Eches - Blogging, technology, internet and earn money online » Google

Feed me! Use Google Alerts in your RSS Feed

eches — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:12:59 +0000

Subscribing to many blogs is one way of learning latest buzz around the net. Another way of making sure you won't miss anything is by subscribing to Google Alerts. Google Alerts can be utilized to keep ourselves updated about particular topics by specifying related keywords and the alerts will be sent right into your mailbox. It is a good service but what makes it even better now is because it supports feed services (You can opt to receive alerts via the feed reader of your choice rather than your email!).

Once you sign in to Google Alerts and create an alert, you can opt for feed delivery by clicking 'Edit' next to your alert on the 'Manage Your Alerts' page and changing your 'Deliver to' selection from 'Email' to 'Feed'.

Technorati Tags: Google Alerts, RSS feeds, feed services

Google G1 phone officially announced, debut October 22

eches — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:53:20 +0000

Google G1 phone which was unveiled at its official launch event in New York on September 23rd, 2008 confirmed the leaked images that have been around the internet recently. Google phone or also known as HTC Dream G1 will run on the Google's open source mobile operating system, Android.

According to T-Mobile, the device is expected to hit U.S. stores Oct. 22 at the $179 price tag ($20 less than the least expensive iPhone in the U.S) with a 2-year contract. It will head to Britain in November 2008 and other European countries by early 2009. The data plan for the Google G1 phone will be available at $25 per month which belongs to the low end of the range for data plans at U.S. wireless carriers.

So here are some features of Google phone.

Wifi, HSDPA 1700 / 2100 plus quadband EDGE
Support AAC, WMA and MP3 formats
3D graphics acceleration
1GB integrated storage plus microSD expansion
3-megapixel camera
Webkit based browser similar to Chrome
Android Market for on-device app purchases
Amazon MP3 app for on-device music purchases
Gmail support with full HTML client
Bluetooth
Google Maps with Street View with built in compass

[via]

Unlocked Apple iPhone 3G 8 GB Black ATT w Charger
US $280.00

Apple iPhone 3G 8 GB Black ATT Original Box
US $300.00

Apple iPhone 8 GB ATT
US $122.50

Apple iPhone 3G 8 GB Black ATT
US $295.00

Apple iPhone 3G 16 GB Black ATT
US $380.00

Apple iPhone 3GS 16 GB Black ATT
US $510.00

Apple iPhone 3G 16 GB Black ATT Dropped Broken
US $182.50

Fixable Apple iPhone 3G 16 GB White ATT
US $222.50

Technorati Tags: android, HTC Dream, handset, smartphone, Google official launch event, Google G1 phone

Create, Backup, Restore & Delete Google Chrome profiles with GCB

eches — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:52:55 +0000

As expected, the number of applications, tweaks and hacks for Google Chrome is increasing day by day, in line with the exposure it got during its early launch. Even though Google Chrome buzz in the blogosphere now shows sign of abating as compared to the early days of its debut, Chrome had already set its firm feet on the ground and now it is more than ready to consistently expand its market share.

Google Chrome Backup (GCB) is a tool that is meant to create, backup, restore and delete Google Chrome profiles. Profile, as far as Google is concerned includes user personal information like the browsing history and bookmarks. GBC actually is a better alternative to the tedious work of copying all profile data that reside inside the following directory

"Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User"

Latest version of Google Chrome Backup supports Chromium, which a modified version of Google Chrome for portable use. GCB is easy to use. No installation required and everything is done with only one click. You can select and backup profiles or create new ones or even import an already backup up profile.

You can download this small application here.

Technorati Tags: google chrome, create chrome profile, delete chrome profile, back chrome profile, Google Chrome Backup, restore Google Chrome

ChromiFox: Chrome Styled for Firefox 3

eches — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:50:13 +0000

Google Chrome fever is not over yet, at least not in this blog. What now? :) For those in love with Google Chrome interface but still prefer to use Firefox, you may want to try Chromifox. As the name suggests, it is a new theme for Firefox with its design based on Google Chrome interface. Though you are not really into Google Chrome, you might be enticed by the refreshing look of Chromifox as it will definitely give your mundane Firefox interface a new uplift.

If you want to try this out, you may want to visit Chomifox: Firefox Add-ons. Chromifox is still a Beta release so you need to to sign up over at the website before you can download the theme.

Chromifox, from the developer of Camifox, is another blatant rip-off of another default theme from another great open source web browser! This time, the target is Google Chrome, or more specifically Chromium, the open source project behind it. The clean lines, slick layout, and compact style of Chromium were the points of inspiration for this theme. Chromifox offers a coat of Chrome for Firefox.

Here is the mirror link hosted at Rapidshare if you hate the sign up hassle. Good luck in Chromifoxing your Firefox.

[via]

Technorati Tags: Chromifox, Chrome styled theme, Firefox Theme, Firefox 3, Chromifox Beta, Free Download

How to open websites in Google Chrome from Firefox

eches — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:32:27 +0000

Google Chrome is really the buzz of this week with many bloggers were so excited to talk about the release of Google's first ever web browser. While many people anticipate more plugins in the near future like they experience with Firefox, there have been few developments of tweaks or hacks to further improve Google Chrome functionality and more are expected to come soon. Such developments encourage other developers to integrate Google Chrome into their applications.

Amit Agarwal over at Labnol had done some modifications on IE view in order to integrate Google Chrome into Firefox browser. This plugin will effectively enable an option for a Firefox user to open an external link by using Google Chrome from Firefox browser. The only downside is this little hack cannot run together IE View as there are variables conflict. As far as I'm concerned, it's not a problem at all since I use Internet Explorer occasionally and I don't use IE View.

To install this hack, first you need to download opengooglechrome.xpi. Once finish, simply drag and drop it on your Firefox browser. After that there will be a pop-up that requires you to install it and you are required to restart your Firefox browser right after that.

We are not done yet but we are almost there. Next you need to go to Tools -> Add-ons -> Options and browse for the chrome.exe file on your Vista / XP / Windows 2000 machine.

In Windows XP, Google Chrome installs under \Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\ while in Windows Vista, Google Chrome installs in \Users\\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\

That's it and you are good to go.

Technorati Tags: Google Chrome, Chrome hacks, extension, plugin, Firefox

Google Chrome: Google’s open source web browser

eches — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:02:17 +0000

Google has developed its open source web browser namely Google Chrome while it is doing good in promoting Firefox. Wondering what features had been brought into this new web browser, I have a quick download and a quick install and starts browsing the web just to see how it feels. It feels pretty much the same like you are using Firefox 3 except Chrome might be a little faster, but there's no way to tell the difference on a fast computer.

As mentioned earlier, the installation is very quick. I went to its webpage, clicked on the download button, downloaded a setup file, and chrome was installed in no time. The install was small (468k) so the download was fast and the install took merely 25 seconds so in well under a minute it's up and running. Simple and straight to the point.

Chrome is well refined and manages the migration process successfully by importing every single bit of data from IE and Firefox. The innovative placement of tab bar, lack of title bar and no full-scale menu bar (minimalist interface). All controls are buried beneath two icons to the right of the Omnibar (as Google refers to its address bar):

a) a page icon for managing tabs and using Google Gears to create application-like shortcuts from your desktop to a Web site
b) a wrench for history, downloads, and other browser options.

Crash Control

Every tab you're using is run independently in the browser, so if one app crashes it won't take anything else down.

While it takes care of the tab indepedently, each tab runs its own process. So, for 3 opened tabs, they already sum up about 30MB of memory usage. You do the math, how is this going to scale for a multiple tab user. The idea of crash protection is brilliant but I hope there are some solutions devised to reduce the memory footprint on each tab process.

Overall it's a superb web browser. Google proved once more to the people; it really studies the market and takes note what users want before jump on the bandwagon. I hope they will put more exciting features in the future release.

3rd Quarter Pagerank Update Kicks In

eches — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:32:34 +0000

Pagerank Update just started for the 3rd time this year with mixed up feelings experienced by most of webmasters. Some enjoy the latest update as their websites notch up a little bit higher while people on the other extreme may be mourning the roller coaster dive on some of their websites. Regardless of PR you got, it won't adversely hurt your business or traffic, so keep everything going as usual.

For those who care so much about the current goings-on, latest pagerank is not yet completely propagated throughout all Google datacenters, so this explains why sometimes your Pagerank display as N/A or appear a little bit weird.

I had 7 new domain additions over the past 4 months and here the summary of them.

1 PR3
1 PR2
3 PR1
2 PR0

Pretty good huh? How about you?

Technorati Tags: pagerank update, google

ReadAir: Google Reader Desktop Application

eches — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:45:50 +0000

Google Reader is now available on desktop, thanks to Adobe Air technology. As I never mention about Adobe AIR in my previous posts let me describe briefly what it is all about. Simply put, AIR allows web developers to transform rich internet applications into desktop applications which can be deployed across different operating systems. The existence of AIR provides companies with websites a new approach to engage with their customers.

Ebay Desktop is one of the renowned Adobe applications which allows its sellers to complete a listing offline and then upload it to eBay when they are connected to the internet. Of course there are endless list of other applications but in this post we are gonna look at ReadAir.

What's so special about ReadAir? It's derived from probably the best aggregator, Google reader, which contains many useful functions and more importantly, it's my favorite RSS aggregator. ReadAir will stream you latest news and articles from your online Google reader right into your desktop.

I've been using ReadAir since a week ago (at that time it was version 0.1) and within several days it progresses to .21 with more features added. The following shows the current progress and future implementation.

Features

NEW (Version 0.2) Continuation (Allow users to view more than 20 items per feed)
NEW (Version 0.11) J/K Shortcuts
NEW (Version 0.11) User preferences (Mac/PC)
Mac themed scrollbars and form elements
Full synchronization with Google Reader Account
Add/Remove/Manage tags
Subscribe/Unsubscribe from feeds
Search your feeds
Resizable viewing pane
Auto software update
Auto login

To do

Offline mode
Rest of the Keyboard shortcuts
Windows XP/Vista and custom themes
Unread count in Mac doc icon

I hope ReadAir will keep evolving and gets better.

Technorati Tags: adobe air, air application, web 2.0, google reader, RSS aggregator, ReadAir, Ebay Desktop

Eches is now PR5!

eches — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:32:12 +0000

I dropped by digitalpoint forum quite often lately and noticed people started to speculate about the recent PR updates. These kind of rumors hardly catch my attention as I get accustomed to the 'fact' that my blog will never get any better than PR4 regardless of how many backlinks I could gather. Having said that, I couldn't resist myself from checking PR status, hoping it doesn't drop to PR 0 and deep inside my heart, I still hope the PR checker could spell some sort of magic that could turn my blog to PR 5 or PR 6.

I didn't believe my eyes when few data centers showed PR 5 on my blog and my top domain. I checked the URL again even though it's not really necessary and I hope this PR checker didn't play trick on me. I went straight to seomoz page strength checker to confirm the PR update and yup this blog now gains PR 5!

Here's the summary of all PR status across this blog.

PR5 - 2
PR4 - 66
PR3 - 71
PR2 - 45

Along the way of verifying this new PR status I found few useful sites and tools related to PR that might be of your interests.

1. Internal page PR checker tool - This tool needs to be downloaded to your desktop. By using this tool you can check PR of all internal pages of a domain with just 1 click.
2. Live PR checker - Check your blog's PR from several data centers.
3. Internal page PR checker online - Here is the place if you prefer to check PR status of internal pages online

While this recent doesn't really change the traffic flow or anything, in some ways it rejuvenates my motivation to keep blogging and providing more useful posts to my readers.

Technorati Tags: PR checker, PR5, eches.net, recent PR updates

Google pagerank update spanks a lot of bloggers

eches — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:16:51 +0000

It's almost a month I didn't write up anything on this blog; I keep myself busy with the Eid Mubarak celebration and I got several things need to be sorted. After a long rest, it's hard to get started again after losing all the momentum. Opening my google reader is a good headstart as it allows me to have a quick flip through on blogs I subscribed. The first thing that captures my attention is when I noticed most of them talked about Google pagerank update where the affected bloggers get penalized. This time, it is no longer a rumor when Google said they want to play hardball to fight against sponsored links. So here is the list of several of many blogs I usually visit, affected by the wrath of the Big G.

1. JohnTP (from 6 to 3)
2. CYpherhackz (from 5 to 0)
3. Problogger (from 7 to 6)
4. Sizlopedia (from 5 to 3)
5. Sabahan (from 5 to 4)

Luckily, I am not affected by the clean sweep (still PR4), obviously since I don't have any sponsored links from Text Link Ads. The rumour about Google crackdown had been reverberating across the blogosphere couple of months ago, so there was ample time for TLA if they wished to do some changes on protecting their business (it means protecting the publishers interests too) before the 'Googlement Day' but apparently they take things for granted.

Many high profile bloggers had taken down the TLA links and I believe they had taken the appropriate measure to rectify the problem. If you too were affected, after removing all the thing disliked by the Google and complying all the guides outlined, you may want to report to them to reconsider your blog for PR inclusion. You may do this by visiting Google Webmaster Tools and you need to sign in before making the request.

Many bloggers and established directories had lost their PR trophies and it's now time for people who are majorly affected by the Google's action to take new standard; not paying attention and depending too much on PR. Even though there is a major PR downgrade in many websites, I still didn't hear people ranting about losing significant traffic; this is absolutely a good news. There's no use of having PR skying up high but with only a small fraction of traffic. Let's hope the changes only numerical without affecting keywords for SERPs . For those affected and obsessed with news related to PR like me (;p) I hope your PRs will get back to normal real soon.

Technorati Tags: pagerank updates, Google, crackdown

Google Search Tricks

eches — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 17:18:03 +0000

A few months back, I wrote an article on how to find files such as pdf, mp3 etc by using Google search engine but I now realized the article barely touched the surface. After rummaging through the Youtube, I found a nice tutorial that shows in detail on how to specifically find a particular file.

Anyway, anybody who has no spare time might prefer to take a look at the google hacks software and it is pretty much simple (don't have to do it manually). The name of this small software might sound dodgy, but it is not indeed. If you pay a visit on this site (resides in Google domain) you will know right away there's no fishy thing associated to this program :). This program is rather self-explanatory, play around with few clicks and you will most likely get what you are looking for.Yeah, I know there are few websites in existence that have similar function but, as far as I know, they are rather limited to certain file extensions. Anyway they are worth a try and here the list goes.
1. G2P
2. Google Power Search
3. Tyoogle
4. Papaiti
5. Index.of
The 5-link list via Shankrila

I hope you will find it to be useful ;)

Technorati Tags: google, search tricks

Warnings Google needs to incorporate

eches — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:23:46 +0000

I found these warning signs from digitalpoint forum :D Quite entertaining.

There are few more in this original post.

Technorati Tags: funny, google, warning signs

Google AJAX Search: Add interactivity to your blog

eches — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:00:16 +0000

If you are looking for a way of adding interactivity to your blog, Google Ajax Search, provides the right solution for your blog. You don't need to know about any coding, all you need to do is customise the Google Ajax Search in the way you want them to appear. Basically, it consists of

1. Map Search Wizard

- Allow your users to search for places on a Google map without leaving your site.

2. Google Video bar

- Embed a set of Google Videos on your blog or web page.

3. Google Video search

- Let your users search for videos and watch ones you've selected without leaving your site.

4. Google News

- Add a dynamic news bar to your web site or blog. Headlines fade in and out, giving your users direct access to timely and relevant news articles.
- It also available in vertical form. So, fill the empty column in your web page with news snippets and links to timely articles from Google News search.

5. Book Bar

- Show off books on topics that interest you on your web site or blog.

If website or blog lacks of interactivity, harness the dynamic by adding the Google Ajax Search.

Technorati Tags: blogging tips, google

Firefox 2.0 Trumps IE7 at Anti-phishing

eches — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:07:17 +0000

In a current development of anti-phishing effort, Mozilla Foundation claims anti-phishing tool in Firefox 2.0 has trumped similar tool used in Internet Explorer 7. The study found Firefox 2.0 had blocked 81.5% of all phishing web sites, while IE7 only able to prevent roughly 66.35%.

IE7 adopts a system of asking the user when the browser is installed whether or not he wants to allow the browser to auto-check all web sites against a Microsoft database. On the contrary, Firefox, in its default setting, uses a blacklist of known phishing sites that is stored on the user's computer and updated approximately every 30 minutes. Firefox users can opt to turn auto-detection, in which case the browser will check web sites the user visits by checking them against a database maintained by Google, the company said.

More info about this study available in the following links.

- Mozilla Claims Firefox Beats IE In Finding Phishers.
- Firefox outshines IE in phish fight.

Technorati Tags: mozilla, firefox, internet explorer 7, ie7

Yahoo And Google Launch Sitemaps.org

eches — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:05:54 +0000

Sitemap.org has been launched recently by the collaborative effort of Yahoo! and Google. The existence of this website will surely make things easier for webmasters to inform search engines about pages on their websites. The current collaboration is expecting other search engines to join in and an open invitation has been issued by Google and Yahoo! to realise the vision.

Tim Mayer states in an exclusive video interview with WebProNews

â€œThis is something we are announcing tonight at around 9 PM tonight (Las Vegas) Google and Yahoo have gotten together to provide webmasters and publishers a unified way to send their content â€¦ let our search engines know about new and existing content.â€

For me, this is a long-awaited moment and I believe all webmasters are also sharing the same sentiment and Im am hoping more search engines will be joining this colloboration.

Go to Exclusive Video: Yahoo And Google Launch Sitemaps.org to get full interview of Vanessa Fox of Google and Tim Mayer of Yahoo!

Technorati Tags: yahoo google collaboration, sitemap