encourages users to add on his/her Facebook timeline as a life event that the person has registered to vote and share this story with other connected users.</p><p><a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/internet-users-in-india-set-to-reach-243-million-by-2014-report-446653">With over 200 million Internet users</a> in the country, the Internet audience in India has reached a critical scale and it will play an important role in influencing decisions of a large proportion of the urban Indian population in the upcoming elections, Google said.</p><p>"Elections related search queries on Google have shown a considerable increase and the interest in news information related to elections and politics have started to peak," Google India Head of Public Policy and Government Relations Chetan Krishnaswamy said.</p><p>Leading political parties are active on most social media platforms, and users will be able to access all information sent out by the political parties on platforms like YouTube, <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tags/google-plus">Google+</a> and connect directly with the candidates in their constituency, he added.</p><br></div>

Google officially launches its election portal in India

After Facebook, Google has jumped on the bandwagon of polls in India, the world's biggest democracy, by setting up an election portal ...

Read more »