Download Squad

Google SearchWiki lets you customize results

I'm guessing I'm not the only person who was a little surprised to see some additions to my Google search results page last night. Google has just rolled out a new SearchWiki feature that allows users to customize their search results. You can move results up, down, delete them or add a comment. The changes only affect YOUR search results and you need to be logged in with a Google Account to access these new tools. That said, you can view notes on websites from the rest of the community. With any luck, this might help users find the best sites more quickly.

The new Google SearchWiki view

[via Official Google Blog]

Google adds new features to BlackBerrys and iPhones

Google's Mobile team was really on overdrive this week. As Jay already reported, the new iPhone 2.2 firmware added Street View, public transit and walking directions to the Google Maps app for the iPhone. Additionally, the big news this week was the addition of voice search and My Location to the Google Mobile App for the iPhone. iPhone owners can now search for stuff by voice. My Location has also been added to the iPhone edition of Google Mobile (something BlackBerry owners have had for a while) and this lets you get local search results like movie times or nearby restaurants based on your current physical location.

BlackBerry owners weren't left out of the update frenzy, Google Sync for BlackBerry got a great update: contact synchronization! Google Sync is honestly one of my favorite BlackBerry apps, because it syncs my Google Calendar (and using calDAV, my iCal calendar) with the calendar on my BlackBerry. Now, Google has added the ability to sync contacts between your Google account and your BlackBerry address book. This is really, really convenient and a great way to keep contacts organized over the air, without having to manually sync the Berry with your PC or Mac.

[via Google Mobile Blog]

LIFE Magazine's photo archive comes online

Although it now may be just a footnote in publishing history, the photo collection owned by LIFE Magazine (which like Download Squad is ultimately a subsidiary of Time Warner) is still one of the most impressive in the world. With photographs dating back to the 1750s, the entire LIFE archive contains more than 10 million images. Google is working with LIFE to digitize the collection and make it available online via Google Image Search. You can access the collection directly at this link. About 20% of the collection is currently online, and Google plans to have the entire archive up in the next few months. LIFE will also be launching a new photo-related website to compliment the collection.

Try searching the archive, there are some absolutely amazing photographs.

[via Official Google Blog]

GrandCentral App comes to the Mac

If you have a GrandCentral account and are a Mac user, check out Google's new app. Vocito is compatible with both OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard) and allows you to interface with GrandCentral from the desktop. It integrates with Address book, system services and any application that supports Automator actions. It also supports the popular Quicksilver utility. You can automatically dial a number from an iCal appointment and get connected via your local phone to that number. Sweet!

[via Google Mac Blog]

Google plans to work with OEMs to pre-install Chrome

The Times Online reports that Google is considering pre-installing Chrome on PCs to help increase market share. Sundar Pichai, Google Vice President of Product Management told The Times that Chrome will be out of beta testing by January and that Linux and Mac versions will be available in the first half of 2009. Pichai told the times, "We will probably do distribution deals," he said, adding, "we could work with an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and have them ship computers with Chrome pre-installed."

One of the factors leading to Internet Explorer's dominance in the browser market was the bundling of the browser with the Windows OS. There was even this big antitrust case surrounding the issue -- you remember. That case made it impossible for Microsoft to penalize OEMs who want to bundle other browsers with their products. Most Windows-based PCs don't ship with alternatives, but Google is pretty powerful and certainly a better known consumer brand, than say, "Mozilla." I'm personally interested in seeing if Google can convince netbook manufacturers to bundle Chrome with Linux distributions, once the Linux version becomes available.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Access Google Docs within Gmail

If you like Google Docs but hate having to leave Gmail to access a document, Google has the solution for you! A new Gmail Docs gadget allows you to search for docs within Gmail, view docs, drag a doc into an e-mail for easy sharing and you can even create a new document while composing an e-mail.

Google has really done a bang-up job integrating services into Gmail via Gmail Labs. To take advantage of this feature, click on "Labs" and then select the Google Docs gadget at the bottom.

[via Official Google Docs Blog]