Google’s browser Chrome remains in Beta, but its still receiving updates. It was announced on the Chromium Announce Google Group that the gatecrashing browser is now at its 0.4.154.25 release stage, and that the new version has a Firefox-esque bookmark manager and a cleaner pop-up blocker as its main upgrades. Read the rest of this entry »
Google have made a brave move by tinkering with their winning formula: search.
Last week Google announced on their official blog that they were introducing a new approach to search, which they have termed SearchWiki.
CNN was promoted to first result status
Yes, I know I’m late. Normally, Just Google It posts this news, maybe not first, but at least on the day of the logo itself. However, Friday was busy, so the post took a back seat.
However, the Google Doodle celebrating the 110th birthday of famous artist René Magritte did not go untnoticed by fellow blogger Free Cheese, even if the reason for the logo wasn’t realised.
Google celebrate Magritte's 'The Son of Man'
René Magritte was born November 21st 1898 and went on to paint some of the world’s most famous Surrealist art, including Golconde (1953), Not To Be Reproduced (1937), The Lovers (1928) and The Son of Man (1964).
Google’s recognition of Magritte’s contribution to the art world is to be appluaded, however, chosing something like this while overlooking World Diabetes Day or Rememberance Day (until very recently) shines a very odd light on Google.
Back in June, Google and Yahoo announced a deal that would see Google’s advertising platform become integrated with Yahoo’s network. The deal was to earn Yahoo over $800 million (£494 million) a year and extend Google’s reach and advertising power.
Yahoo was hoping that the deal with Google would appease the shareholders who were angry over the rejection of the $47.5 billion (£29.4 billion) Microsoft takeover bid. However, it was subject to objections from the US Justice Department over Anti-Trust issues. They even delayed the launch dates to give the department time to investigate.
Today it has now been revealed that Google are no-longer going to implement the deal. They mention that while they are disappointed with the deals collapse, the risks, both legally and personally, were too much. Read the rest of this entry »
After announcing a new 3.0 beta back in September, Google’s photo management tool, Picasa, has now been upgraded to a final release.
Although the link on the page to download the desktop version of the software states Beta, the download is actually the final 3.0 version.
Google try and give us a list of what has changed, but, ironically for a company that values linking so highly, it goes to a page that doesn’t exist anymore. Lifehacker does manage give us more of a round-up, as they reviewed the Beta:
“Google’s photo management tool, has quietly announced a new beta that adds basic movie editing, fuller syncing to Web Albums, and many other features and changes. Actually, the biggest change in the new Picasa isn’t in the software itself—it’s a new “quick view” utility, which replaces the basic double-click viewing tool in Windows with a Picasa-friendly, drop-cloth-style window. Five new collage styles have also been added to the offerings, and Picasa’s new “Movie Maker” tool lets you create slideshow-style clips out of stills or trim and paste video clips together.“
Picasa seems to be one of Google’s hidden gems. While products like Chrome, Adwords and Android grab all the headlines, Picasa goes about building a great piece of software that does a hell of a lot. I’ve never used Picasa before, but seeing the new list of features and what it is capable of I might just give it a try.
Do you use Picasa? Is it your primary photo-management tool? If not, will this release tempt you to try it? Let us know. Leave a comment!
Lots of people have found their way onto Just Google It’s pages in search of more and more information about Project 10^100, Google’s $10million eco-contest.
Google employees are whittling down the 150,000 entries to just 100. Once this is done, a voting period, opening to the public, will begin. January 27th.
This is the time where you can make a difference. And to help you remember to vote, Google has set up a nice reminder service.
Recently there has been some coverage of the geocoding and web apps knowing your location, especially the new Firefox add-on Geode. The basics are that this coding allows web applications to know where you are, converting an address into a latitude-longitude coordinates. Google have also noted that reverse geocoding allows for the coordinates to be converted to an address.
This technology has been used with Google Maps to create an application that helps you find a meeting place between two points to meet up with a friend, business client, etc. The app is called MeetWays.
MeetWays combines Google Maps, Google’s Local Search, reverse geocoding and some maths to help discover a mid-way point between two addresses. MeetWays takes the two addresses, finds the coordinates of the middleground, then converts those coordinates into an address using reverse geocoding and presents you with your half-way meeting place.
The app covers around 27 countries including the America, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. It also covers the major cities in Russia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Read the rest of this entry »
In June 2005, Google released their Google Earth software. It took the world by storm and allowed people to navigate from their desktops. Today, Google have today unleashed the software for use with Apple’s iPhone or iPod Touch with the 2.0 upgrade.
The software takes advantage of the touch-screen and accelerometer functions to make the most of browsing the world.
In September Google launched their $10 million contest, Project 10^100, to help change the world. As part of their 10th birthday celebrations they wanted to find a user-generated idea that could help change the world, that they would back with $10 million of funding.
The deadline for entries passed on Monday and yesterday we highlighted a few of the entries found on various blogs.
It has now been reported that Google is having to sift through 150,000 Project 10^100 entries, in over 25 languages, to find a winner. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in September Just Google It reported about Google’s $10m Eco Contest. Now, the deadline for entries to Project 10^100 has passed and it seems that Google got plenty of entries. Many blogs have been talking about their entries and Just Google It has selected a few to bring to your attention.
Discover Scholars: An academic sponsorship scheme that allows donors to financially support the students that they want and see where their money goes, as opposed to just going into a pot at an institution.
Donors specify any combination of characteristics, from grades and majors to extracurricular and athletic activities, with the knowledge that worthy students possessing those attributes will benefit from their donations.
Unlike government aid, existing scholarship funds, or financial aid packages from schools, DiscoverScholars.org uses donors’ specified attributes to fund students who satisfy those criteria.
Global Learning Platform: An international based solution to educational poverty and efficiency
Children need academic skills and love of learning to work successfully in the 21st century. Adults need practical knowledge to become more effective at work and life management.
Global Learning Platform (GLP) will integrate elements of effective education with intelligent software and harness worldwide collaborative efforts to create great learning systems. The platform will feature intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), socially-motivated learning, high-quality materials, and an economic system. GLP will make all this available via multiple channels: PCs, sub-notebooks, game consoles, and mobile phones.
Rick Mobbs: An idea to create a social networking to connect pacifists, war resistors, conscientious objectors et al in supplying information and support to individual cases.
[The idea addresses] the isolation of and lack of information available to young people considering conscientious objection; the lack of leveraging of these individual acts of courage, which aggregated, do have the power to impact governments and armies; the need to strengthen and make more readily available a culture of peace and habits of resistance to violence.
Bid Willy: A social marketplace that allows all types of businesses and individuals to compete for consumer jobs, opening the market and stimulating real market competition.
- A consumer requests a service or need. (ie. Car maintenance, home painting, tutoring, etc).
- The request is routed to local businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers that provide the given service in your area. You get to choose the professionals that receive the bid request – whether you select 1 or you select 100, it’s all up to you.
- Bidwilly professionals are allowed to bid for the work in an open market. This means that when Business-A says he’ll do the job for $200, Business-B will be allowed to see that bid and underbid Business-A by quoting a price of $180. Business-A can then modify his bid quote to $160. It’s a bidwar!
I personally like the BidWilly idea, if a little awkward to understand. However, my conscience makes me think I should prefer an idea along the lines of the GLP idea, although I believe it would be difficult to implement fully. Discover Scholars has both good and bad points; it is great that donors can see their money being put to good use, but grants are there to help the less fortunate progress in life and they should not have to meet requirements in their extra-curricular activities set by the donor themselves.
But it is not up to me. It is Google’s $10 million decision.
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