Daily Bits

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Be Your Own App Maker With Google’s App Inventor

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Don’t you sometimes find yourself wishing for an application that actually meets your needs? While there are countless apps – some free, some paid – out there, I am pretty sure that there is at least one app that you wish someone had thought about. The next step is wishing that you could actually make an app yourself.

While not everyone does not have the programming skills necessary to create an app, there are tools that can equip the average person to do just that. Enter Google’s App Inventor, which has been dubbed by The New York Times as the tool that will “bring Android software development to the masses.”

This software is free to general public, and it will allow practically anyone to come up with his own app for Android. Google is promoting the software as being as easy as pie to use:

To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behavior.

The interface and the whole concept are quite simple, but Google is quick to point out that simplicity does not mean less power. In fact, they are placing a lot of emphasis on the potential of this software. If anything, I think this might be one of the factors that can push Android phones to the public as a more viable alternative to the iPhone.

Google Me Rumors Continue To Mount, We Continue To Get Excited

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facebook googleOn June 26th I reported that Google Me, a new social network from Google was in the works. During that announcement I quoted Digg founder Kevin Rose who leaked the announcement, today we have further confirmation of the Google Me program.

The full-fledged competitor has been outed further by former Facebook CTO Adam D’Angelo who said during a Quora Q&A session that Google Me is very real:

“This is not a rumor. This is a real project. There are a large number of people working on it. I am completely confident about this.

They realized that Buzz wasn’t enough and that they need to build out a full, first-class social network. They are modeling it off of Facebook. [Read more…] about Google Me Rumors Continue To Mount, We Continue To Get Excited

Significantly Speed Up Your WordPress Blog in 9 Easy Steps

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Improve WordPress SpeedYour blog’s loading speed affects more than just user experience but is now a factor used by google to determine an overall ranking for your site. The reasoning is clear: according to Google and other search engines’ goals, which is to provide the most relevant search results from sites that offer the best user experience. Site speed is definitely something we cannot not ignore and should take advantage of every opportunity to improve.

Here are 9 effective techniques and tips that can be easily implemented to make your blog lightning fast.

1. Disable Unused Plugins

This is one of the easiest things we can do to reduce load times. I know many of us get carried away trying out the thousands of cool plugins available but we need to bear in mind the fact that they use system resources. Assess whether you need the plugins that you have installed and determine if they necessarily serve a useful purpose. Also, deactivated plugins that are not deleted can possibly create loopholes and back doors that hackers can exploit so delete them and maintain security for your blog. [Read more…] about Significantly Speed Up Your WordPress Blog in 9 Easy Steps

How Do You Like the Redesigned Google Search Results Page So Far?

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If you’re a regular Google Search user, you may have already noticed something different in the Google Search Results Pages starting this morning. Google has rolled out several enhancements in the user interface of the Search Results Pages including a redesigned  Google logo.

In case you haven’t seen it here’s how the new Google Search Results Pages look like side by side with the old interface:

As you can see, the left-side navigation was change drastically with the inclusion of cute icons representing the different search verticals which you may want to check whenever you want to filter results for your searches.  Just below these search verticals are different ways by which you may want to view your search results such as the Wonder Wheel, Google Squared View, Image-less views and more.

The Official Google Blog tells us:

The new design refreshes and streamlines the look, feel and functionality of Google, making it easier to pinpoint what you’re looking for. It’s powerful, yet simple. Today’s changes are the latest in our continuing efforts to evolve and improve Google. We’ve been testing these changes with users over the past few months, and what we’re launching today reflects the feedback we’ve received.. We want to ensure that the Google you use today is better than the one you used yesterday, and these latest changes open up many possibilities for future features and enhancements.

So, do you like the new look and feel of Google’s search results pages? Do you find it useful or you don’t mind at all? Anybody noticed its striking resemblance to Microsoft Bing’s search results pages?

Incidentally, if you’re using Google Mobile Search, that same interface was also rolled out.

Google continues to push image features with Image Swirl

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How did we survive without Google Image Search? I frequently use it when someone utters the name of some “celebrity” I’ve never heard of, or I think is actually someone else, to make sure I’m thinking of the right person (like it really matters).

Now, not only can we check out similar images of those Z-list celebs, but thanks to a new feature being tested in Google Labs, we could see a whole swirl of related images.

Google Image Swirl uses advances in computer vision research to group together a dozen images based on a certain keyword.

Google gives the example: “if you search on Image Swirl for [washington], you’ll see 12 image thumbnails including President Washington, the Washington Monument, a map of Washington D.C. and the Capitol Building”

google-image-swirl-1

The “swirl” comes when you click on one of those thumbnails, which expands to show similar and related images based on that image. It’s Google’s own mashup of related images and the Wonder Wheel that you might have used for text-based search queries.

google-image-swirl-2

It’s interesting to see image search evolve, and presumably if enough people provide positive feedback this will eventually graduate from the labs and become part of the standard Google search.

Via

Google introduces lockable SafeSearch

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Google’s SafeSearch, while not completely safe (depending on what you define as “safe”, that is) is certainly a great tool for helping to keep kids from viewing inappropriate material online, but it has suffered from being easy to unlock — even without a child actively trying to circumvent it.

That’s why Google has just announced an updated version of SafeSearch that requires a password in order to be removed.

The look of SafeSearch has changed, so when it’s engaged a set of big coloured Google balls are displayed top-right. This makes it easy for a parent or teacher to quickly see that it’s still engaged.

Of course, this is just one thing and won’t block dodgy sites on its own, but it’s a start.