Google Pack

One of the somewhat obscure Google products is the Google Pack. Essentially what Google Pack is, is a collection of specific software to make your computer experience better, more productive and more Google enhanced.

Some of the Pack's features are well know, such as Firefox, Adobe Reader. Some are not as well known, such as Spyware Doctor and Picasa.

Google desktop is a Windows Vista favorite, but I am not sure how well it runs on XP (theme wise.) I would say the Pack is not all that bad, but maybe a bit un-warranted given the standard collection most PC's run these days.

For the Pack and more Google products, click here.

Google Chat Now Comes With SMS

The all powerful and knowing what gadgets you really need / want company Google, has added the ability to send SMS messages through GTalk (Google Chat.)

This is an excellent idea, in and of itself. But I have 2 questions:

• Can you SMS someone who is offline?
• Does this work with GMal Chat?

Google Cuts Back On Perks, Still Better Than Your Job

According to an article posted on the New York Post, online edition, it seems that the company known for it's incredible employee perks, is reigning in the slack a little.

According to the article, Google had released a inter company memo stating that they were trying to "to find areas where efficiency can be improved." That means, in this case, cutting back on some freebies like lunch items and some food items in general.

This downgrade in corporate splurging may be the result of Google's stock. It has seen a free fall over the last few months, losing up to 48% [NYP]. The stock is still very valuable, closing yesterday at $358 a share. The stock has been as high as $593.08 a share in early May.

Although the employees at Google will feel the corporate pinch of greed, they will survive, and live to fight another day.

Google Reader

Google Reader has been out, and probably in Beta, for a while now. Since I am a quasi-Google fanboy, I surprised myself by not knowing it even existed!

Basically, Google reader allows you to attach all of your desired feeds (i.e. RSS) to one beautiful, gmail looking web page for easy access. It is free, and very easy to use.

Adding feeds is almost as easy as searching for new ones. You don't even need to know the exact name of a feed to "subscribe" to it.

If you have several blogs you follow that have feeds, I would recommend giving Google's Reader a try, even if your not a Google fanboy.

Chrome Review 1: Google Chrome Is Sweet, Fast Explorer

For those who want to check out Google's Chrome Internet explorer, here is the link.

For starters, it took Chrome barely a second to load once I had it installed. Instead of a link bar for inputting URL's and addresses, it is actually a search bar, using Google to search for a site based on your input.

You can also create what is referred to as an Application Shortcut. Basically, this turns a web page showing some content, like e-mail, and creates an icon to start chrome, and go directly to that e-mail website, like it was running an application. This is similar to having a page book marked, but instead of storing the bookmark in the Internet explorer, it saves it as an application execution icon.

Another neat feature is the Incognito browsing option. This option stores nothing about your Internet exploring: no cookies, passwords, history...nothing. The window has a darker color to stand it apart from the other pages. This is a good tool for using online banking or online purchases.

So far I have been very impressed with the overall functionality and speed of Chrome.

Recommendation: Heavy internet users should give Chrome a heavy work out.

Google's Possible New Browser?

According to an article on Giz, this is a rendition of what could be Google's new open-sourced desktop browser. The people I have seen use it say it rivals Firefox 3 in speed and features.

Giz reports "..predict a Google Browser soon, maybe as soon as tomorrow, that is open sourced, with an intelligent "omni" search/address bar, a multithreaded javascript engine called v8, and tabs on the top of windows." [Gizmodo]

I am under the impression that this might have a counterpart in the works for Android. It would be sweet if they did a desktop app as well though.

Google vs. Cuil

I am not sure how many of you out there have tried, or heard of Cuil, pronounced "cool", the Google challenger for search engines. I have tried it and I have to tell you, it might be pretty, but it doesn't always find what you're looking for.

Example, I searched for the upcoming Sylvania MESO. Here are the links to the results pages for Google and Cuil.

Google results

Cuil results

I am not sure how else to compare the two result sets: 23,200 matches vs. 0.

I know Cuil does look impressive and has a cool (no pun intended) feel to it, but I am thinking that with over 121 BILLION pages indexed, it should have found something! Maybe it's just me!

What do you think about Cuil?

Cuil is Google Rival From Ex-Google employees

The new search engine site Cuil opened today. As the pic shows, it has over 121 BILLION pages at your disposal. I searched Google and got several thousand results.

According to Giz, this site was created by former Google employees. The site is pure black and blue loveliness. Simple, yet effective. Just like...Googles'!

Time will tell how well this venture will fly. It can't be any worse than MSN Search!

How Google Really Places Map Markers

I think if you tried, you'd find it very hard to disprove this theory...or maybe not. Gizmodo link here.