Cool Google Talk Gadget Features
I began using Gtalk only recently, because only a few of my friends and contacts use it. I began to see its potential when my brother from abroad contacted me through it. I also noticed that those few Gtalk friends I had were usually online, so I too began to use it frequently and invited some other friends to use it. This being said, my friends all agreed that the Google Talk is a lot more convenient to use than other instant messenger clients. And there is even a more-advanced version of Gtalk, which is the Google Talk Gadget. And like Gmail chat it doesn’t require any installation. All I have to do is add the Google Talk Gadget on my Personalized Homepage of Google. And as one thing leads to another, every time I open my iGoogle, I am automatically logged into Gtalk and into my Gmail account at the same time (since I also added the Gmail Gadget).
Early last year, Google added cool features which includes:
- a “Popouts” system which will pop out your Google Talk once you click the link located at the uppermost right corner of the gadget.
- additional button onto own your web page, like the one in the sidebar of The Google Maven. If you want to put the same button on your site, all you have to do is copy a code for the button and just paste it on your site’s HTML. When your visitors click this button, the Google Talk Gadget will be launched in a new window. Get the code here.
- displays the title and thumbnail of a video in the chat window. These are shown when your Gtalk friends send you a link to a video. And you can even watch the video inside the chat window!
- view photos from Flickr or Picasa Web Albums
Another feature, which I like most and was just recently added by Google, is the Group Chat. I can start a chat with one of my friends and if I want to include another, say about 2 or more of my friends, I just change the status to group chat then invite them to chat.
As an added bonus, Google Talk Gadget has also provided us with emoticons in 3 different skins, we can choose between the classic black-and-white, the round emoticons, or the rectangular emoticons for the ultimate chat experience.
Join Google Search Experiment!
You have to hand it to Google; these new innovations to improve their search engine are simply outstanding. I would give them 10 thumbs up if I only I had 8 more…
These features are still in their experimental stage, but what the company has been doing can revolutionize the way we use the search engine. And what’s more is that they’re inviting us to be a part of it! Well, some of it – I think some of the features were removed already because they were volatile. Also, by trying out these experimental features, we are assured that the search engine will be able to offer us what we want once they implement these features by default.
To try the Experimental Search, simply go to this site and join one experiment. Then you can opt to take their survey afterwards to give them your opinions. If you want, you may also email your feedback to the Labs team and also discuss your opinions with others.
I especially like the one with keyboard shortcuts. Call me old fashioned but I prefer to use the mouse less when typing and searching for some information or another; and by using keys like “J” to move to the next search result or “K” to go back to the previous one, I can go through the different search results without the use of a mouse. To open a search result, I simply use the “O” or “Enter” key.
Another great thing that I’m hoping will go through the experimental stage is the one that uses alternate views for search result, that is, they show the search results in different views; such as a timeline view, info view, or map view. Every search result will yield on “Map View” three different locations regarding the article or three different dates on “Timeline View”.
Another of these experiments is the “Keyword Suggestions” in which case, you just type in a keyword and the search engine will provide another word that may be connected to the keyword.
I am personally hoping that Google will include these experiments in their search engine in the near future.
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