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Google Voice to add number portability?

Networking & Internet, Phones / By /

For those of you have GrandCentral (now Google Voice) accounts, you already know what a great service it is. Since Google bought them, they’ve revamped the service and added lots of new features. However, having to change your number is a bit of a showstopper, particularly for folks who have lots of contacts and trying to inform them all of your # change would be a major PITA.

The potentially good news is that Google may add number portability to the service later this year, so says TechCrunch who got that info from a Google employee. This would be the single biggest thing that drives new customers Google’s way.

By the way, if you’re interested in helping out the cause, you can suggest to Google features you’d like to see in GVoice.

via TechCrunch

GfG’s Article Recap for Week Ending June 5, 2009

Computers, Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Networking & Internet, Portable, Software / By /

We kicked off the past week with a look at the Epson WorkForce 310 – a more compact and efficient version of its predecessor. We looked at CaseMate’s charging cases and took a look at the Powerlung lung capacity excercise tool.  For you RC enthusiasts, check out the Mini Cooper Convertible.

If you have pets that constantly want to go outside, then think about training them to ring a doorbell. And if you’re a gamer, a boardgamer that is, then you’ve got to get Settlers of Catan.

On the news side of things, Google have launched scripting to Google Spreadsheets and Microsoft have launched Bing, their newest search engine.  If you’re a Skype user, beware of scammers sending you messages.

Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine launches Wed 3 Jun 2009

Networking & Internet / By /

ms-bing1

Microsoft is set to fully launch Bing, their brand new search engine on Wednesday 3 June [Update: MS says launch date is now today!]. But don’t call it a ‘search engine’; call it a ‘decision engine’ says Microsoft. Bing’s results page look remarkably like Google’s or Yahoo’s, but it will also include a set of ‘related results’ down the left side of the page.

These related results will be generated by technology created by Powerset, a company that Microsoft acquired last year. Powerset represents information in triples much like competitor Wolfram Alpha, as well as ‘answering’ questions directly.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft can pull away traffic from Google in the search engine wars. It’s really going to depend on whether Bing can provide a better search experience getting people quicker to what they’re really looking for. And that’s going to be a matter of perspective on the part of users, and not wrapped in the statistics of which engine is ‘better’.

Google Spreadsheets adds Scripting

Networking & Internet / By /

Google has launched a limited test of Google Apps Script which allows users to add automation with Google Spreadsheets. Google Apps Script allows you to automate reading and changing values in cells and ranges, changing formats and formulas and creating custom functions and make those functions available from the Google Spreadsheets menu. Scripting is not limited to Google Spreadsheets functions but can also allow you to send email and even create calendar entries. One of the samples created included a Google Form that entered information into a Google Spreadsheet then performed a mail merge and sent mail through Gmail.

If this sounds cool, you can Apply to Google Apps Script now.

GfG’s Article Recap for Week Ending May 29, 2009

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Networking & Internet, Portable, Software, Sports, Health & Fitness, Outdoors / By /

This week saw us yearning after some ‘appliance 2.0’ technology including ‘connected’ washers/dryers and a freezer failure sensor kit.

We reviewed a poster printing service which we thought was pretty good.

The Easy iPod Media Sharer‘s name says it all – useful family gadget. We do love our Gmail; their new lab is cool – an Inbox Preview feature.

We feel that President Obama is taking the right approach in creating a Cyber Czar position.

Gmail’s Inbox Preview saves you time on slow connections

Computers, Networking & Internet, Software / By /

If you’re ever on a slow, nail-biter of an Internet connection and it’s taking forever to load your feature-rich Gmail Inbox, you will love this new Lab feature – Inbox Preview. It simply shows a very simple, static page of your inbox with the 10 newest messages. What’s the benefit? Imagine yourself on the run and need to quickly check if you have any new, important e-mails.

Inbox Preview to the rescue. Of course, if you’re like me and get hundreds of e-mail per day, this may only help a tad. Active Inbox Preview by heading into the Gmail Labs section of your account.

Google’s Chrome 2 Web Browser – faster?

Networking & Internet, Software / By /

Google recently released version 2 of Chrome, their Web browser. Although not a major release, it incorporates new versions of WebKit, the browser engine, and V8, the JavaScript engine.

Two new features include Fullscreen mode (F11) and Auto-Fill for web forms.

As much as we like Chrome from a pure Web browser perspective, we’re not about to stop using Firefox. The sheer number of extensions that we now can’t live without is too much to let go.

Gmail’s 2 latest features: Translation and Import from other accounts

Computers, Networking & Internet / By /

Gmail has 2 cool new features. The first can be really useful for those of us who frequently get e-mail from all over the world – language translation. Just head into your Gmail Labs section, look for Message Translation and enable. Messages in foreign languages will now have a link to translate. I was surprised that some Chinese messages were translated into very readable text.

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Gmail’s 2 latest features: Translation and Import from other accountsRead More »

GfG’s Article Recap for Week Ending May 15, 2009

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Networking & Internet / By /

This past week we took a look at the very beautiful (although perhaps not awfully practical) glass foosball table from Teckell. We reviewed a powerful nutrition scale to help you keep an eye on what you eat.

Virgin Galatic is looking to offer uber short long haul flights and we reported on the new bill that may overturn the current online gambling ban in the US.

Google is always tweaking and improving their products and they’ve added tasks to G Calendar..

In the media center category, we featured the latest Netgear networked multimedia device – the Entertainer Elite, but in even bigger news, it looks like MvixUSA is about to roll out their much-awaited next-gen Media Center Player, successor to the MX-780HD.

A little coupon love to finish things off – $25 off SmartHome!

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