How To See Unread Email Count In Gmail Icon?
If you use Google Chrome and keep the Gmail tab pinned all the time, this is the perfect feature for you. I’ve always hated the fact that when I pin Gmail tabs I can’t see how many unread emails I have. Turns out Manu C from Google had a similar issue and he came up with a Gmail Lab feature that allows you to display the unread email count right on the Gmail icon.
To enable this you need to go to Gmail -> Settings -> Labs. Now look for “Unread message icon” and enable it. A browser refresh generally makes it work but you may need to logout and login to display the icon. This lab feature only works with Chrome (version 6 and above) and Firefox (version 2 and above).
[via Gmail Blog]
Google On The Way To Block Piracy?
Remember how a few days back Google removed support for H.264 from Chrome and made us wonder they are turning evil? Here is something that may add to the debate. According to the reports Google has started blocking piracy related keywords from their “Instant Search”.
Print From Your iPhone And Android Using Google Cloud Print
Apple’s AirPrint solved printing problems for Apple iOS (iOS4.2+) devices only like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It took a lot of criticism as it requires AirPrint enabled printers (a hack for Non-AirPrint Printers) and wouldn’t work with older iPhone/iPod touch (stuck with older iOS firmware).
Google’s new solution (again cloud based) by the name of Google Cloud Print supports printing to ‘Cloud-aware printers’ and also to your personal/office’s legacy printers from almost any mobile device (which has internet connectivity) – say your iPhone/iPad or Android mobile or even a blackberry phone (still obsolete the mobile phone?).
Does Google Dropping H.264 From Chrome Mean They Are Evil?
By now everyone has arguably read that Google is dropping support for H.264 from the Chromium project. Since Chrome is based on the Chromium project, this change will come to Chrome in the next few months as per Google. While I don’t claim any authority on this matter, I want to simplify and explain what this actually means to you, the most important person on the Internet.
What is H.264?
H.264 is a standard for video compression that is widely accepted and free for consumers, but the broadcasters like YouTube who actually use the compression standard and display the videos have to pay a licensing fee to MPEG Licensing Association. At present pretty all the major websites like Netflix, Hulu, Vimeo and Google’s own YouTube use H.264 to compress videos. Also, most of the consumer hardware devices including Computers, Mobile Phones and MP3 Players include support for optimal H.264 playback.
Holy Smokes it looks important, why does Google want to drop support for it then?
Sudoku No Longer A Problem With Google Goggles
With the new Google Goggles v1.3 getting smarter and faster, you now don’t have to worry about solving Sudoku on your own.
Here’s a video clip which shows Google Goggles solving a Sudoku problem faster than the a National Sudoku Champion.
It also scans barcodes and can search for print ads from your magazines too. You can start using this on the Android and the iPhone version starting today. I am off to solve some Sudoku puzzles before my dad solves them in the morning.
Here’s the other magic app that translates text on the fly.
[Via Google Blog]
Amazing animation in Google Docs
Google docs is a pretty powerful online office tool. So powerful that three people namely - Tu+, Namroc, and Metcalf create an awesome animation out of it by making 450 slides in 3 days!
Here is the video:
[via TechCrunch]
Read ebooks Anywhere With Google ebookstore
Google’s ebookstore lets you buy and read ebooks virtually on any device you want. The service stores your purchases on the cloud (as opposed to downloading locally on your device), so you have access to millions of book anywhere. Your reading status is synced to all the devices, so, say if you were on page 153 of a book when you were reading it on your iPad, you can continue from the same page when you open it up on your iPhone.
Happy New Year MMXI! [Google Doodle]
We love the Google Doodle for New Year! It’s smart, shows the right spirit and blends really well. Just like the woikr festive doodle by Swaroop.
PS: In case you didn’t get it, MMXI in Roman Numerals stands for 2011 (M=1000, X=10, I=1).
PPS: We have a surprise for you tomorrow 
Google extends free calling in Gmail through 2011
Remember the free US & Canada calling feature in Gmail? Remember the tip we gave about how you can use it outside the US? Well the feature has been extended though 2011. Google says “In the spirit of holiday giving and to help people keep in touch in the new year, we’re extending free calling for all of 2011.”
So Merry Christmas & Happy calling in 2011!
Visit gmail.com/call for more details.
[via Official Gmail Blog]
Google Maps 5 for Android brings 3D, offline support
Google has released 5.0 version of their Maps application for Android devices. This is the most feature rich update to Google Maps since long.
Maps in 3D
Maps 5.0 now includes 3D viewing support for buildings and structures. From this version, instead of showing some images for different zoom levels, they actually draw Maps using Vector graphics. This means the transitions will be much smoother and instead of reloading the images they’ll resize the vector images. You can think of it as resizing by stretching a figure. After zooming into the appropriate level you no longer see 2D blocks, but real building structures. They have built in some multi touch gestures as well for some incredible Maps experience. For instance you can drag using 2 fingers to tilt the map and then twist to rotate the perspective. See the video for the awesome demo.
