Posts tagged iGoogle
Video and Audio conferencing coming to Gmail Chat
Nov 7th
Last year, Google added voice and video chat features to Gmail Chat, which happens to be the web version of Google Talk. Well, it seems that Google plans of improving and enhancing the audio and video chat capabilities. From what we hear Google will be bringing video and audio conferencing for Gmail Chat and possibly bring those features to other apps as well, as it has done in the past. (For e.g. bringing voice and video chat to iGoogle and Orkut).
Video chat comes to iGoogle
Aug 23rd
Google introduced video chat to Gmail way back in November 2008 which allowed users to engage in a video chat with family and friends. All you need to do at that time was to install a small sized video plugin.
Previously iGoogle provided features such as chatting with your friends along with reading news, emailing your business and family contacts, viewing a few funny pics and so on. Well Google has added a new dimension to iGoogle.
Enter video chat for iGoogle. Google has brought face-to-face chat in the form of video chat to iGoogle homepage.
When you use video chat for the first time in iGoogle, you will be required to install a video plugin which happens to be small in size and installs within a few seconds.
Here is what you need to initiate a video chat with your friend:
1. Open the actions menu which appears at the bottom of a chat window
2. Click on the “Start video chat” link
A small green camera icon will appear next to the name of your contacts on chatlist which indicates that they are set up for a video chat.
While chatting you may make the chat window size bigger or even switch to the full screen mode.
One point where the video chat is different from the video chat in Gmail is that there is no need for your contacts to have a Gmail account, Google account will do just fine.
Google will be rolling out this feature over the period of the next few days. So if you don’t see it right now you will eventually see within a few days.
iGoogle gets 19 new social gadgets
Aug 13th
iGoogle was launched way back in 2005 to facilitate the users for quick and easy personalization of their Google experience with all the information on the web that was most useful to them.
Currently tens of millions of people use their iGoogle homepage to check email, track news, watch videos, chat with friends and much more.
Today, new social features have been introduced to iGoogle.
One of the major features is the launch of the social gadgets for iGoogle. Social gadgets let you share, collaborate and play games with your friends on top of all the things you can already do on your homepage. In total 19 social gadgets have been launched.
The 19 social gadgets launched offer many new ways to make iGoogle homepage more useful. Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience and Rose Yao, iGoogle Product Manager wrote:
If you’re a gaming fanatic, compete with others in Who has the biggest brain? or challenge your fellow Chess or Scrabble enthusiasts to a quick match. Stay tuned in to the latest buzz with media-sharing gadgets from NPR, The Huffington Post, and YouTube.
You can also manage your day-to-day lists withth the social To-Do list gadget.
And of course your friends are able to see what you share or do in your social gadgets either by having the same gadgets on their homepages, or through a new feed called Updates.
These updates include your recently shared photo albums, your favorite comics strips, your travel plans for the weekend and more. There is also a Friends group to manage your sharing with others. You can easily add and edit friends in this group at any time.
New iGoogle for Android
Jun 12th
iGoogle is so convenient on mobile devices. When you’re waiting in line, you can check iGoogle on your phone for a quick "info snack". Many of the users told us that you wanted to use more of your iGoogle gadgets on your phone.
Google employee in January said:
We’ve found that people hit iGoogle from lots of different phones — we want to ensure you’ll all see the same version,
Previous version of mobile iGoogle doesn’t have tabs and it’s optimized for WAP phones, not for today’s smartphones.
But now Google rolled out an improved beta version of iGoogle for the iPhone and Android-powered devices. This new version is faster and easier to use. It supports tabs as well as more of your favorite gadgets, including those built by third-party developers. Note that not all gadgets — like those with Flash — will work in mobile browsers.
One of new features is the in-line display of articles for feed-based gadgets. Now you will be able to read article summaries without leaving the page. You can also reorder gadget or keep your favorite gadgets open for your next visit.
The new version of iGoogle for mobile is available in 38 languages. You can also try the new iGoogle, just go to igoogle.com in your mobile browser and tap "Try the new Mobile iGoogle".
You can also bookmark the page or make it your home page so you can return to it quickly.
Google Calendar gets Task management feature
May 14th
Previously Google provided an iPhone version and iGoogle gadget for performing task management activities. From now on you will get the task managament feature right inside Google Calendar. Google Calendar now allows you to perform task management.
To use this feature, first of all you are required to sign in to Google Calendar and click on the Tasks link appearing on the left hand side
After clicking on the task link, you will see a Tasks gadget on the right side of the calendar. There are two ways to view your tasks in Google Calendar
- In the right sidebar via the Tasks gadget option
- You can also view the tasks in Google Calendar
Google has added a few features that make task tracking and management easier with Google Calendar. These are:
- Tasks that have due dates will automatically appear on your calendar in the All Day event section.
- To create a task with a due date in Calendar, click on an empty space in Month view or in the All Day section and select the Task option.
- To attach a due date to an existing task, click the right arrow next to the task in question in the Task list. Then, click on the calendar icon to select a date.
- To modify a task’s date, simply drag the task to a new date (as you would with a calendar event).
- To mark a task as complete from within Calendar, click on the checkbox next to the task.
I found that you can’t use “Quick Add” for creating tasks, besides that no synchronization of tasks calendar is possible with other applications, plus you cannot receive email or SMS notification for tasks.
