Google Commemorates Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
Today, Google commemorated the Starting up of Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by displaying a picture of the LHC on the Google search home page. The LHC is the largest particle accelerator ever created. It could lead to the discovery of the “God Particle” and could help answer questions such as:
- Why do we see so much matter in nature but not antimatter?
- Are there extra dimensions and can we “see” them?
- Why is gravity so much weaker than the other fundamental forces?
- Where does dark matter and dark energy come from?
- Do particles have supersymmetric counterparts?
It is great to see Google supporting this great day in Science.
Google Chrome in the Speed of Light
The reason I went Firefox 3 on my new PC just recently is to feel the rush of having a browser that leaf through web pages at the speed of light, sadly it’s a dim lighted alley full of tumbleweed in a not-so-sunny afternoon. That’s why I feel so exhilarated when finally I have my hands over this new browser in town that everyone is frantic about—The Google Chrome.
Never mind the other features but the speed alone makes you glued to your seat and wanting to browse more web pages like you’ve never done before. Although the absence of add on and extensions makes you reminisce your old love with Firefox, I’m quite sure the Google team behind this hype wouldn’t let up this Beta version to be a Beta forever unless those people is fond of idiosyncrasy.
Google chrome’s features are clean, professional and crisp. Spotless as it may seem, it’s quite functional in every step, you can toggle tabs left and right—most useful for multi tasking geniuses out there. And for those regular Einstein of secretive world, Chrome has this incognito page where you can leave no trace of your browsing prowess for the FBI, CIA, Interpol or your mother in law to trace. Yep, cookies and registries are never recorded as you browse through incognito mode; bookmarks are never saved in that method unless you get back to the ordinary browsing page. That I think sets Chrome apart from the other browser around the Cyber World.
There is one disappointment though, no Google toolbar yet available for chrome, and how much I needed those page rank feature of Google toolbar, in short, Firefox is still handy pending the full version of Google Chrome. Most of Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3 features can be found in Google Chrome plus the fact that it is almost 5 times faster than the two makes it a winner.
Try experiencing clicking a new tab and you will be amazed by the number of screenshots you have recently browsed displayed on that page, so getting back to your favourite page is never that tough, plus the fact that recently bookmarked and imported from Firefox pages are also being displayed at the right column makes the Chrome more organized.
Google Chrome can also handle HTML lightning quickly and can grip dynamic content in a crash proof mode without the worry of stammering between words, not bad for a beta version.
I think the secret to the new innovation Google has employed to Chrome is the well balanced features of the browser, I mean let’s admit it everything on the Google Chrome is not original, bits and pieces came from Firefox 3, IE8 or Safari but Google team make it a point to use a weighing scale to put into equilibrium the whole process. In philosophical world, Google chrome is the Aristotle with wisdoms coming from Plato and Socrates.
GM is now Gfanatic
We had thought of changing the domain name of this blog for a long time. I preferred to just remove the ‘The’ and call it Google Maven, but my partner wanted to change the whole domain name. So I thought of other names, we’d exchanged ideas, and finally agreed to call The Google Maven as Gfanatic– A Google Fan blog.
Though we might have other changes in the future, those changes will not be as big as changing the domain name. And certainly, Gfanatic’s contents will still be about Google and their products.
I hope you like the name, and feel free to share your ideas.
Disable Google Instant Suggestion Feature
____________
If you are using Internet Explorer with the latest Google Toolbar.
All you have to do is look for the wrench, which is the toolbar options panel. The wrench is located at the right corner of the google toolbar.
-
Click the wrench, (the blue one beside the square button) and a new window will appear.
-
Uncheck the ‘Suggest searches as you type’.
-
Then click save.
____________
If you are using Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar, these are the steps to disable the feature:
-
Click the settings button on the right of the toolbar.
-
Then go to Options.
-
Click the ‘Search Box Settings’ button, which is on top of all the buttons on the window that will appear.
-
Uncheck ‘Suggest Popular Searches’ to disable the instant suggestion feature.
-
You can also uncheck ‘Suggest searches from my search history’ if you really don’t want Google to suggest whenever you type on that search box.
-
Click the OK buttons.
From Toolbar Firefox Help Center: ( I added this on April 6, 2008)
Please note that Google Suggest is separate from the Toolbar’s drop-down search history feature. If you’d like to clear your search history automatically when you exit Firefox, simply follow the instructions above, and un-check the box next to “Save the search history across browser sessions.”
To entirely disable the Toolbar’s drop-down search history, please visit http://www.google.com/support/firefox/bin/answer.py?answer=45143 for detailed instructions.
____________
If you are using Firefox without the toolbar, you can also disable this feature.
-
Click the Google button on the left of the search box on Firefox.
-
Click ‘Manage Search Engines’
-
Uncheck the ‘Show search suggestions’.
-
Then click OK.
Related posts:
Google Earth Free and Pro Versions
Have you tried out the free product from Google, Google Earth? Holiday tourists will find the free Google Earth software to be beneficial from an educational perspective. Users can visit any place on Earth virtually, and even space. Thus, it is the best tool to provide virtual presentation in classes.
Aside from an educational tool, It can also be used for personal use. Like Google Maps where users can search for restaurants, schools, and parks. Users can also get driving directions, and play around with all the 3D graphics. Tilt them. Rotate them.
If you can’t wait to experience the cool featues of Google Earth, you’ll be glad to know there are only 2 steps to follow to get Google Earth free download. But before you can do so, check your computer to see if you meet the minimum hardware specifications for it. You will need:
- Operating System: Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista
- CPU: Pentium 3, 500Mhz
- System Memory (RAM): 256MB
- Hard Disk: 400MB free space
- Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec
- Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 16MB of VRAM
- Screen: 1024×768, “16-bit High Color” – DirectX 9 (to run in Direct X mode)
But for the best performance of the Google Earth software, it is recommended that you have these hardware specifications:
- Operating System: Windows XP or Windows Vista
- CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz+ or AMD 2400xp+
- System Memory (RAM): 512MB
- Hard Disk: 2GB free space
- Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
- Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
- Screen: 1280×1024, “32-bit True Color”
The Google Earth free version and Google Earth Pro (another version) have the same installer. You may opt for an upgrade to Google Earth Pro if you use the Help Menu. The Google Earth Pro version is for commercial use and has certain features that Google Earth free version does not have. It costs $400 which is a subscription based annual fee. You can see the comparison chart here.
The Pro version may not be used on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, and Windows ME. Even “64-bit operating systems are not currently supported including Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 and all 64-bit versions of Microsoft Vista.”
Still, this product may be used with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) though it demands at least 1024×768 pixels of screen size. Clamped filled polygons will necessitate True Color resolution (32 bits) as well as an appropriate graphics card. Without these, they will appear only as outlines.
As far as the optimum performance and visual quality of Google Earth is concerned, expect to use the default OpenGL graphics rendering engine.
If you turn to the Preferences panel, you can choose Google Earth.com’s DirectX version. Should problems crop up during startup, you may opt to visit Start Menu to adjust it. This version is appropriate for laptops and older computers which cannot accommodate the default OpenGL version. The DirectX version needs to be used with DirectX 8.1 or more advanced versions.
You will find Google Earth to be quite advantageous (particularly when combined with Google Maps and Google Local.) Definitely a must-have product.
Subscribe to Gfanatic
