Google's New Link for Bypassing Country Redirects

Google has always displayed a link on the homepage that bypassed country redirects: "Google.com in English" or "Go to Google.com", depending on the language. The link sent users to google.com/ncr (ncr=no country redirect), the pure flavor of Google that has all the new features and it's not biased towards the pages from a certain country.

Now the link to Google.com is also displayed below the search box so you can check the search results for the same query at Google.com. It's an useful feature, but Google also changes a cookie value and users are no longer redirected to the country-specific domain. Maybe a toggle link similar to the link to iGoogle and the classic homepage would be more useful.



{ Thanks, Arpit. }

More Ways to Upload Files and Folders to Google Docs

Google Chrome 7 started to support folder uploading, but not many people used this feature until Google Docs enabled it. "We've added folder upload via the new Upload menu in the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and Safari. The existing folder structure is preserved on upload which means that folders within folders will also upload and become collections within collections," explained Google.


Firefox and Safari users will have to install a Java applet to upload folders. These browsers don't have native support for uploading folders, but the Java applet has an important advantage: you can upload both folders and files simultaneously.



Google replaced the uploading page with a more intuitive interface. Files and folders are uploaded to the selected collection and you can check the progress in a new panel at the bottom of the page. Files are displayed immediately after they are uploaded, so you can quickly share them or edit them.


You can also upload files using drag and drop in Chrome, Firefox and Safari. It's faster and much easier, especially if you want to upload some files from the desktop. All these features are slowly rolled out, so you may not see them yet.


Google released a basic Android app for Google Docs that lets you upload files, in addition to viewing and editing your documents. The application doesn't add many features that aren't available in the mobile web app: you can quickly find files, share them with the phone contacts and create documents from photos. "The Docs app also allows you to open documents directly from Gmail. You can also add a widget to your home screen for easy access to three core tasks: jumping to your starred documents, taking a photo to upload, or creating a new document with one tap," informs Google.


Google Spreadsheets now lets you upload images and add them to your sheets. "From the Insert menu, select Image... Then, choose an image file to upload into your spreadsheet. With this feature, you can upload an image already stored on your computer, search for an image online, or add personal photos directly from one of your Picasa Web Albums."

Google Docs is now more about uploading and managing files and less about editing files, so the next logical step is to add file syncing.

Patents Search in Google's Sidebar

Google added a new feature to the sidebar: patents search. You no longer have to visit Google Patents to search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus since you can just click "patents" in the vertical navigation menu. Here's an example.


It may seem like a minor improvement, but this shows that Google's specialized search engines will be available from the sidebar. At some point, you'll no longer have to visit Gmail to find a contact, Google Docs to find a file or Android Market to find an Android app.

{ Thanks, François, Andrew and Herin. }.

5 Things to Try in Google Chrome 11

Google Chrome 11 has been released and there are many interesting features to try:

1. Use the Speech Input API by visiting Google Translate and selecting "English" from the list of input languages. "With this API, developers can give web apps the ability to transcribe your voice to text. When a web page uses this feature, you simply click on an icon and then speak into your computer's microphone. The recorded audio is sent to speech servers for transcription, after which the text is typed out for you."


Google tests a similar feature for Web search:



2. A new interface that notifies users when popup windows are blocked. Here's a site that lets you test Chrome's popup blocker.


3. Type chrome://crashes in the address bar to see a list of the most recent crashes.


4. Delete multiple search engines from the tabbed settings page. Press Ctrl while clicking the search engines you want to delete.


5. A new Chrome icon. "Since Chrome is all about making your web experience as easy and clutter-free as possible, we refreshed the Chrome icon to better represent these sentiments. A simpler icon embodies the Chrome spirit — to make the web quicker, lighter, and easier for all," explained Google last month.