Hidden Nook
"Because in Cyberspace, no one can hear you scream."
Friday, May 06, 2005
Google Hacks (The Next Generation)
[Media Source*] (Cross Posted on Blogger News)
It seems like the fans of Google are taking it's features to a whole new level. They are affecting everything from Gmail, to Blogger, to Google News. Here is a brief synopsis of what is happening throughout the world of Google.
Just for a quick overview, Gmail is an email service by Google offering over two gigabytes of free space as well as some nifty features such as labels and web clips. Despite Gmail setting themselves apart from the competition, some fans decided to "customize" Google's email features in order to make it more attractive not only for themselves, but for other users as well.
Thanks to Persistent Info, (an employee of Google) it is now possible to change the skin or overall look of your Gmail account. If the light blue color is not your thing, you can change it to tan, red or whatever color you desire. Another hack was also developed by Persistent Info, but this feature seems to not have "caught on" throughout the Gmail circles as his previous hack.
But what if you travel frequently and do not have much time to sit at a desk? For those of you who live on a Pocket PC (or Palm Device) this hack (developed by Wiggster.com) might prove to be very useful to the person who is always busy on their toes. And if Wiggster is too hard to remember, a person can always visit the Pocket Gmail site and download a copy there.
If you are like the millions of "soon-to-be" college kids who are looking for a place to stay that is affordable and off campus then this Google Maps Tweak may be just for you. Developed by Paul Rademacher, this Google hack allows users not only find affordable rental space, but enables young couples to shop around for the perfect house as well. (Paul also goes the extra mile to provide pictures for many of the rooms/houses, giving everybody the chance to "preview" the atmosphere before moving).
One of the major blog services online is Blogger which allows users who know little html to set up a blog site for the world to hear. Blogger (or Blogspot) is a unique blog service in the fact that it gives users the freedom to customize their blog site any way they choose.
Unfortunately, Blogger lacks some of the abilities that have become "standard" with many blog hosting companies, and although their are ways to add most of these features in through other blog services, several blog features were still unavailable to the average blogspot user. That is until Blogger Hacks (owned by Ebenezer Orthodoxy) arrived on the scene enabling users to "install" such features like the Farrago Recent Comments hack as well as improving the comment feature for Blogspot users everywhere.
This feature, announced a long time ago by the Google Blog has been resurrected by many fans throughout the net. Some of Google's fans have taken the liberty to go beyond the original design, producing an enhanced version of Google X (designed by Jay). In this version, Jay incorporates features such as Google Suggest, Gmail Notifier and the ability to search through Google Print (as well as a host of other's inside of this version of Google X). But if one is a fan of Fire Fox, their is even a special design for those users as well.
A feature yet in it's infancy (as far as potential goes) is Google News Map (provided by Douwe Osinga) which displays headlines from around the world (via Google News of coarse) and places them on a map. Although it has a while to go before it becomes a "hot item," Osinga has seized upon a brilliant idea and may become more popular as time goes on.
Last but not least is Google search. Google has a lot of powerful tools out there, ranging from Google Scholar to Image Search. One site attempting to harness the entire power of Google Search (with all of it's insane features) is Soople. Soople at first glance might seem "complex" but what this site basically does is break down many of Google's features and allows a user to search specifically for items without clicking on any links to make sure a user's topic is being searched for in the correct search feature.
But for those who looking for "google vanity" Soople may be nothing but a "geek toy." Perhaps Googlism would satisfy your need for the latest gossip around the net. Googlism allows a user to find out what the world is saying about topics such as President Bush, New Zealand, Skype and much more!
These are only "some" of the various Google Hacks available on the net. There are many other hacks out there, many of them illegal (i.e. Google News RSS) and thus were not displayed by this blog journalist. It is recommended that a user contact Google before proceeding with a hack, and that any hack generated is the responsibility of that individual user.
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By Darnell Clayton ⢠11:16 PM ⢠Email Post ⢠â¢
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