And The Web Cries Chrome

Google has released its much-touted new browser, Chrome, and the Web is awash with blogs and reactions and speculation about its impact. Some predict the browser can capture more market share than Firefox in as little as 2 years. Yet others are speculating about the reasons for Google's move into the browser arena, most seeing the move as aimed directly at Microsoft. If you're interested in what Chrome can do, you can read about it here in both video and comic book form. I've not yet had a chance to check it out, but you can read about its features, complete with screen shots, at Lifehacker.

It's Still Del.icio.us by Any Other Name

The social bookmarking site has finally launched its first major overhaul since it was acquired by Yahoo! a few years ago. So far, I've not found the update to be significantly better than the del.icio.us I've always loved--except, of course, I no longer need to remember where to to put those darn periods! Check out the new look and supposedly faster search results at http://delicious.com.

Here's a Little Gift for You

I know I haven't been by in a bit, but wanted to drop off this little package -- 100 free "keynote objects" (icons) to incorporate into your presentations and productions. 

So Googlicious

Gmail keeps getting better--this time with 13 new features. To check them out, click on the "Labs" tab in Gmail settings and enable the ones you want. While not all are "must-haves" (I decided not to enable the Old Snakey game, for example), the signature tweaks and custom keyboard shortcuts scripts are definitely keepers.

A.nnotate.com

For those of you who have made the shift to web-based writing, editing, and responding, you can now annotate pdf files at A.nnotate.com. You can share your file notes with others, invite them to annotate the files, reply to existing notes, and create a searchable index of all notes.

Now, *That's* Smart Printing!

If web-based information retrieval has been lacking in a specific area, it's got to be in printing. Often, I really want a print version of information I'm gathering--usually information that spans several web pages. While the old cut-n-paste into Word has its rainy-day pleasures (who am I kidding?), I've always thought there's got to be a better way. HP has answered my prayers with a free app that allows you to grab info from multiple pages and sites, concatenate them to a single page, and then print it out. Check it out at the link below:


HP Smart Web Printing enables simple, predictable web page printing.

Chatmaker

I've been thinking a lot on Web 2.0 tools lately & here's one I've come across that looks like a winner to me. It's a free service called Chatmaker and it allows you to create instant free chat rooms. Just copy the url or code and send it to someone you want to chat with. You are initially logged in as a guest but can change your name. You can also timestamp the conversation, embed links, and use html coding.

Using a service like Chatmaker eliminates the need to sign on/off from a chat program.It looks like a nice alternative for those who don't want to be signed on in another chat program or need a quick tool for conversation. When my advisees are studying abroad this tool would be handy as we work out schedules. I'm sure there are other possibilities I haven't even considered!