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Filed under: Google, VoIP

It's official, Google buys Gizmo5 to provide PC to phone calls

Gizmo5 Google
A few days ago there was a nasty rumor going around that Google had just purchased Skype competitor Gizmo5. Funny thing about rumors is that sometimes they're true. Like, for instance, this one.

Gizmo5 offers a variety of tools that let users make cheap calls from a PC to a phone, or free calls from computer to computer. Google says that Gizmo5's engineers will be joining the Google Voice team. The company isn't announcing exactly what that means in terms of new features yet. But considering Google Voice currently lets you screen, receive, and record calls, I'd be shocked if Google and Gizmo5 weren't planning to add the ability to make calls.

For now, Gizmo5 has stopped accepting new user registrations, but current customers will be able to continue using the service. The same thing happened when Google acquired GrandCentral a few years ago to create the service now known as Google Voice.

Filed under: Macintosh, Google, Beta, Browsers

Google Chrome for Mac will hit beta by December

OS X browser geeks, start salivating ... Reports from around the web are saying that Google's Chrome browser might get a finished Mac version in about month. Stephen Shankland at CNET has been vigilantly monitoring the Chrome development mailing lists, and some talk about Chrome's new extensions UI reveals that the Mac launch is scheduled for early December.

Chrome 4 for Windows is in Beta already, while Mac and Linux only recently got their first developer previews. Since the highest-profile new feature in the Chrome 4 Beta is browser actions (Chrome's equivalent of Firefox's add-ons), developers are getting their extensions ready for launch. Apparently, a product manager for Chrome posted a message advising developers to switch to the new browser actions system so they'd have more time to get their code in shape for a beta launch in "early December."

Filed under: News

Virtual reality helps some smokers quit

Virtual Reality Game to help smokers quit.Can playing a video game four times a week for twelve weeks help you stop smoking? Apparently so for some.

A small study conducted by the GRAP Occupational Psychology Clinic and the University of Quebec has found positive results from a specially designed, experimental, VR video game.

Smokers who play the game have a slightly higher chance of quitting the habit than those in a control group (playing a similar game with different objectives). Those who played the cigarette crushing game cite the game itself as an added defense in staving off cravings.

This type of "VR Therapy" is also used in treating post-traumatic stress disorder in Iraq war veterans, and is gaining popularity in many other areas such as drug addiction and bullying. Researches say that what a person does in the virtual reality game actually has an impact on their real-world experience.

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64

Turn your keyboard LEDs into network activity indicators with a free app


Most keyboards built in the last twenty years or so sport three LEDs - number lock, caps lock, and scroll lock. I'm pretty sure that over those same twenty years I've used each one for a combined total of five minutes.

It sure would be nice if I could somehow force the LEDs to perform another duty. Say, for example, blinking in time with my network activity? That would be pretty slick.

And that's exactly what Network Lights does. Download the 44Kb .zip file, extract it, and run the executable and your LEDs will go to work, flashing in time with the flow of network packets to and from your PC.

I'd recommend against running Network Lights on a laptop which doesn't have a full numeric pad on the keyboard. As the app flicks the LED on and off, your dual-mode keys (usually on the right side around J-K-L) will periodically become unresponsive.

While this is an older app and hasn't been updated in quite some time, Network Lights runs just fine under Windows 7.

[via Raymond.cc]

Filed under: Internet, Google

Google's SPDY protocol will speed up the web - and Chrome OS, too

Over at the Chromium blog, Google has announced a project they've been working on called 'SPeeDY.' It's an updated transport protocol for the web which improves upon HTTP, reducing latency through network-fu like multiplexed streams, request prioritization, and header compression.

"We started working on SPDY while exploring ways to optimize the way browsers and servers communicate," says the official blog post. It continues, "We want to continue building on the web's tradition of experimentation and optimization, to further support the evolution of websites and browsers."

It's not all about altruism, of course. Improvements like those Google is seeking with SPDY, the Go! programming language, and Native Client will all greatly benefit the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. After all, an OS which relies heavily on the cloud for access apps and data will certainly perform better with an improved protocol powering the client and server. It's probably a safe bet that Google would roll SPDY on their own servers early on to give apps like Google Docs and Picasa Web a performance boost on the Google platform.

Whatever the motivation, I'm all for more speed on the web. My ISP is obviously in no hurry to improve things on that front, so if Google can pull off the estimated 55% performance gain then I'm all for it. You go, Google!

Add URL tooltips to Firefox with a handy add-on

I'm not a big fan of status bars in browsers. Most of the time, they're just wasting 20 or so pixels of vertical display space. That doesn't mean I want to miss out on the functions the status bar provides - like displaying the destination of links I hover over. The URL Tooltip addon offers a simple remedy for that. Once installed, you'll see a tooltip balloon whenever you park your pointer ...

Now you can browse Windows Mobile Marketplace on the web

Want to know what kind of apps are available for Windows Mobile 6.5, but don't have a phone running the operating system yet? Or just want to look for apps on a screen with a resolution higher than 640 x 480? Microsoft has launched a web version of the Windows Marketplace. Users can browse the web store without an account. If you sign in you can also purchase programs that will be installed on ...

New Go integrates with Chrome and Chrome OS. Native, high-speed add-ons and web apps here we come!

digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/12/new-go-integrates-with-chrome-and-chrome-os-native-high-speed/'; You've heard of Chrome. You've heard of Chrome OS. Yesterday I brought you news of Go, Google's new programming language. Now... I bring you news of Native Client -- a tool that lets you run programs inside your web browser: Chrome. A basic definition of 'Native' would be ...

Google's SafeSearch mode gets safer with new lock feature

If you've ever used Google to search for, ahem, "adult" content, you're aware of the site's SafeSearch feature. It filters out questionable content, to the delight of parents and the dismay of porn-seekers. Now there's a new "lock" function for SafeSearch, which keeps your account's settings locked in strict filtering mode until you enter a password and change them. The obvious use here is for ...

Fullmoon: delicious ten-minute Time-Waster

Fullmoon is one of those delightful little games where you almost don't want it to be over. A bit like Portal, I guess. You know the end is coming -- all too soon, usually -- but... you can't stop. The end be damned! You just have to shut your eyes, finish the last puzzle and pray there's a sequel (which I'm sure there will be in this case!) This isn't your standard pixel-hunting ...

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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