SIG Notes

My Web Apps

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:54:53 +0000

Many of the Chrome apps are just Web GL optimized web-pages. Of course all of the Google apps are available including Gmail, Docs, and Calendar.

The Huffington Post app is incredible. Also the Google Music App is pretty nice.

The best app of all I think is the Kindle app. It is just like the Kindle device but on your computer.

The 60 Minutes App is pretty good also.

Offline Google Mail

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:24:06 +0000

Offline Google Mail beta is a Gmail app built to support offline access, allowing mail to be read, responded to, searched and archived without network access. After first start-up, Gmail Offline will automatically synchronize messages and queued actions anytime Chrome is running and an Internet connection is available. More than just an offline app, the streamlined user interface, based off Gmail’s popular tablet interface, provides extremely fast response time with a pure, email focused experience… (read more)

Chromebooks

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:37:47 +0000

A Chromebook is a personal computer running Google Chrome OS. The devices comprise a distinct class of personal computer falling between a pure cloud client and traditional laptop.

The first devices for sale, by Acer Inc. and Samsung, were announced at the Google I/O conference in May 2011 and began shipping on June 15, 2011.

Chromebooks are shipped with the Google Chrome OS operating system, which uses the Linux kernel, and the Google Chrome web browser with an integrated media player. With limited offline capability and a boot time, according to Google, of eight seconds, Chromebooks are primarily designed to be used while connected to the Internet. Instead of installing traditional applications such as word processing and instant messaging, users add web apps from the Chrome Web Store.^[7] Google claims that a multi-layer security architecture eliminates the need for anti-virus software… (read more)

Google Chrome

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:25:46 +0000

Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or “chrome”, of web browsers. As of December 2011, Chrome is the second most widely used browser, having recently overtaken Mozilla Firefox, with 27.27% worldwide usage share of web browsers and is the most popular browser in South America, according to StatCounter.

Why use Chrome? The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: when you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser… (read more)

Install Chrome Now!

Web GL

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:58:37 +0000

WebGL (Web-based Graphics Library) is a software library that extends the capability of the JavaScript programming language to allow it to generate interactive 3D graphics within any compatible web browser. WebGL code executes on a computer display card’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which must support shader rendering.

WebGL is a context of the canvas HTML element that provides a 3D computer graphics API without the use of plug-ins. The specification was released as version 1.0 on March 3, 2011. WebGL is managed by the non-profit Khronos Group… (read more)

Chrome Themes

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:45:02 +0000

Google Chrome does not have to have to be be plain. You can change the theme to suite your mode.

Chrome Web Store

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:04:01 +0000

The Chrome Web Store is a site where you can find extensions and web apps for the Chrome Web browser.

Go to the Chrome Web Store now!

Chrome Remote Desktop

Mark — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:23:07 +0000

Chrome Remote Desktop BETA is the first installment on a capability allowing users to remotely access another computer through the Chrome browser or a Chromebook. The goal of this beta release is to demonstrate the core Chrome Remoting technology and get feedback from users. The BETA works on Windows, Macs and Linux but I had a problem getting a Ubuntu 11.10 machine to control Windows. The Windows machine controlled the Ubuntu fine.

Voice Search

Mark — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:39:34 +0000

Voice Search provides a method to search by speaking. For example, just click on the microphone and say “kittens” to search for kittens. If you specifically want pictures of kittens, say “google images kittens”. Want to learn more about World War II? Say “wikipedia world war two”.

Cloud Print

Mark — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:38:52 +0000

Google Cloud Print is a new technology that connects your printers to the web. Using Google Cloud Print, you can make your home and work printers available to you and anyone you choose, from the applications you use every day. Google Cloud Print works on your phone, tablet, Chromebook, PC, and any other web-connected device you want to print from.