Google delivered some shiny presents to good little users a bit before the holidays this year.
In a surprise move, the search giant took its Chrome Web browser out of beta this week, in the hopes that business partners, such as computer makers, will bundle Chrome on their systems. Google launched the first beta version of Chrome in September.
However, Chrome is still rough around the edges to be a version 1.0 product. Also, although Chrome has been in development internally at Google for years, it's curious that the company would take Chrome out of beta when it's resisted the impulse to do the same with Gmail and several other high-profile projects.
Google also brought Gmail users a to-do list to help them be more productive. When the new Tasks feature is enabled, a box shows up on top of the Gmail window. In it, users can add, reorder, and delete tasks. It's also possible to assign a due date to each action and even convert e-mails into tasks.
The company hopes the second time will be the charm for a Gmail Labs feature that lets people send text messages to people's mobile phones with the company's Web-based e-mail service. After the feature's fleeting debut in October, Google removed it to fix a problem in which turning the feature on didn't actually fully turn it on. The feature returned this week, but is available only in the United States for now.
Also, Street View is continuing its seemingly inexorable spread across Google Maps, with Google announcing that it's doubled the feature's coverage of the United States. States that now have some coverage are Maine, West Virginia, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10121879-92.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1
In a surprise move, the search giant took its Chrome Web browser out of beta this week, in the hopes that business partners, such as computer makers, will bundle Chrome on their systems. Google launched the first beta version of Chrome in September.
However, Chrome is still rough around the edges to be a version 1.0 product. Also, although Chrome has been in development internally at Google for years, it's curious that the company would take Chrome out of beta when it's resisted the impulse to do the same with Gmail and several other high-profile projects.
Google also brought Gmail users a to-do list to help them be more productive. When the new Tasks feature is enabled, a box shows up on top of the Gmail window. In it, users can add, reorder, and delete tasks. It's also possible to assign a due date to each action and even convert e-mails into tasks.
The company hopes the second time will be the charm for a Gmail Labs feature that lets people send text messages to people's mobile phones with the company's Web-based e-mail service. After the feature's fleeting debut in October, Google removed it to fix a problem in which turning the feature on didn't actually fully turn it on. The feature returned this week, but is available only in the United States for now.
Also, Street View is continuing its seemingly inexorable spread across Google Maps, with Google announcing that it's doubled the feature's coverage of the United States. States that now have some coverage are Maine, West Virginia, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10121879-92.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1
