GTalk, Google’s own instant messenger, has been around for a few years now, and more and more people are using it. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that businesses are using Google Apps more, so it follows that Gtalk becomes the instant messenger of choice.
We all have to admit, however, that Gtalk does have its downsides. For those of us who have been using another instant messaging client for years (Yahoo Messenger or MSN Messenger), the adjustment may not be welcome. Believe you me, though, the adjustment period does not take that long. And, with the improvements that Google is making, everything just becomes much more convenient.
Take for instance the new widget that allows file transfer in the web version. This file transfer feature has been available in the independent Gtalk client for quite some time now, but those who do not have the client installed know how frustrating it can be to have to attach a file to an e-mail rather than instantaneously transfer through the chat window.
Well, your frustrations are over. Late in March, Google added the functionality to the web version as well as Orkut. This means that you can use any computer, log on to your Google account, and transfer files using the chat window without having to create a new message.
Oh, I have to be clearer I think – this functionality is available through iGoogle chat and NOT the Gmail account. In the near future, though, this should also be available via your Inbox chat as well.
Google Buzz has been active for quite some time now, and yet it seems to me that it isn’t buzzing as much as some people thought it would. Perhaps it just needs to grow on more people. Perhaps they need to add features and update the service. Whatever the reason is, all I know is that I only have a few friends using Google Buzz and many still prefer to use the tried and tested (and sometimes irritating) Facebook.
If you have an Android phone, though, and you are liking Google Buzz (I actually do like it, to be honest with you), you might want to know that there is a widget that will help you use Google Buzz more easily. I am still wanting a Google Nexus One phone, but only God knows when that is going to happen. I did have a chance to play with one – a friend is lucky enough to have the means to purchase one immediately – and I have to say that it rocks!
Anyway, so what’s the buzz about the Google Buzz widget for Android phones? For one, it lets you post text with a single tap! Not only that, you can upload photos with the same amount of effort. Pretty neat for lazy people, huh? More so, the app has the capability of working in the background, allowing you to do other stuff (PLAY) on your phone while it uploads whatever you want. Those of you with Android phones – here’s your chance to play!
If you’ve been using the Flash-based Twitter widget on your blog or web site, you might have noticed that it isn’t working. That’s because Twitter has disabled this widget due to security concerns. The problem lies in a vulnerability that was discovered in the widget. According to the people at Twitter, a security analyst raised the red flag about the widget. Apparently, the vulnerability can lead to hackers finding out the login details of the user.
Twitter was quick to respond to this issue and promptly disabled the widget. Gaj-It tells us more:
“We’ve been notified about a vulnerability in our Flash widget and out of an abundance of caution we’ve disabled access as we assess the situation,” Twitter’s staff said in a status update.
Despite this action, the configuration error reportedly stems from a basic programming mistake back in 2006. Mike Bailey, a senior security analyst with US-based company Foreground Security, said that the problem exploits a widely known vulnerability in the Adobe Systems Flash programming language.
Bailey emphasizes however, that the problem is not Adobe’s fault. He says that it is actually the programmers who make the mistake and that Adobe has already issued guidelines on how to avoid this flaw when creating Flash programs. Indeed, he says that there are a lot of other widgets with the same vulnerability – thanks to “bad programming.” That is, the programmers do not follow the recommendations of Adobe, hence exposing widgets users to the risk of having their login details hacked.
This year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is over and done with, but the air (at least the Internet “air”) is still buzzing with what was shown in the event. Year in and year out, technophiles look forward to this event as it showcases some of the best in “toys” – both existing and those that are yet to come.
The recently concluded CES is no different in that there were gadgets everywhere, but it seems that there is one hot topic in the realm of software: widgets for TVs. As an aside: I can’t believe how advanced TV sets are these days. I still remember that big old television set that my grandma used to have. It was encased in a wooden frame that took up almost the whole wall in the living room. Now, we have (almost) paper thin TVs that can do practically anything!
Anyway, with this new generation of television sets, other companies are taking advantage of their features – the ability to use widgets one of them. The idea is for the TV to be connected to the web so that anytime you want to check something out without having to use another device (such as your computer or your phone), you can simply call up a widget and you will get the information you need.
Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, eBay, Yahoo – these are merely a handful of the most recognizable names online today, and they are all offering widgets for various TVs. For now, there are probably around 50 widgets that one can choose from. Manufacturers say, however, that by the end of this year, we can expect that figure to double.
Are you one of us? Those who tweet on a regular basis, that is. If you have not discovered Twitter yet, then it’s about time! Once you try it out, you’ll find yourself tweeting non-stop. Ask anyone who uses it and you’ll hear the same words.
Anyhow, Twitter has just released a new widget on its Goodies page. If you log on to the platform, you can find the link to this page at the bottom of the home page. The new widget basically allows Twitter users to display their tweets on another web site or blog. It also is compatible with the more popular social networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace. With this widget, you do not need to copy paste your tweets to change your status!
There are currently four different kinds of widgets which you can from. These are Profile, Search, Faves, and List. Naturally, to make it easy on the users, Twitter provides the codes that you will need to embed in your site of choice. Everything will be done automatically, so you just need to do whatever it is you do with Twitter and the changes will be reflected on the web site.
You may also tweak the widget. For example, you can choose the settings for the frequency of refreshing. You can also choose the specific information that you want to show on your web site. Another important tweak is the ability to resize the widget so as to fit your site properly. Go get the widget now!
It was just a matter of time, really, and I suppose that that time is NOW. Google has announced some details about its service regarding music online. Dubbed Google Music Onebox, the service basically allows users to stream music without additional effort. All that users would have to do is search for music on Google. Naturally, they had to partner up with music streaming services in order to make this possible.
Some music streaming services that have been named as Google’s partners in this venture are Lala, iLike, Pandora, Imeem, and Rhapsody. This is where widgets come into the picture – to manage the streaming of the music. You’d think that Google would have created a universal widget that will manage the streaming of the files regardless of the streaming service used, right? Well, you thought wrong.
This is actually one issue that people are already bringing up. From what I have been hearing, the widgets that will come up when you listen to a song will depend on the service providing the streaming. Even worse, they say that you will have no choice as to which widget will come up. Basically, you are at the mercy of whatever rules govern the service. I suppose that if you are not particular about the widgets, then Music Onebox should do well enough. The ability to stream music simply by doing a Google search is definitely buzz worthy. Still, I really hope that Google create its own widget – the one widget to rule them all. Now THAT would be cool.
Photo courtesy of Geek.com
Saving energy is something that matters to a lot of people these days, and if you couldn’t care less, maybe it’s about time you did. For one, you get to save on your finances as well. Another reason, which is more altruistic, is that you do your bit in helping the environment.
Did you know that there are widgets out there that can help you in this regard? I have been looking up some of these widgets and found that there are quite a lot to choose from. Here are some of the best widgets that you can use to save energy.
Computer giant Hewlett-Packard is doing its share in saving the earth by providing a host of free widgets on the site https://h30470.www3.hp.com/. The widget runs on most any PC, and does not interfere with the regular functions. So how does it help? When you leave your computer unused for a while, it will show you a pop up reminding you to turn it off. It also computes how much energy you have saved over time.
Another widget that you can use to save energy is Verdiem’s Edison application. Just like HP’s widget, this baby’s free to use. The great thing about this widget is that you simply enter data such as the hours you use your computer the most and how much energy you want to save – the program does everything else for you. And to encourage you to save more, you can see how much energy you are saving at any point.
Try these out and do your part!
Poker has become a huge thing in the recent years. Perhaps it is due to the immense exposure that it has enjoyed, thanks to celebrities playing poker and to poker players becoming celebrities themselves. I’d like to think, though, that poker is such an exciting and challenging game that this popularity couldn’t be helped – exposure or not.
In any case, it is quite common for people to create their own poker leagues these days. Bars hold their own tournaments even. If you have a poker league or tournament of your own, you might want to check out the widget from PokerDIY, which is a web site that connects poker players from all over the world. The people behind PokerDIY describe their baby as a “lovechild of the union between a social network for poker players and online poker league software.” Basically, through the web site, poker enthusiasts can find likeminded people and join existing home games or tourneys or invite others to join their home game or tourney. Of course, there are other tools available on the web site, such as forums and poker-related software.
This brings us to the poker widget that they are currently promoting. The widget basically allows a user to show off poker tournament statuses and scores on any web site and Facebook. Other information such as statistics can also be shown through the widget. The best thing about the widget is that it is FREE for use!
If you are already using PokerDIY, go ahead and grab the widget code. If you’re still looking for a good poker league management tool, go visit PokerDIY now and see how it can work for you.
Sports fanatics will certainly appreciate the convenience that widgets offer the freshest news about games and teams right on your TV. I know that this is perfect for those who cannot always watch what they want on TV. Perhaps you’ve even heard of them – Yahoo Sports Widgets and USA Today Sports Widgets.
I have not had the personal chance to compare both of these widgets but the review at CNET has quite convinced me to choose the former over the latter:
Both widgets open up to a window with a number of quick links, including headlines. Selecting one of these on both widgets brings up the first paragraph of the article. The Yahoo widget draws its content from the AP, and so these snippets of text tend to be pretty informative as the AP consistently puts their ledes at the top of their articles. The other widget, of course, uses USA Today for its content, which tends to have more literary or anecdotal starts. This means that, at times, the USA Today headlines are just a tease without providing the information that you’re really looking for.
Another convincing point is that Yahoo gets information from AP, and for some reason, I prefer AP’s information over USA Today – although that is not to say that one is superior to the other. The bottom line is that here are two excellent widgets which you can use – the choice is up to you!
Verizon has hit a gold mine with its Fios TV and the company is capitalizing on it. Currently, they have more than two hundred and fifty channels in their list of offerings, but they are not stopping there. Verizon has just added two more Web-connected services to the Fios TV.
Last week, Verizon offered their subscribers the chance to pick out anything they want from a wide array of Internet widgets. The best thing about these widgets is that they are for free! In order to make use of these widgets, users only need a Fios receiver or digital video recorder.
Rob Pegoraro of The Washington Post tried the new service for himself and has this to say:
The widgets build on software Verizon introduced four years ago for its own use; now, Verizon will provide approved widgets from other developers in a new Widget Bazaar. Verizon says about 40 of these are in development, but the only new ones showed off today were Twitter and Facebook applications. The former doesn’t let you sign into a Twitter account so you can’t easily bring up replies to your updates, while the latter allows access to more of Facebook’s standard features. Note that in each case, your input is limited to the standard remote control, with no provision for a wired or wireless keyboard.
He did raise a very interesting point. He mentioned that he has not been hearing from any TV Widget users. I realized that the same is true for me. I know countless people who use widgets on their computers but not on their TV. Anyone care to teach us a lesson?
