Category: Google

News in Pictures

News in Pictures

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1X1With the increasing amount of information available on the Internet, means for consuming online resources are constantly evolving and becoming more image driven.  Many sites use images to represent news from around the world. Seeing an interesting picture  may expose you to a topic that you wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.

BBC News posts a daily slideshow in the Day in Pictures section.

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Google News offers the option to put the top news stories into an image view.

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Visit the  News in Pictures website to see a comprehensive  listing of websites that feature pictorial news.

Google Wave

Google Wave

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Google Wave is a new online tool that provides a platform for real-time collaboration and communication. Google has combined features of instant messaging, wikis, email and word processing so that users can work together to create and edit documents called “waves.”  These waves allow any participant to edit any part of the document and there is an option to add pictures, maps or graphics to the document. This tool could be useful for collaborating on group projects, brainstorming, class notes or even planning an event.

Initially Google Wave only released in a limited preview to a select number of participants, but now you can follow this  link to request an invite from Google. It still may take a few days to get a confirmation email though. For more information about Google Wave visit their website or watch a short video from some of the Google developers.

As of August 2010, Google Wave has been shut down.

Customize your Gmail Page with Google Gadgets

Customize your Gmail Page with Google Gadgets

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1X1If you use Gmail, there is a handy new feature that will enable you to add Google Gadgets to your Gmail page.  Google Gadgets are interactive mini-applications that you can display on your Web page, such as weather, personalized news and more.  When you add a Gadget, it will always appear on the sidebar of your email. Even though the sidebar is small, it is a convenient way to have resources readily available.

How to Insert Gadgets:

  • 1. In your Gmail account, click on Settings.
  • 2. Under the Labs tab, you can find different features to add to your Gmail. To add custom gadgets, go to Add any Gadget by URL and click Enable.

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  • 3. Then go to the Gadgets tab (within Settings) and you can enter any Gadgets’ URL, which is an XML page.  To get the URL, click on the gadget you want from the Gadgets page.  Click on the View Source link on the bottom of the page, then copy the URL from the URL window. 

Here a few URLs for popular Gadgets (copy and paste in the Gadget URL box to activate):

Edit your Google Documents Offline

Edit your Google Documents Offline

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You may already be using the online word processor Google Docs to create and store documents online for free, publish them in multiple formats and access them anywhere and anytime you can connect to the Internet. If you are unfamiliar with Google Docs, you can check out a previous Loyola Tech Tip to learn about the benefits of using this fabulous tool. The greatest advantage of using Google Docs is that you can login from any computer to edit your documents. However, if you lose your internet connection and need access to a crucial file, you will be out of luck. That is unless you install Google’s Gears, an open source browser extension that enables Web applications to run offline.

Enabling Google Docs Offline

Once you download and follow the installation instructions from the Gears Home Page , you will be prompted to restart your Web browser. When you reopen your browser, sign into Google Docs and click on the Offline link.

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You will be prompted with instructions to synchronize your documents. Once your documents are synched, you will notice a green checkmark status indicator next to your user name in the upper right hand corner. The status indicator will turn gray when you are working offline. If you login to Google Docs without an internet connection you will be able to edit any of your word processing documents or view your spreadsheets. At this time, you cannot create new documents when you are working offline. Keep in mind that you’ll need to install Gears on each computer that you would like to sync your Google Docs with (i.e. your laptop and your desktop). You should only enable the Google Docs offline feature on your personal computer, not a shared computer. Gears is also compatible with Google Reader, which enables you to access your Web feeds offline as well.

Further Reading:

Google Gears Help Center

Discover New Blogs with Google Reader

Discover New Blogs with Google Reader

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If you have favorite news sites or blogs that you like to visit every day, you may already be already using a feed reader to manage your subscriptions.  Web-based feed readers such as Google Reader, enable users to subscribe to and read multiple weblogs and news feeds all in one place, from any computer or mobile device.  If you are just getting started with using a tool like Google Reader or if you are just interested in finding new sites then you should check out Google’s compilation of reading lists.  Google’s second edition of Power Readers features top picks from prominent journalists, techies, fashion critics and foodies.  Visit www.google.com/powerreaders to explore and subscribe to any of their reading lists, or to any individual Web sites that they recommend. 

Read more on The Official Google Blog.

Get Organized with iGoogle

Get Organized with iGoogle

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When you open up your Web browser, you most likely begin surfing the Web by weeding through your bookmarks to find your favorite websites.  With iGoogle, you can easily customize an internet start page that will give you quick access to your Google resources such as Gmail, Google Search and Google Calendar as well as RSS feeds, news headlines, weather forecasts, and much more.  With a personalized iGoogle homepage, you can quickly access all of your favorites and a variety of web tools in one place. 

Getting Started

If you already have a Google account then all you need to do is sign in here.  If you don’t have one, creating an account will give you access to iGoogle and other Google tools such as Gmail, Google Documents and Google Reader.  When you set up your iGoogle start page, you can choose “gadgets,” which are interactive mini-applications that can display your new email, weather, personalized news and more.  You can arrange your gadgets by dragging and dropping them in any order you like on your page and you can customize the look of your page by choosing a Theme.  Your iGoogle page is a convenient tool to keep all of your favorite internet applications in hand.

Get the Most out of your Google Search

Get the Most out of your Google Search

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While it’s all too common to “Google it” to find any information imaginable, you may spend more sifting through endless results than you need to. Using Google Advanced Search not only helps you refine your search, you might come across some information that you wouldn’t normally find.

Advanced Search

You can access Google Advanced Search by clicking on the “Advanced Search” link on the Google home page. Note: If you’d like to search for images only, click on the “Images” tab on the Google home page then click on the “Advanced Image Search” link. Once you are ready to start your Advanced Search, keep in mind that you’ll only need to enter information into the fields you’d like to use. If you’d like to search for items with a particular file type, such as a PDF or Flash video file, try selecting a File Format. If you wish to narrow your results to only Government or Education sites, you can type .gov or .edu into the Domain field. For more tips on refining your search, visit Google Help: Advanced Search.

University Search

If you’d like to narrow your search to a specific school, a link for Google University Search is located at the bottom of the Advanced Search page. You can use the alphabetical index to locate your target school and then search for information within that institution only.