Google Reader, new design and plus integration

Google has started rolling out brand new design in Google Reader. The design is part of new Google uniform look that they’ve been rolling out across all their product. It seems cleaner and user-friendly. Since I’m quite a fan of Google Reader, I’m really welcome this new changes.

If yours haven’t reflected the new design yet, just wait for a while as Google is rolling out in batches.

Source : Google Reader Blog

Google+ is now available to Enterprise users

Finally the wait is over. For all Google Apps users around the world can rejoice now. You can now sign up for Google Plus social network.

To justify the wait for Google Apps users, they will have access to a few more features than other Google+ users. While you’ll be able to share content publicly or only with your circles, you can also share content with people in your organization even if you haven’t added those people to one of your circles.

Google has also explained the reason for the delay

It took more technical work than we expected to bring Google+ to Google Apps, and we thank you for your patience. This integration is just the beginning. We’ll continue to add features and improve the way that Google+ works with Google Apps, and we encourage you to share your ideas.

So why don’t you go ahead and start enabling Google plus for your enterprise users.

Source : Google Enterprise Blog

You can upgrade your Google account up to 16TB

Google has really changed the webmail ecosystem since they launched Gmail five years ago. Remember the day when Hotmail offers only 2MB? Now free Gmail is offering over 7GB. But if this is not enough for you, for merely 5 bucks a year, you can get extra 20GB.

Here is the list of plans.

If you’re excited and ready to purchase, just click the source link. Just to remind you that if you do upgrade, you can use that extra space not only in Gmail, also in the rest of Google products including Google Docs, Picasa Web Albums.

Source : Google Purchase Storage

Google funny error messages

The reason most people love Google is that most of their engineers can show their humorous side as well. The below is the creative error messages from Google Docs. Love it.

Gtalk Lab Edition, very few people know of its existence

Have you ever heard of Google talk? Of course, who could ignore big G IM client? But anyone familiar with Gtalk Lab Edition? Very few people left.

Let me introduce you the Gtalk Lab Edition. As the name implies, it is an experimental program from Gtalk team with the philosophy of bringing the web and desktop together. What differentiate Lab Edition and normal version is the use of the open source Webkit engine to host the Google Talk gadget.

Here is the list of features available only to Gtalk Lab Edition.

• Group chat, tabbed chatting
• Receiving notification from Gmail, Orkut and Google Calendar
• Option to set Gmail as default mail client
• Launch Gmail, Orkut, Google calendar from system tray
• Snooze option – temporarily stop notification

Wait a second please! Don’t get rid of your normal version for this lab edition unless you don’t mind of this missing features.

• file transfer
• voice chat
• option to hide offline friends from list
• option to change display picture

Yap. You’ve heard me. You can’t change your display picture in this lab edition yet. So it’s up to you to decide whether you’re willing to give up your existing features for the other cool new features or not.

How to use the word “Google”

We all know that Google become word in famous dictionaries like Merriam-Webster and the Oxford. But do we really know how to use “Google” as noun, verb?

This is the definition of Google from Merriam-Webster dictionary.

to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web

Normally, we think Google means searching the internet, but the correct meaning is searching the internet by using Google search engine. So, obviously the following sentence is wrong.

I googled her on Yahoo and she seems pretty interesting.

You can’t google on Yahoo!. You can google only on Google search engine. So that if you have to use Yahoo! or MSN or whatever alternative search engine, you’d better use the term “search” instead of “google”.

Anyway, this is for your information. If you use the wrong word, you can get embarrassed in front of crowds or even worse you can get sue as Google is the brand to protect. Knowledge is gold. Knowing the correct usage can’t give you any trouble at all.

Reference : Google Blog

Gmail IMAP access

May be I’m pretty late to blog about this. But you know what? I’ve got IMAP access in my Gmail. See the picture below:

According to Gmail blog announcement of IMAP, they’ve started rolling out this feature since 24-Oct. But I’ve got the news late and when I check it out, it’s already there.

So now you can access Gmail using POP client, or IMAP for free. Now I’m wondering who would pay $19.99 per year for Yahoo! Mail Plus.

Now Gmail space is over 4 GB and counting

Long long ago, based on the counter speed of Gmail page, I wrote an article that Gmail will reach 3 GB in 2008.

But recently, Google increased the speed of the counter and now Gmail has got over 4GB already. Some people even suggest that Gmail will reach 6GB at January 2008. If you’re using Google Apps like me, they’ve adjusted the storage boost for our custom email addresses too. If you’re Premier Edition users, now you will get a mighty 25 GB space instead of 10 GB.

Some of you might say that Yahoo! have already offered unlimited storage for their email. Are you aware that Yahoo! not only they reserve the right to delete MISUSED accounts but also limit their attachment size at 10MB (Gmail now allow 20MB).

We all love Google, don’t we?

Got Google Pagerank

Many new bloggers are now enjoying the green indicators of Google PR. Obviously, Google updates many new sites yesterday. I’ve got PR 3!!!!

So that Bridge to Nova is no longer a newbie in the world wide web anymore. We are grown-up now. You may have read that many pro bloggers are talking about you shouldn’t care PR. But I’ll tell you that you really really should. At least, it is a pride and my bragging right. Trust me, all those probloggers would blog and brag about their PR if they’ve got +1 or +2 increases. Cashquests have got a great article why you should care about PR. Have a nice weekend all.
Excuse me, I’m going to open champagne now.

Google celebrate their 9th birthday

I have been wondering when Google will celebrate 9th birthday since the beginning of this month. But today, as in their homepage Google officially celebrate now.

Why Google birthday is varying from year to year?

In September 1998, Google Inc. opened its door in Menlo Park, California. The door came with a remote control, as it was attached to the garage of a friend who sublet space to the new corporation’s staff of three. The office offered several big advantages, including a washer and dryer and a hot tub. It also provided a parking space for the first employee hired by the new company: Craig Silverstein, now Google’s director of technology.

Already Google.com, still in beta, was answering 10,000 search queries each day. The press began to take notice of the upstart website with the relevant search results, and articles extolling Google appeared in USA TODAY and Le Monde. That December, PC Magazine named Google one of its Top 100 Web Sites and Search Engines for 1998. Google was moving up in the world.

The exact date they celebrate their birthday will depend on their people appetizes for birthday cake. (See my previous post about When Google Birthday for details)

Well, anyway, Happy Birthday Google!