Google Play has a cool Easter Egg: click the search button without entering a query and you'll get results for "unicorns". This works for books, music, movies, magazines, apps and even devices.
{ Thanks, D4Ni. }
{ Thanks, D4Ni. }
Monday, 2 September 2013
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Google's Panoramio service has been redesigned and now looks just like a Google Maps extension. The new interface (codenamed "acrylic") is borrowed from Google Maps Views. You can go back to the old UI by clicking "Return to classic Panoramio".
"We've made photos the hero on the page while still keeping the important features that people enjoy. On the photo page, by far the most popular on the site, we've made the photo over three times bigger! We've also made thumbnails on the profile page and the world map significantly bigger. We know that Panoramio members have used the existing design for years, so the 'classic' version will still be available for a little while," mentions the Panoramio blog.
Panoramio has a lot of great photos from all over the world and it's an important source of high-quality photos for Google Maps and Google Earth. That's the reason why Google acquired the service back in 2007.
Adam Lasnik, a former Google Search Evangelist, is now Program Manager at Panoramio and his team launched Google Maps Views. "Many of the same people (including me!) work on both products, but Views and Panoramio currently serve different purposes: Views is a community for sharing photo spheres, while Panoramio is a community for sharing traditional photos," says Adam.
{ Thanks, Georg. }
"We've made photos the hero on the page while still keeping the important features that people enjoy. On the photo page, by far the most popular on the site, we've made the photo over three times bigger! We've also made thumbnails on the profile page and the world map significantly bigger. We know that Panoramio members have used the existing design for years, so the 'classic' version will still be available for a little while," mentions the Panoramio blog.
Panoramio has a lot of great photos from all over the world and it's an important source of high-quality photos for Google Maps and Google Earth. That's the reason why Google acquired the service back in 2007.
Adam Lasnik, a former Google Search Evangelist, is now Program Manager at Panoramio and his team launched Google Maps Views. "Many of the same people (including me!) work on both products, but Views and Panoramio currently serve different purposes: Views is a community for sharing photo spheres, while Panoramio is a community for sharing traditional photos," says Adam.
{ Thanks, Georg. }
If you use the stock Android keyboard, which is also available in the Play Store, you can change the look and feel of the keyboard. Google Keyboard has a few themes you can choose, but they're not available in the settings.
Here's a quick way to pick a different theme, assuming your device runs Android 4.0 or later:
1. you first need an application that lets you create shortcuts to app activities. Some apps that let you do that: Nova Launcher and Apex Launcher, probably the best Android launchers. The following instructions assume you've installed Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher, but you can also use simple apps like Activity Getter.
2. long press the homescreen and pick "shortcuts" and then "activities".
3. scroll to the Google Keyboard entry, expand the list of activities and pick "Android keyboard debug settings".
4. you'll create a shortcut for this activity. Tap the new shortcut and you should see this settings page:
5. tap "Keyboard theme" and pick one of the themes: Basic, Basic (High Contrast), Stone (normal), Stone (bold), Gingerbread. IceCreamSandwich is the default theme.
Basic:
Stone (normal):
Gingerbread:
6. use the shortcut you've created to change the theme.
{ via Android Police }
Here's a quick way to pick a different theme, assuming your device runs Android 4.0 or later:
1. you first need an application that lets you create shortcuts to app activities. Some apps that let you do that: Nova Launcher and Apex Launcher, probably the best Android launchers. The following instructions assume you've installed Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher, but you can also use simple apps like Activity Getter.
2. long press the homescreen and pick "shortcuts" and then "activities".
3. scroll to the Google Keyboard entry, expand the list of activities and pick "Android keyboard debug settings".
4. you'll create a shortcut for this activity. Tap the new shortcut and you should see this settings page:
5. tap "Keyboard theme" and pick one of the themes: Basic, Basic (High Contrast), Stone (normal), Stone (bold), Gingerbread. IceCreamSandwich is the default theme.
Basic:
Stone (normal):
Gingerbread:
6. use the shortcut you've created to change the theme.
{ via Android Police }
Friday, 30 August 2013
Remember the card-style redesign for Google mobile search? Google tests a similar interface for tablets:
There's more white space, top search results stand out even more, while Knowledge Graph cards and results from specialized Google search engines look like distinct sections of the page.
{ via Techno-Net }
There's more white space, top search results stand out even more, while Knowledge Graph cards and results from specialized Google search engines look like distinct sections of the page.
{ via Techno-Net }
It's hard to believe that a high-end smartphone can cost only $199 without contracts and carrier subsidies. Nexus 4 was released last year and its specs don't look that great when you compare it with phones like HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4, but Nexus 4 runs the latest Android version, it has a smooth interface and many developers use it to test their apps.
From $299 to $199, Nexus 4 managed to become the first high-end smartphone that costs less than $200 off contract. Google's previous Nexus phones used to cost about $529, but Nexus 4 changed all that. Google subsidized the phone in an effort to make the phone more affordable.
It's amazing to see how much has changed since 2010, when Google released the first Nexus device: Nexus One. Hardware has improved a lot, Android has a great interface, Android apps are better, Google built a content store, Android is the leading mobile OS and you can buy powerful phones and tablets for about $200 (full price).
From $299 to $199, Nexus 4 managed to become the first high-end smartphone that costs less than $200 off contract. Google's previous Nexus phones used to cost about $529, but Nexus 4 changed all that. Google subsidized the phone in an effort to make the phone more affordable.
It's amazing to see how much has changed since 2010, when Google released the first Nexus device: Nexus One. Hardware has improved a lot, Android has a great interface, Android apps are better, Google built a content store, Android is the leading mobile OS and you can buy powerful phones and tablets for about $200 (full price).
Google has a new experimental service that lets you build Google Earth tours from your browser. It's called Tour Builder and it requires the Google Earth Plugin (you also get the plugin when you install Google Earth).
"Tour Builder is a new way to show people the places you've visited and the experiences you had along the way using Google Earth. It lets you pick the locations right on the map, add in photos, text, and video, and then share your creation. We originally created Tour Builder to give veterans a way to record all the places that military service has taken them, and preserve their stories and memories as a legacy for their families. But we also thought it could be a useful tool for anyone with a story to tell, so we made it available to everyone," explains Google.
Before creating a tour, you can check the gallery:
Tour Builder lets you add images and videos, import KML files, enable or disable some layers, add historical imagery. By default, tours are private, but you can share them with other people.
{ Thanks, Florian K. }
"Tour Builder is a new way to show people the places you've visited and the experiences you had along the way using Google Earth. It lets you pick the locations right on the map, add in photos, text, and video, and then share your creation. We originally created Tour Builder to give veterans a way to record all the places that military service has taken them, and preserve their stories and memories as a legacy for their families. But we also thought it could be a useful tool for anyone with a story to tell, so we made it available to everyone," explains Google.
Before creating a tour, you can check the gallery:
Tour Builder lets you add images and videos, import KML files, enable or disable some layers, add historical imagery. By default, tours are private, but you can share them with other people.
{ Thanks, Florian K. }
Google's mobile sign-in page has a new interface that uses the same slogan from the desktop: "One password. All of Google." It's a more crowded page that includes a silhouette icon, a list of icons for Google services like Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and a small "Create an account" link at the bottom of the page instead of the red "sign up" button.
Here's the old interface:
For some reason, the new sign-in page lacks the "stay signed in" checkbox.
Here's the old interface:
For some reason, the new sign-in page lacks the "stay signed in" checkbox.
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