Google Chrome, the web browser by Google, has been gaining market share steadily since the day it was introduced. And rightly so. It's by far the best browser I've used (and I have used a number of them). I think my productivity has increased significantly since I switched to Google Chrome as my primary browser.
In this article, I give 8 reasons to persuade you to switch to Chrome if you haven't yet. Now, nothing is perfect and there are some caveats here too, but, the pros definitely overshadow the cons and hence I recommend using Chrome.
So that was about it. If you've been using Chrome as your main browser, I'd love to know how's the experience and what made you switch. Let's hear them in comments.
Yes, it is. You realize how fast it is when you click on the chrome icon to open the browser. It comes up in a flash, much faster than any other browser. As you start using it, you will find that the webpages also take less time to load.
Chrome is based on Webkit. The Chrome team recently talked about the factors that make it so fast. Sounds convincing and I see it in action every time I use it.
Not that security vulnerabilities aren't discovered in Google Chrome, but, it is considered to be more secure than its counterparts like IE and Firefox. In fact, it was the only browser that survived the Pwn2Own competition where security experts tried to exploit all the browsers in search for bugs.
The address bar in Chrome also acts as the Google search bar. Hence you could just type your search query there and hit enter. It will quickly pull up the relevant Google results. You don't need to first go to Google in order to search. This saves time.
One of the best things about Chrome is that it's minimalistic. The browser options are tucked away on the extreme right and that enables it to get you more screen real estate by providing a bigger browsing space.
This feature is quite useful when you are on long webpages and need to scroll down frequently. It also helps bloggers like me to take better screenshots.
The incognito mode in Chrome is a nifty feature. Although private browsing mode was later introduced in Firefox and some other browsers too, Chrome's incognito wins hands down. I particularly like how quickly you could go incognito by pressing Ctrl+Shift+n.
Apart from the obvious use of private browsing, there are several other uses of Chrome's incognito mode. Like, you could log into two Gmail accounts at once using this feature.
There's a "Synchronize my bookmarks" feature in Chrome which you can access by clicking on the wrench icon on the top right. You could use this feature to synchronize your Google account. That way you can access your bookmarks if you are using Chrome on a different computer.
Yes, unlike Firefox where you need to restart your browser whenever you install a new extension or uninstall an old one, Chrome doesn't require that. And as someone who plays with a lot of add-ons, I can tell you, this feature saves a lot of time and frustration.
Right, I love Google. They are known for their quality products and hence I believe Chrome has better days ahead. Now, some would argue that it's giving too much power to one firm, but, considering that most of us are pretty much dependent on Google and its services, it doesn't harm to try out their browser too. Oh, by the way, I did write an article on how to free yourself from Google in case you are interested.
Cheers,
Abhijeet
Written on 4/3/2010 by Abhijeet Mukherjee. Abhijeet is a blogger and web publisher from India. He loves all things tech as long as it aids in productivity. He edits Guiding Tech, a blog that publishes useful guides, tutorials and tools. Check it out and subscribe to its feed if you like the site. You can also find him on Twitter.
8 Reasons To Use Google Chrome As Your Primary Browser
Posted by SoMeOnE at 2:37 AM Labels: Google, Technology
6 Ways To Become Productive on Facebook
Posted by SoMeOnE at 4:39 AM Labels: Productivity, Technology
I know, I know, Facebook and productivity are words that don't belong in the same sentence. I mean in many ways, these words are antonyms, just like night and day.
Well, I'd contend that it depends on your perception of the tool. Yes, it is a social network that's supposed to be used primarily for fun and staying in touch. But, there's a lot more to Facebook than just commenting on your friend's status. It's an information heaven. And unless you know how to use it productively, it is, as some call it, a waste of time.
This article attempts to introduce you to some practical Facebook productivity tips that you should be implementing when you are on this network. No, it doesn't lessen the fun; it actually adds to it. Check them out and share your opinion in the comments.
Set aside time
Here's the first tip - set aside time everyday for Facebook (if you visit it everyday that is). It could be multiple time intervals of, let's say, 15 or 20 mins or just one stretch of an hour or two. But set aside time and stick to that schedule. Sounds silly? Well, you have no idea how much time you end up spending on Facebook each day. This is the first step towards becoming productive with this site. Know how much time you spend there!
One more thing I'd recommend is using a timer to track the time when you are on Facebook. You should do it initially for a few days at least. Later, once you get used to the fixed time thing, you might not need the timer any more.
Create friend lists
You'd agree that there's a trend of randomly adding friends on Facebook, whether you know the person or not. You see a friend request, glance at the profile for a second or two and then add the person. I do it too and that's how I've got a huge list of Facebook friends. It's bigger than I can manage. But thanks to friend lists, I can filter information easily.
Creating friend lists in Facebook is a way to keep track of close friends and give priority to their updates. Here's an article that tells you how to create a friend list in Facebook chat. It helps you selectively appear offline to a group of people. You could also create friend lists by going to "Friends" on the left column in your home page and then clicking "Create List" tab on the top.
Master the privacy settings
I'd say it is very important to be aware of the various privacy settings in Facebook and how to set them according to your preferences. It could save you a lot of time and hassle in the long run. I know people who've spent days regretting joining Facebook because of things, they didn't know could happen, happened. And most of the time, it is because they were unaware of Facebook's privacy settings.
Here's a detailed article that talks about some important privacy settings in Facebook. It's an old article but it'll give you the picture. You could also explore by going to Account->Privacy Settings and see what are the options you have there.
Remove Annoying Apps
Most of us end up adding a lot of unnecessary applications to our Facebook account. And we keep getting those updates and notifications that increase clutter in the profile and news feed. Plus, there have been security issues with some apps in the past.
Removing the apps you hardly use is recommended. It'll clean up your profile too. Although Facebook doesn't make the process obvious, you can follow this step by step guide to remove the Facebook apps you don't need.
Filter Your News Feed
Filtering Facebook's news feed lets you segment information and see what matters first. Friend lists can help you filter information related to them. You could also check out the options in the left column to quickly skim through status updates, photos, events etc.
Use an email update tool like NutShellMail
By default, Facebook delivers email updates about your account to your inbox. And if you are very active Facebook user, it could mean a huge number of emails everyday.
The best way to go about it is turning off all the email updates (except for one or two important ones) and using a tool like NutShellMail that sends consolidated account email updates. I personally use this tool and have found it very useful. Even if I don't visit Facebook on certain days, it keeps me informed. And all that in a single email.Written on 4/19/2010 by Abhijeet Mukherjee. Abhijeet is a blogger and web publisher from India. He loves all things tech as long as it aids in productivity. He edits Guiding Tech, a blog that publishes useful guides, tutorials and tools. Check it out and subscribe to its feed if you like the site. You can also find him on Twitter.
12 Awesome Tools For Efficient Twitter Searches
Posted by SoMeOnE at 3:07 AM Labels: Sites, Technology, Twitter
It's no secret that Twitter's native search tool isn't that efficient. Yes, it offers some nice advanced search options (advanced search isn't accessible directly from your Twitter homepage. You need to go here for that). But it just limits itself to searching tweets when there are so many other things people might want to find out (like followers, profile bios, etc.).
This article attempts to list some of the best third-party Twitter search tools. I know there are more than 12 out there. But many of them have similar functionality so it was about picking and choosing the best ones. Check them out and make Twitter-time more productive. If you happen to be one of the few that have not tried Twitter, here is a good video explaining more about what it is.
Hope you liked the above list. Don't forget to spread the word if you did. :)
TweepSearch is for searching people on Twitter. Enter your keyword and it'll scan the profiles of Twitter users who have that keyword listed in their bio. The resulting list can be sorted by number of followers and friends.
Hence, if you are looking for a designer or programmer on Twitter, just type that query in this tool's search bar and get the corresponding list of people.
Backtweets is a nifty Twitter search app which can search for links and short urls on Twitter. Now, this is something that even Twitter's advanced search can't do.
You can use this tool to see how many people have tweeted a specific link. It doesn't matter if the link was shortened using an url shortner. This tool will still show that in the results.
Nearby Tweets, as the name suggests, lets you discover tweets from local users. It uses Google Maps to find your location and then shows the tweets by Twitter users near you. This tool could come in handy for businesses who are looking to expand their local footprint. They can check what's buzzing among the local community.
Looking for a job? Then TwitJobSearch is a site you should bookmark. It filters the tweets that contain words like "hiring", "job", etc. And it does that quite effectively. Just enter the relevant search term and you are good to go. You might just land your next gig using this site so keep a watch.
Searchtastic is another nice Twitter search tool which not only shows results that are older than those shown by Twitter's native search tool, but also lets you search keyword specific tweets. Louis Gray gave a nice description of the tool here.
You must have heard of Tweetmeme. No? You know those retweet buttons that are ubiquitous in the blogosphere, right (you'll find one at the end of this post too). Those come from Tweetmeme.
Tweetmeme, apart from showing the most popular tweets across the web, has a search function that's pretty effective.
Monitter is probably the most well known Twitter based reputation management tool. It can display different keyword and phrase searches on Twitter, all parallel to each other in a neat interface. Oh, and it's as real-time as Twitter is.
Areaface lets you search location based tweets via keywords and phrases. You can pinpoint a location on Google Maps and it will shows recent tweets as well as twitter users from that area in a visually attractive interface.
Twellow is a cool site. It organizes the information it has gathered from Twitter in a yellow pages format. You can search for services, for people in different professions, and much more. It's like a complete Twitter directory.
Schmap Picks is for searching reviews on Twitter about restaurants and bars. It only has some popular cities in the U.S. along with London and Sydney, so it is useful to people only in these cities. But it's a good service nevertheless.
Local Follow aims to simplify your search for Twitter users by giving 4 main search fields - Bio, Location, Name and Tweets (if you remember a tweet but can't recall who tweeted it). It uses Twitter's API and Google search to produce a list of user profiles based on your keywords.
Last, but by no means the least, is Hashtags.org. Hashtags is a popular method to categorize tweets and this website lets you search tweets matching to a particular hashtag. Simple and useful.
Cheers,
AbhijeetWritten on 4/8/2010 by Abhijeet Mukherjee. Abhijeet is a blogger and web publisher from India. He loves all things tech as long as it aids in productivity. He edits Guiding Tech, a blog that publishes useful guides, tutorials and tools. Check it out and subscribe to its feed if you like the site. You can also find him on Twitter.