The Merge

Google finally merged Blogger and Google+ user profiles. Previously Google had announced that want to merge user's Blogger and Google+ profiles in order to provide a better integrated experience, but at the first attempt, Google just did this in a limited level and two accounts did not really (and fully) merged. You couldn't share anything right from Blogger and also you couldn't see the +1 counter. That was only a profile view just similar to Google+ profile view and not the same Google+ profile view.

The new changes have done recently, rectified this matter and now Blogger provide a similar experience as other Google products like Google Reader, Google Search, Google Drive and so on. In the other words, now you can see the well-known Google Bar in Blogger. You can share anything directly from Blogger, see the +1 counter and your profile information.
However the vacancy of the search bar makes it a bit weird but it's a good experience and makes me feel alright. Welcome aboard Google Bar!

Google Bar replaced the older Blogger profile scheme.

WolframAlpha's new homepage

WolframAlpha has recently introduced a new homepage. This new homepage has an interactive design and contains lots of hand-drawn sketches about popular and interesting queries. By clicking on each sketch, a search query about that sketch appears. This is a totally amazing way to encourage users to use the Engine and  push them forward to learn more about WolframAlpha's abilities. 

Queries cover various fields: from History to Mathematics and from Economy to Computer Science. You can find different queries about topics like Kokh snowflake, Sputnik 1, Olympic gold medals, Afghan Hound and even signing of the Declaration of Independence!

Do not miss WolframAlpha's new homepage. It is not a homepage or even a boring scientific page; it's a funpage! Check it out now: WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha's new interactive homepage.

Google Nexus 7 by videos

The new Nexus 7 tablet. Photo by Google Nexus

Two weeks ago, Google announced a new tablet in Google I/O 2012 that impressed all users. What's coming next is a video trail that covers some of important features and highlights of the Google's new tablet. First, lets take a look at the specifications:

STEP 1 - Google/ASUS Nexus 7 Specifications (data from Google Nexus official website)

• 7” 1280x800 HD scratch-resistant Corning glass display (216 ppi)
• 1.2MP front-facing camera
• Quad-core Tegra 3 processor + 1 GB RAM
• 8 or 16 GB internal storage
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS

The device has a 4325 mAh battery that keeps charge for 9 hours HD video playback/10 hours web browsing/10 hours e-reading or 300 hours in standby mode. It's weight is only 340 grams and has 198.5x120x10.45mm dimensions, a micro USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack. Nexus 7 only uses WiFi [802.11 b/g/n] to access to the Internet (no 3G or 4G). Other features include: bluetooth, microphone, built-in NFC (a.k.a. Android Beam), accelerometer, GPS, magnetometer and gyroscope.

STEP 2 - Introducing Nexus 7 (Google Nexus Channel)

STEP 3 - Google Nexus 7 Unboxing (PhoneDog channel)

STEP 4 - Google Nexus 7 First Impressions & OS Tour (TechnoBuffalo channel)

STEP 5 - Nexus 7 review (The Verge channel)

BOUNCE STEPS
Introducing Google Now (Official Android Channel)  /  Siri vs. Google Search (TechnoBuffalo channel)

Google Now is one of the Jelly Bean's new features. It's supposed to "get you just the right information at just the right time"; e.g. traffic data, appointments, flights, weather, translation, currency etc. (more information on Google Now landing page). Another Android 4.1 impressive feature is the new voice assistant currently called Google Search or Google Voice Search that somehow is a part of Google Now. In the review that has been done by Jon Rettinger from Techno Buffalo, Google Search responses a bit faster than Siri and its voice is more human like.

You can pre-order Nexus 7 from Google Play. More information about Google's new tablet and other Nexus devices here: Discover Nexus Devices

A delightful scratchpad

Scratchpad is one of my favorite apps in Chrome Web Store. A little, by Google, offline app, that let you to store text data easily. Scratchpad works along with Google Docs and can synchronize and save your notes on Google's powerful clod servers almost instantly. These notes will be stored in a separate folder to made their management easier.

Scratchpad user interface. Photo by Google (Chrome Web Store)

Scratchpad also grants basic text styling options like bold, italic, underline, strike through, bullet list and number list. Unlike MS Notepad and other basic editors, you can use different fonts and styles in one text. Scratchpad contains 10 different fonts, including: Arial, Arial Black, Courier New, Garamond, Open Sans, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS and Verdana. You even can search among your notes with the app's built-in search tool. Although the app allows you to sort/view notes in three modes: recent notes, all notes and starred notes.  

It seems that Google has developed this app basically for Chrome OS users to satisfy the need to a basic text editor; but other Chrome browser users likewise can enjoy its interesting features. To install this app visit Chrome Web Store.

Scratchpad

Developer: Google

Version: 3.0.16
Updated: Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Works Offline: Yes
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Deutsch, English, English (UK), Filipino, Français, Nederlands, Tiếng Việt, Türkçe, català, dansk, eesti, español, español (Latinoamérica), hrvatski, italiano, latviešu, lietuvių, magyar, polski, português (Brasil), português (Portugal), română, slovenský, slovenščina, suomi, svenska, čeština, Ελληνικά, Српски, български, русский, українська, עברית, हिन्दी, ไทย, ‫العربية, 中文 (简体), 中文 (繁體), 日本語, 한국어
This app can access:
● Your data on docs.google.com and www.google.com
● Your list of installed apps, extensions, and themes
● Your tabs and browsing activity

Words practical usages in Google Translate

Recently, Google released a new feature in Google Translate. The new feature allow you to see practical usage of the selected words in a set of example sentences. This will help bilingual trainers to improve their foreign language skills. Beside this, Google Translate also provides realtime translation of the example sentence in the  selected destination language that makes it even more dramatic for language learners.

Click on the callout icon to see example usage.

"Example usage of words" is currently limited to single word translation; i.e. you can't use words from a sentence. To use this feature just type a word and click on the black callout icon (tooltip: Show example usage of the words) right beside the speaker icon (tooltip: Listen). By clicking on the example sentence, you can see realtime translation of the example in destination language. This feature currently supports limited languages but it's obvious that will be expended in future.

By clicking on the example sentence, its translation to destination language appears.

Practical usage of the words has an important role in foreign language training and can help to better understand a word's different uses. Beside those benefits, it's also fun! So, go ahead and improve your second, third, forth and even fifth languages!