How to Make Better Use of Your Bookmarks Bar

The bookmark bar in the browser has become a feature that is becoming used less over time with the introduction of new features such as speed dial. However, there is a little trick you can use to make better use of your bookmarks bar. 

The trick involves only using favicons in your bookmarks bar, so no words. Basically, what you get is a bookmark bar that fits a lot more bookmarks than before. To use this trick, simply save items in your bookmarks bar without names (just clear the name field). You will get a much cleaner bookmark bar that only has the favicons of various sites. So, what are you waiting for? Give it a shot.

Note: This only works well if the sites you want to put in the bookmark bar have favicons

Questions, comments? Feel free to leave them below.

Google Fiber

Google Fiber is an internet service by Google that provides users with extremely high amounts of bandwidth as well as speed. Google Fiber is provided to users through the fiber cables. In order to have this internet in your area, you would have to have enough interest in the neighborhood for Google to make your neighborhood a fiberhood and have Google Fiber installed. Fiber has some pretty good plans, starting from $0 a month for free basic internet at normal speeds. However, if you would like to have the amazing speeds that Google Fiber is meant for, you will have to pay at least $70 a month. For $70, you will get a network box and 1 TB of Cloud Storage. Of course, this will come with unlimited bandwidth and fiber speeds of 1 gigabit up and down. However, for the maximum experience, you get everything of the $70 plan, plus you get a storage box, Nexus 7, and a TV Box. This plan also includes 1080p HDTV programming that you can record on the included PVR for $120 a month (TV+Internet)

Chrome Web Store

The Chrome Web Store is an app store in which you can find various apps for your Chrome device. This is mainly targeted at users who are on Chrome OS, because the app store would be there primary source for downloading apps to run on their machine. However, the Chrome Web Store is still available on non-Chrome OS devices. The Web Store is really easy to navigate in, and you can easily view different categories from the side. You can install apps, themes, or extensions from the web store:

Apps: Short for application, apps provide you with a program that can help you with various things
Themes:These enhance the look of your browser, you can also make your own themes
Extensions: These are similar to plugins and will add new features to the browser, although be warned, too many may cause lag

Try Chromium OS

If you don't know already, Chromium OS is Google's effort to remove the operating system stage in getting you to the internet. To do this, they have turned the Chromium browser (Google Chrome is based on it) into an operating system. This means you boot directly into your browser without any need for your operating system (Windows, Ubuntu, Mac OS) to load itself up. This also reduces the risk of viruses because you are running a browser and not a full operating system with customization. To try it out, you can purchase Chrome OS Hardware, or you can try it on your own hardware. Option one would be to use a USB, and option two is to use a Virtual Machine within your current computer. Check out our guides:

Install Chromium OS in VirtualBox
Install Chromium OS onto a USB (coming soon)
Purchase Chrome OS Hardware

Install Chromium OS in VirtualBox

Want to try Chromium OS in a fast, easy, and low-risk way. Well, why not use a virtual machine. For today's tutorial, we recommend that you use VirtualBox. VirtualBox is an extremely easy to use virtual machine maker and is our favourite. Along with VirtualBox, you will also need a virtual Chromium OS machine. In order to get a virtual machine with Chromium OS, head to  http://chromeos.hexxeh.net and scroll down until you see download links. Now click on VirtualBox logo next to the latest build. It should begin downloading a .zip file.

Now, you must extract your zip file, you can use the program of your choice, or just use the built in extracter that comes with Windows. Once the zip folder is extracted, you should see one virtual machine file. Now, make sure you know what location this is stored in and head back to VirtualBox.

Now, set up a new Virtual Machine in VirtualBox. Click new and follow the on-screen wizard and remember these things

• the name doesn't matter, it's just there to help you organize your machines
• when asked for a hard drive, DO NOT create a new hard drive. Choose an existing one, and navigate to the unzipped virtual machine file
• for RAM, go with at least 1.5 GB. In our test, we chose a little less then a gigabyte, and it lagged a bit
• when asked for operating system in the beginning, go with Linux->Ubuntu

Now try booting your machine by clicking start, but it will probably say that your kernel has some problem thing. Don't worry. Simply shut down the machine by clicking close and head to VirtualBox. Right click on the machine and choose settings. Then head into the system tab and then select processor and "Enable PAE/NX". Now save the settings and boot again. It should boot up. Just give it some time. It might not boot in the promised 8 seconds but it will boot pretty quickly.


Once you are in, you might have to turn on scale mode depending on the size of your screen. For a better experience, try out full screen mode. For a more enhanced experience, you might want to login to your Google account, so you can try apps and extensions, but this is not necessary, as guest mode worked just fine for testing purposes.

Chrome OS Hardware

Chrome OS is Google's desktop operating system, and with the latest version it brings a more Windows like interface. You can have multiple Windows open and easily manage them and also pin items to the taskbar at the bottom. In terms of hardware, you have two options for official hardware. You can get a Chromebook, which is really a net-book running Chrome OS. Or, you can get a Chromebox, which is like a desktop, however because of its size, its very similar to a Mac Mini. Overall, we recommend the Chromebox for home use as an entertainment machine. You may want to buy one and use it as a set top box because of its small size. Connect it to the web and hook up some wireless peripherals and you will have an extremely easy way to browse the web on the internet on your TV without much security risks. It is also super fast to load, and there are many entertainment apps.

Photos:

New Chrome interface with window manager and taskbar at the bottom-Wikipedia

The current lineup of Chromebooks. The Chromebook in the middle shows the apps screen

Samsung Chromebox. As you can see it has an extremely small size.

What is Chrome OS?

Chrome OS (based on Chromium OS) is Google's desktop operating system. The objective is to take you straight from turning on your computer to the web. In order to do this, they run only the web browser as the operating system and the only extra tools that you may have are your extensions available in the Chrome Web Store. You can also easily install apps from the Chrome Web Store and apps can help you with your productive life. The systems are also less prone to viruses as most virus developers target more popular markets such as Windows and Mac. They also help you discover how much you can live without using apps other than your browser on your PC. The average user only uses the browser and sometimes their productivity suite which can easily be replaced by Google Docs. Another benefit of Chrome OS Machines is that because everything is in the cloud, even if something breaks or you lose your hardware you don't lose your data permanently because it will automatically sync when you log onto your new Chrome device.You can also use the Remote Desktop feature to work on your PC while you are on the go, which is a very helpful feature. Overall, Chrome OS is a great secondary operating system as it doesn't pack the power and advanced programs that current computers have, however we feel in the future it will take off because of the recent success in cloud computing.

Browse Secretly in Google Chrome

Google Chrome has a great built-in feature called incognito mode, the mode allows you to browse secretly meaning that your history and cookies will be deleted right after closing the incognito window. However, bookmarks and downloads will still remain. This feature can also be helpful when trying to have multiple accounts open at the same time, because your logins will remain logged on if you open a normal Chrome window. To access the feature, simply hit Ctrl-Shift-N on your keyboard or click on the wrench icon, and then click New Incognito Window (should be the third one down). When you open up the Window you will be provided with a description of incognito browsing.

Make GMail More Secure

You can make GMail more secure by adding 2-Step verification. While this might be annoying to have to verify twice through a password and then another code, it adds another great layer of security to your GMail account. Next, if you want to check who has been visiting your account, you can scroll down to the bottom of your GMail and view the last account activity by clicking on the last account activity link. It will open up a new mini windows, form which you will be able to see the date or time of last account activity. You will also be able to view the IP Address and Country of the individuals. From this window, signing out of old, and open GMail sessions is also possible.

Google TV?

Google TV is a great tool created by Google. It is very similar to Apple TV, however there is no compatibility with Apple products. You can either purchase a TV with Google TV built-in, or you can purchase a separate box (like Apple TV) to connect to your television set. Google TV has a version of the Android App Marketplace and it can run special apps. Netflix, YouTube, and Chrome are all available. You can also search Live TV, and purchase and rent movies from within the software.

New Google Nexus Phone

Google's next generation of the Nexus phone will be the Galaxy Nexus. It will feature Android Beam, and Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box. It will also have a 5 MP camera that can shoot 1080p HD Video. Also, it will have Face Recognition. Voice to text typing will also be available.

Google Buzz

Google Buzz was a service created by Google that had direct GMail integration. In it you were able to post updates, links, videos, photos, etc., and were able to view others' posts. The service is going to be shutting down in the next few weeks.

What is a great Google Docs alternative?

If you have tried Google Docs and are not pleased with it, you can try Zoho Docs. It has many more features than Google Docs as well as its own app on the App Store. You can do almost all of the same things in Google Docs. However, the interface is not that great. Overall, it is probably the best online document creation software available for free

What is Google+?

Google + is a social networking service by Google. It officially became open for public use on September 20th, 2011.

Print over the air from iOS to any printer

 Many people nowadays own an iOS device but do not have an AirPrint enabled printer to print documents to. However, with the help of Google Cloud Print you can easily print documents over the air to any printer (any printer connected to a computer). Follow these simple steps:

1. Download the Google Chrome Browser from www.google.com/chrome

2. Make sure that you have a valid Google Account. If not you can easily create one from many of Google's pages and you will have access to many interesting Google tools. For an easier experience I recommend using a Google account with GMail.

3. Now make sure you have an iOS device with a current version of Safari and one that can open Google Docs.

4. On the computer, go to chrome://settings/browser in Google Chrome and then go to Under the Hood and then scroll all the way down until you see the Google Cloud Print settings. Sign in to Cloud Print and follow the on-screen instructions to set up your printers. Print a test page to test if the printer is correctly recognized.

5. Open Google Docs on Safari on iOS and open any document that you would like to print. Select print and you will be asked which printer to print to and you will be able to select how many copies. Simply hit print when done and if your computer connected to the printer is on and the printer is on and everything is properly connected to the internet the document should print. It may take a minute for the document to start printing but do not hesitate it will print.

NOTES:


-You will be able to use Google Chrome browser for more than just printing over the air. Google Chrome is a very modern browser with a very powerful JavaScript engine for super fast browsing. It also has many features and is easy to use

-You should be able to also use other mobile devices to print over the air.

-iOS is the mobile operating system that devices such as iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone use

What is a Chromebook?

A Chromebook is a type of net-book that runs Chrome OS which is an operating system built for the web.

What is Music Beta by Google?

Music Beta by Google is a cloud-based service used to store music in the cloud and be able to access it from around the world and on Android devices

What is Google Chrome?

Google Chrome is an open-source browser based on the Chromium project. Chrome provides users fast web browsing with its speedy JavaScript. There are extensions available to upgrade the browser.