I got accepted to Text Link Ads

I finally got my blog accepted to Text Link Ads. I hope that I can make some money on the content I post here at some point. They said that it is $10 to $25 per advert per month. If anyone buys ads on this site, I could be making a smallish, but fun bit of money here.

I will most definitely be making more money from this than from Google Adsense, which has been a total disaster. If TLA works out, I will probably end up removing all my Google Ads. They take up valuable space on this site, and I would probably be better off without them.

I am a bit confused as to how TLA works. Is it a given that someone will buy ads here, or is it only a possibility?

I think I will be posting more regularly here in the future, so don't remove me from your bookmarks yet...

Google Knols: The NEW Service Login Page

Check it out:

This page is at https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=knol

It is the service login page for the new invite-only Google Knols, a wiki-like user-generated encyclopaedic thing. For more information on the actual service, see here: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/encouraging-people-to-contribute.html

A screenshot from Google is here:

Another Awesome AIR App: Analytics Reporting Suite

This is probably much cooler and much more useful than Tweetr.. Basically, The Analytics Reporting Suite is a beautiful, desktop version of Google Analytics. I don't know how the heck they did it, but whoever did it did it damn well. Here are some screenshots:

The map is very usable and very beautiful. The whole program has lots of polish, and is considerably faster, in my opinion, than the real Google Analytics.

Analytics Reporting Suite can be installed here: http://www.aboutnico.be/index.php/downloads/

Sorry about lack of posting

Hi, I have been rather busy this summer, and have not been paying much attention to this blog. I hope to get it back up and running rather soon, as some exciting things begin to happen.

I didn't cover the release of the new iMacs and iLife/iWork 08 because I was out of town.

I hope to be ready to break some news, however, at the end of this month regarding Google Presentations... let's keep our fingers crossed!

Where the crap is my Google Presentations?????

 Google said it would happen in the Summer... Summer is almost over! I am still waiting!

Blogged with Flock

Google Docs supports more advanced Special Character entry: new feature, or am I ignorant?

I'm not sure if I just never noticed this before, but I think it is a new feature:

What do you think?

New Google Docs interface is a preview of Gmail, 2.0

UPDATE: Please digg me: http://digg.com/tech_news/New_Google_Docs_interface_is_a_preview_of_Gmail_2_0

At least, that's what I think.

I think that the next release of Gmail will add this folder functionality, and best of all, drag and drop. I have spent a ton of time creating a mockup of what I think Gmail 2.0 will look like, if they implement the new functionality from Google Docs:

Click the image for a bigger view.

Comment with your opinions, as always! :)

After update, Google Docs iGoogle gadget is kaput

Whoops! Looks like Google's latest really cool update to Google Docs broke its iGoogle gadget!

I hope it gets fixed soon.... Maybe it will have some new, really cool functionality!

New Google Docs interface is AMAZINGLY AWESOME!

Check it out:

It adds support for regular-type folders (no nesting), DRAG AND DROP, etc. It also adds nice new icons, and stuff.

So, go to the new Google Docs and Spreadsheets!

Using Google Mashups with Twitter

I have used Google Mashup Editor to create two iGoogle gadgets for Twitter.

The first one is called "Robert Scoble and Friends". Basically it is an aggregator of tweets from Robert Scoble and those on his friends list. The second one is called "Twitter Public Timeline", and it basically aggregates all the tweets from twitterers who allow themselves to be featured on the Public Timeline. Here is a screenshot of the two:

If you want to try them, for the Scoble gadget, click here; for the Public Timeline gadget, click here. To play with them in a full-page view, for the Scoble gadget, click here; for the Public Timeline, click here.

I'm del.icio.us!

I have decided to switch from Google Bookmarks to Del.icio.us. This may change in the future, but I think that it is much easier to use, and to integrate with Firefox.

I love the extension, that has search builtin. I also like how it is more social, and shows how many people have bookmarked each item.

You can check out my del.icio.us bookmarks at http://del.icio.us.com/ioannusdeverani

I really like the integration in Google Bookmarks with Web History (you can just star any item, and it is automatically added), but until Google Bookmarks gets more del.icio.us-like, and functional, with better Firefox integration, I will have to not use it...

New Google Search Layout: I have it too

Here is a screeshot:

 

Then really awesome thing is that it is the same in Gmail, PicasaWeb, Images, iGoogle, Video, Maps, etc. It is really nice. I would prefer, however, if they had a more >> inside the more >> menu that would allow me to see the most commonly used apps, instead of that big long list.

I would love to be able to customize it!

Weird Adsense

I got some pretty weird adsense on my blog tonight:

It is an animated image ad. That doesn't look anything like a regular Google ad. I wonder if this has anything to do with the purchase of DoubleClick?

Weird.

Let's Ask Google

So, in order to find out whether the Google Presentations stuff was real or not, I emailed the one person I know of who works at Google.

Niniane Wang. Remember, she was the one who worked on that 'confidential project'? The one who I implicated in the pretend Google Drive thingummy where I got tricked on April Fools? Yeah, that Niniane Wang.

I haven't gotten a reply from her yet, but I hope to. Maybe she can clear up some of this mess....

MORE UDATES ON GOOGLE PRESENTATIONS

Update: Please Digg me!!!

Well, I got into Preezo via a Salesforce test drive trial of ShareOffice. I got into Preezo from there, and it truly is Google Presentations. Check it out!:

Aren't those screenshots amazing? Google Presentations, or Google Preezo, or whatever you want to call it.

To try it out, go to http://www.salesforce.com/appexchange/detail_overview.jsp?id=a0330000002glFpAAI and hit Test Drive. Then you can access it from there.

I just wonder how Google Presentations made it onto ShareOffice...

Maybe its just a skin. Nahhhh!

Google Releases Google Presentations!

Update: Please Digg me!!!

Don't you just love Google? Always releasing products when nobody's looking.

OK, that was fun. I love dragging people in with 'truthy' headlines. But, in all reality, it might be real.

Read/WriteWeb reports that ShareMethods is launching an open mashup of various web services for a web office called ShareOffice. It integrates iNetWord, Preezo, and EditGrid.

All would be fine and dandy if the screenshot they included for Preezo weren't incredibly suspicious:

It looks exactly like Google Docs, except it is a presentation app. Here is a screenshot of Google Docs:

Could this be Google Office? Could Google be working with Preezo?

I checked out Preezo, but it is private, so I can't get an invite for a while. But I did find a screenshot of the actual program:

Unfortunately, however, this doesn't seem to be the only look of Preezo. Check out this screenshot from Salesforce:

More updates later.

Collaborated Document

I've shared a document with you called "Collaborated Document":
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ajfsppnbpntg_118czt7vb&invite=ctjrzhx

It's not an attachment -- it's stored online at Google Docs & Spreadsheets. To open this document, just click the link above.
---

Hello, everyone! I was inspired by Ionut Alex Chitu (http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/05/defining-google-collaboratively.html), so I want to see what happens with this.

Basically anyone can sign in to Google Docs and edit this document. Who ever starts editing it gets to decide what it will be about.

This could be the beginning of a Google Wiki...

Enjoy! If no one edits first, I will start it off and see what happens.

There are people who don't use feed readers?

Check out the following item from Google Reader. I am testing it in conjunction with Blogger's mail-to-post feature. Pretty neat.

 

 

Sent to you by ioannusdeverani via Google Reader:

 

 

There are people who don't use feed readers?

via Official Google Reader Blog by Brad Hawkes on May 02, 2007

It's fun to share interesting items with your friends and coworkers. Google Reader has a "Share" button and a public page to go along with it, and some people have been putting that to great use. Once you start sharing, others can subscribe to your shared items and see what you see (when you want them to).

This works great for your feed-savvy friends. But, what if you want to share something you find in Reader with someone who doesn't use a feed reader at all?

To the rescue comes a greatly improved email feature we're releasing today. Even Marge Simpson has email, so interesting feed items you come across can now reach almost anyone.

Now, clicking the "Email" link at the bottom of an item gives you the ability to:

• send email from within Reader -- no more second window for sending email.
• send the entire item as it appears in Reader, including formatting and images.
• use your Gmail address book (if you have one) to add contacts with auto-complete.

So, there you have it. Now you can share the great content from your feeds with anyone. Give it a try and let us know how you like it.

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Visit the original item on Official Google Reader Blog
• Subscribe to Official Google Reader Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all all your favorite sites

 

 

What could Google do to make iGoogle really awesome?

Here is a list of things:

• Make the editing of the gadgets nicer
• Have a twitter-like application to push updates to the Daily Me gadget
• Have the Daily Me gadget have a history of updates, just like twitter
• Basically copy the crap out of twitter
• Add WYSIWIG
• Allow gadgets to get into the catologue sooner
• Give each new gadget its own xml file so people can easily transfer them.
• Allow for the creation of new templates with code
• Allow for user-created themes
• Add tab functionality to Google Apps Start Page
• Allow gadgets really easily to be added to web-pages

Just my two pence....

iGoogle: Aside from new logo, very disappointing

The title says it all. The new logo is pretty swell, but the features themselves are negligable. Very disappointing.

I tried to use all of the new gadget writing features, but they were all useless. For instance, the Daily Me gadget has to be edited in its own little stupid interface; you can't just push updates to it. The Free Form gadget doesn't have rich text. The YouTube gadget doesn't size itself correctly, so you can't see the whole video. Plus, it takes 10 days for your gadget to appear in the catologue!!!!!

It looks like Google felt left out and decided to put out a useless, half-baked product before it was ready. I hope they don't do this with Presently, or whatever you want to call it.