2008-06-17

Google Docs Now Supports PDFs

Google Docs has added support for PDF files. This is one the most requested feature. Users can now upload and preview their PDF files to their Google Docs account as well as they can share PDFs with others.

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To get started, click the Upload button in the Docs home toolbar, select a PDF file from your computer and off you go!

It supports PDF file with size up to 10MB from your computer or 2MB from the web.

2008-05-10

How to use the Google calculator

Google’s calculator tries to understand the problem you are attempting to solve without requiring you to use special syntax. However, it may be helpful to know the most direct way to pose a question to get the best results. Listed below are a few suggestions for the most common type of expressions (and a few more esoteric ones).
Most operators come between the two numbers they combine, such as the plus sign in the expression 1+1.
Operator Function Example + addition 3+44 - subtraction 13-5* multiplication 7*8/ division 12/3^ exponentiation (raise to a power of) 8^2% modulo (finds the remainder after division) 8%7choose X choose Y determines the number of ways of choosing a set of Y elements from a set of X elements 18 choose 4 th root of calculates the nth root of a number 5th root of 32 % of X % of Y computes X percent of Y 20% of 150
Some operators work on only one number and should come before that number. In these cases, it often helps to put the number in parentheses.
Operator Function Example sqrt square root sqrt(9) sin, cos, etc. trigonometric functions (numbers are assumed to be radians) sin(pi/3)tan(45 degrees) ln logarithm base e ln(17) log logarithm base 10 log(1,000)
A few operators come after the number.
Operator Function Example ! factorial 5!
Other good things to know
You can force the calculator to try and evaluate an expression by putting an equals sign (=) after it. This only works if the expression is mathematically resolvable. For example, 1-800-555-1234= will return a result, but 1/0= will not.
Parentheses can be used to enclose the parts of your expression that you want evaluated first. For example, (1+2)*3 causes the addition to happen before the multiplication.
The in operator is used to specify what units you want used to express the answer. Put the word in followed by the name of a unit at the end of your expression. This works well for unit conversions such as: 5 kilometers in miles.
You can use hexadecimal, octal and binary numbers. Prefix hexadecimal numbers with 0x, octal numbers with 0o and binary numbers with 0b. For example: 0x7f + 0b10010101.
The calculator understands many different units, as well as many physical and mathematical constants. These can be used in your expression. Many of these constants and units have both long and short names. You can use either name in most cases. For example, km and kilometer both work, as do c and the speed of light.
Feel free to experiment with the calculator as not all of its capabilities are listed here. To get you started, we’ve included a few expressions linked to their results.
1 a.u./c56*781.21 GW / 88 mphe^(i pi)+1100 miles in kilometerssine(30 degrees)G*(6e24 kg)/(4000 miles)^20x7d3 in roman numerals0b1100101*0b1001
More info on:
http://www.google.co.in/help/calculator.html

2008-04-14

Google and Salesforce Join to Fight Microsoft

Google and Salesforce.com, two of Microsoft’s most conspicuous rivals, are expanding a 10 month old collaboration in an effort to accelerate their sales of customer management and office software to businesses.
On Monday, the two companies will announce that they have integrated Salesforce’s customer relationship management software and Google’s suite of office productivity applications, which includes e-mail, word processing and spreadsheets programs, into a single software package.
Like most of the software the two companies create, the package will not require a download or installation, it will be online on the web.
The offering will compete with Microsoft’s customer relationship management software, which is integrated with the its Office suite. The alliance could help Google, whose productivity programs are used largely by individuals, where it is seeking to challenge Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar Office franchise.
Already customers of Google’s and Salesforce’s programs can use them side by side. But Dave Girouard, Google’s vice president and general manager, said the integrated offering would bring users new functions.
For example, users would able to keep track of e-mail sent to a customer right on that customer’s sales record, and a group of people collaborating on a sales account would be able to communicate by instant message with one another, he said.
“In the history of hosted software to date, applications could be like islands,” Mr. Girouard said. “They don’t really work together seamlessly. This is a first of its kind.”
Microsoft, which dominates the productivity software market but is a smaller player in customer relationship management software, or C.R.M., brushed aside concerns about competition from the Google-Salesforce alliance.
“Salesforce has belatedly recognized that it is important to link C.R.M. apps to productivity tools,” said Brad Wilson, general manager for Microsoft’s C.R.M. unit. “It has been core to our product since we launched five years ago. It validates our strategy.”
Google and Salesforce, two of the most important proponents of the idea of delivering software as a service over the Web, have grown increasingly close over the last several months. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so that makes Google my best friend,” said Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.com.
When Google introduced its package of productivity applications in February 2007, Salesforce was one of the few large companies committed to using the software. In June, the two companies began integrating Google’s AdWords advertising technology into Salesforce, and in November, Salesforce joined OpenSocial, an alliance of companies then led by Google that was establishing standards for creating applications for social networks.
Salesforce for Google Apps, as the integrated product is called, will be available to Salesforce customers at no additional cost starting Monday

2008-03-13

Download Free Cell Phone Videos (3GP) With Google

Do you want to download a bunch of free videos for your cellular phone? This technique will show you how to search Google to find tons of open directories containing free cell phone videos. No P2P or torrents required. Start your collection from the open collections of others.

This time we will be using a Google search to find people’s open directories of 3GP videos. This is a common video format used to view videos on cell phones.
1. Open Directories of 3GP files:
Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html -inurl:asp intitle:”index of” 3gp
2. Specific Searches for 3GP files:
Google: filetype:3gp inurl:3gp
Now this search is not nearly as sexy as it brings in a ton of junk. However, this search casts your net wider. The magic here is the filetype and inurl filters telling google to only include these video files in your search. By leaving these filters in place, you can add more search terms to narrow your search.
For example, to search 3GP video files that are associated with rock.
Google: filetype:3gp inurl:3gp rock

Five Tips On Google Search

Sometimes when you search on Google you might not get the desired results or you might need to search a lot by changing the keywords you are searching for. These tips may helpyou in getting the desired results. Read them carefully and apply them while searching on Google to get best results.
1. The “+” Sign :
Google ignores some words like the, how and many other digits and words which actually slow down the search speed. Now if a common word is essential for you and you want google to look for it the just give a space, put the “+” sign and type in the word. By this google makes sure that, that word is actually included in the search as well. I came to knew of this as i was searching for a book, but google was not showing the desired results, i used this technique and was able to get the details I was looking for.

2. Synonym Search with “~”(Tildy) Sign:
If in case you want to search for the term as well it’s synonym, then in that case just add the “~” sign just in front of your term, you will then see the links for the same terms synonym. This can be really helpful in case you are searching for some specific results

3. Use of Keyword “OR”:
In case you want the Search results to show two different categories then in that case you can use the Keyword “OR”. This will make sure that you will get the results accordingly. Similarly you can also use “AND”, but in this case google will show you pages where both the parameters are met, whereas in case of keyword “OR”, any parameter that matches up, those links will be displayed.

4. Getting links of Specific Site:
Sometimes you might visit a site but not able to find the links or accurate pages in that site. What do you do? Just click on links to get the specific page? Well a simple answer is search through Google. Suppose you want to search for groups site in google.com, then simple type in “groups site:google.com”. You will see op tins coming for the google groups. This is a pretty old method is very useful to get to a specific page of a site. The code for this would be “site:”

5. Search within a Range:
You can search in Google within a desired range be it be Money, Weight, Age or any thing else, you just need to define the range and you will get the results you require. You need to type in the range as separated by “..”. But make sure you specify the unit as well like for money, weight, length or any thing else. Like, for Example:- TV 21..32 inches

Hope these help you. If you have more then please add them in comments.

2008-02-16

How To Get Your Blog Ranked High on Google

Some of the ways to increase your blog ranking of Google

1. Select Your Keywords and Keyword PhrasesChoose the keywords and keyword phrases you want your blog post to rank high for on the Google search engine results page. For example, I want my blog post to rank high for the term, "blog ranked high on Google." Currently there are approximately 286,000 pages using this term so I'll have to do everything in my power to compete with these web pages to get my blog post on the first page of the Google results page for that term.My keyword phrase also includes other keyword phrases like, "ranked high on Google" with about 310,000 competing pages and "high on Google" with over 71 million competing pages. Getting to the first page for these terms would be a bonus.

2. Use Your Keywords in Your Blog TitleGoogle pays very close attention to the words and phrases you use in your blog title. Notice how I used the term, "blog ranked high on Google" in the title of this article. It's important to use your keyword phrase in your blog title if you want to rank high for that phrase on the Google results page.Another reason you want to use your keyword phrase in your blog title is to give your reader an immediate understanding as to what your blog post is about. If your blog is listed at the top of the search engine results page for your keyword phrase but no one reads it, it's of no value. Use a title that will cause people to click through to your blog post.The New York Times creates two different titles for their articles. They use a catchy, creative or humorous title for their newspaper, and a keyword specific title for the articles and blogs they post to the Internet. They do this because people looking for jokes about the eating habits of nuns generally go to a search engine and type, "jokes about the eating habits of nuns," not "Nuns, Buns and Puns."

3. Use Your Keywords in Your Blog TextNotice how the keyword phrase, "blog ranked high on Google," is used throughout this blog post. Google pays attention to the text on a blog in order to understand what the blog post is about. Once Google comprehends the content of the blog post, it will categorize the blog based on that information. By using your keyword phrase in your text, both Google and your readers can quickly understand what your blog post is about, allowing Google to accurately categorize your blog making it easy for your clients to find. In the past, search engine consultants encouraged writers to use their keyword phrase in the first 25 words of their text and again in the last sentence. Today, the search engines don't seem to pay as much attention to word placement, but reader's do.If your article is about your keyword phrase, it's a good idea to use it in the first and last sentence because it helps your reader quickly know what your blog post is about. It's also a good idea to use your keyword phrase in the first sentence because that is the text that is most likely to show in the description text on the search results page.

4. Link To Your Blog With Keyword Rich Anchor TextGet as many one-way links leading back to your blog post as possible from as many quality blogs and websites as you can. Do your best to insure that the text people click on to get back to your site includes your keywords and keyword phrases. This is known in Internet marketing circles as anchor text.In this example I want the anchor text leading back to my blog post to have the keyword phrase, "blog ranked high on Google," as the clickable text. The clickable text is the means by which all of those other web sites and blogs tell Google what your blog post is about.Google provides far more weight to the theme of your blog post based on the quality and size of the sites linking back to your blog than the text on your blog. For example, if you do a Google search for the term, "click here," you will be taken to the Adobe Reader download web page. It's interesting to note the term "click here" doesn't appear anywhere on that page. The reason the Adobe Reader download page comes up first for this term is because there are millions of other sites that use the anchor text, "click here," to direct people to the Adobe Reader download page.There are two wonderful ways to get keyword rich anchor text directing people back to your blog post. The first is to write and submit an article about your blog post to other web site and blog owners who will upload your article to their site. In return those web site and blog owners will provide you with a keyword rich anchor text link from your article back to your blog. They get great content for their web site and you get a valuable one-way link back to your blog post.The second way is to encourage other blog owners to write about your blog post. In doing so, they are very likely to use your blog title as the anchor text leading readers back to your post. This is another reason why it's so important to use your keyword phrase in your blog title.

5. Ask Your Readers To Digg Your Blog Post. Ask your readers to tell the rest of the world about your blog post by submitting it to one of the social bookmarking sites. They include DIGG, Stumble, Blink and many others. If the title of your blog post includes your keyword phrase, it is likely that this is how your readers will describe your blog post to the social bookmarking sites. This helps Google decide where to rank your site on the search results page.

6. Blog On A Community Site Recognized Expert, Active Rain, and Christian Blog are all examples of niche community blog sites. Recognized Expert is a site for marketing experts, Active Rain is for real estate professionals and the Christian blog is for, you guessed it, Christians. These niche sites have tons of traffic along with the undivided attention of Google and the other search engines.

2008-02-09

Google Maps Images Downloader v2.3

Screenshot


Google Maps Images Downloader is a cute utility which can automatically download Google Maps small tile images and then combine them into one big map image.

It has two main functions. Downloads google maps images; Combines downloaded google maps images into a big image.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/86314939/Google_Maps_Images_Downloader_v2.3.rar

2007-09-08

AdSense between posts

AdSense have always stressed that the most effective position for ads are within content, so when I found out you can insert AdSense between posts directly via the LAYOUT, I immediately thought I could insert the ads in the middle of a post, which is impossible to do up to now. Unfortunately, that insert ads in between 2 posts, not in the midddle of a post, something I had been trying to do for a long time. You can actually do this by messing with the template. Refer to Incorporate AdSense within the content (click BACK button to get back to this page).

The way to do direct from Blogger LAYOUT it is very simple. Sign into Blogger, which will get you into the Dashboard with a list of all the blogs you have in that Blogger account. In the section for "Blog posts", usually in the middle of the LAYOUT (may be in a slightly different position if you use non-standard Blogger templates):

add AdSense between New Blogger posts

Click EDIT (highlighted with a red circle). You will get a "Configure Blog Posts" "pop-up".

Blogger configure blog posts

Tick "Show ads between posts", select your format by clicking on the down arrow or just leave it as the default half-banner and chose you ad colors or just leave it as the default "Blend Template" which is advisable (all 3 highlighted with red circles).

Then just scroll down and click "Save Changes". Now you don't have to worry about violating AdSense policy as this is done via cooperation between Google AdSense and Google Blogger. However, if you want the AdSense withing the post, you will still have to depend on the hack described in Incorporate AdSense ads within posts and wrap text around them (click BACK button to get back to this page.

The only thing to note is that if you had applied for your AdSense account direct from Blogger, there is nothing extra to do. If you have got your AdSense account via some other means, and this is the first time you are adding AdSense ads direct from Blogger, you may be asked to grant Blogger access to your AdSense account, which I believe is perfectly safe to do so.

One final thing. Just to make sure that the ads have the same publisher's ID, at the blog with the ads between posts, I click VIEW > PAGE SOURCE to see the page source of that webpage, and this is what I found:

Adsense script from webpage source codes

The "pub-12345....." was the same as my AdSense publisher ID (figure altered for security) thus assuring the ads displayed are actually "mine".

2007-09-02

AdSense Tip: How to Increase AdSense CTR

An increase in CTR can mean a lot to AdSense Revenue. To increase AdSense revenue, you have to either increase the traffic or CTR. If somehow, you manage to triple your CTR just by tweaking the Google AdSense code, you can get three times more traffic. Here are a few tips for increasing your CTR.

Topics Covered in this Guide:

- What Google AdSense Engineers say about CTR
- What Webmasters have concluded about CTR
- Traffic and its effects on CTR
- Experiments with CTR

What Google AdSense Engineers Say

- An email conversation with a Google Engineer:
“Due to the dynamic nature of Google AdSense, fluctuations in your revenue will occur. Your earnings will depend on a number of factors, including the types of ads being served to your pages, the cost per click or cost per impression of these ads, and your users' click through selections. Regarding ad placement - the best ad format varies from page to page. We've observed that, in general, wider ads perform better because of their reader-friendly format. We strongly recommend putting your users first when deciding on ad placement. Think about their behavior on different pages, and what will be most useful and visible to them. You'll find that the most optimal ad position isn't always what you expect on certain pages.”

- Google Optimization Guide:
For example, on pages where users are typically focused on reading an article, ads placed directly below the end of the article tends to perform better. It's almost as if the users finish reading and asking themselves, “What can I do next?” Precisely targeted ads are just like answering their questions.
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html

What Webmasters have concluded

Webmasters have diverse views on how to increase CTR. It largely depends upon the keywords you are targeting, look of your website, quality of its content, placement of AdSense ads, page optimization, and various other factors. Generally, AdSense blocks wrapped between the quality content works the best. For the websites having poor quality content, placing the Ads before the start of the content works well.
If you develop a poor quality content website, it will likely give you high CTR and clicks, but you will be getting low priced ads. Besides, nobody will like to add your URL to their favorites. However, if you have quality content that keeps the visitors glued, you may get low CTR, but you will be getting high priced ads and regular visitors.

Proper positioning of ads on your website has direct impact on your CTR. Change the location of the ads and watch the changes in your CTR regularly. Try to locate the area of the page where the focus of the visitor can be. Generally, AdSense ads near the quality content or other crucial areas like navigation bar tend to perform better. But it really depends upon the keywords you are targeting, and the traffic you have.

The Traffic

AdSense comes after traffic. No traffic, no AdSense. Take good care of your traffic. Your visitors expect some valuable information from you. Make sure you are providing quality content to them. This will increase your visitors’ return back ratio. And only those visitors who are less targeted, will return to the content you are providing. More targeted users mean more CTR. 85% of my visitors add my website URLs in their favorites. And they do return.

Install a website stats monitoring software and regularly look at your web logs. Identify where exactly is the traffic coming from. Try to establish a pattern or relation between your AdSense stats and traffic stats. This will help you analyze the reasons for any marked deviations in the inflow of traffic. This will give you new ideas to develop traffic.

Experiments

Experiment and experiment a lot, till you are satisfied with the tweaks you have done to achieve the highest CTR. Track your page performance by making channels of ads in your AdSense Control Panel. Keep experimenting till you are satisfied with your CTR. Though, every such experiment will make you lose money for a day or two, as Google may take time to adjust with new changes, but it will be beneficial in the long run.