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New Google Sidebar and Gadgets for Google Desktop 5

google desktop 5Google has been flogging its developers with wet noodles ramping up development to make your desktop more functional with the release of Google Desktop 5. The team at Google have been busy working on ways to pipe more information through Google gadgets and sidebar elements on desktops.

The biggest noticeable changes are in the gadgets and sidebar elements. They now provide more visually appealing content that is easier to read. Google Desktop shows previews of search results in browsers instead of making users wait for another application to open. On a security note, Google Desktop will also give warnings when users are accessing links from documents, IM's, emails or browsing the web, notifying when sites might be trying to steal your personal information, or trying to install malicious software. Looks wise, the new sidebar samples the color of your desktop wallpaper and blends in so that it's not distractingly sitting out in the open which makes it easier to distinguish between gadgets for faster perusal of information.

Check out the Google Desktop site for downloads and more information on improved content.

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Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

CiviballsI have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters

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