Google are taking over the world! We’re entrusting our data with a faceless corporation!

Some people worry about that, anyway, though I’m not one of them. I think Google offer a great range of free services that greatly enhance my online life - even if sometimes I feel left out as a European.

Today Google announced on their blog a great new service that should help make people much more comfortable with using Google - Google Dashboard. This can also be found through your Google account settings. What it gives you is a single page summarizing all the Google products you use, and what is kept on them.

So, I can see how many conversations I have stored in my Gmail, how many albums in Picasa, what’s in my Google Docs and so on. It covers over 20 products, including the aforementioned, Calendar, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Talk, Reader, Alerts, Latitude and more. From here you can control all of that data too.

Perhaps the data that’s most eye opening is your search history - searching while signed in is associated with your account, and it’s all there! There’s even a calendar that shows your levels of search activity. It’s fascinating, in a narcissistic way, but even better you are put in control of it all. If you want to delete it, that’s easy. You can delete bits, or everything and “pause” history collection.

I think this Google Dashboard really makes you feel in control of your online life, and I would love to see sites like Facebook and MySpace follow suit. Cynics and conspiracy theorists probably won’t be convinced, but it certainly takes some of the wind out of their sails.

*Apparently there are some issues with data collection for Google Apps for Domains.

The 12th Annual Independent Games Festival is almost upon us, and has a huge selection of submissions to check out. There’s a record 306 entries, covering a huge range of genres. Lewie Procter at SavvyGames has completed part one of a ‘Pretend you are an IGF judge‘ series, which usefully brings together all the publicly available submitted games, so you can check them out yourself.

The sheer volume of games is pretty intimidating, but there’s sure to be tons of great stuff. I’ve already reviewed AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! — A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, which I love and Terry Cavanagh’s excellent Don’t Look Back is also there, alongside his upcoming and highly anticipated VVVVVV (no demo for this yet, sniff!).

While publishing giant Activision’s Modern Warfare 2 will break barriers by allowing you to be a brutal terrorist, these indie developers are proving that you don’t need to shock or ask ridiculous moral non-choices of your players to do something revolutionary with video games or story telling. There’s also a wealth of humor, weirdness and creative enthusiasm that I feel is lacking from many of the season’s big upcoming releases - which unless I’m forgetting something are all sequels. While there is certainly lots of good stuff to play, like Hollywood before it, the games industry seems stuck in a blockbuster-sequel cycle, making it seem difficult for genuinely new games to make their mark.

One of the most widespread problems people had with Snow Leopard when it launched was a compatibility issue in Mail.app (aka Apple Mail) which prevented messages being sent and even crashed the program in some cases. Nick wrote a guide to fixing these issues, so this obvious failing in Apple’s QA testing needn’t be too much of a hindrance.

That said, my first thought when I read about people having problems with Mail.app was: why are these people even using Mail.app? I’ve had my current iMac for around two years and I’ve never even run the Mail program. Not once. That’s because I use Gmail, a mail application that renders Mail.app and all other desktop email clients more or less obsolete.

For those of you still toiling in the dark with an email client, I know there is sometimes a good reason for that. If you’re trying to handle lots of different accounts, or if you need to connect to an Exchange server, it’s difficult to live without a mail client. But for the average home user and even for most home office users, webmail solutions will always be a better idea than clients. Here’s why:

Security and stability

Desktop email clients are inherently less stable than Gmail or other equivalent webmail services. Storing your data on a local disk (even if you backup) will never be as safe as trusting Google’s datacenters (which are, themselves never 100% safe: nothing is).

But perhaps more importantly, email clients generally rely on downloading message files (and often attachments) to your computer before you filter out content you don’t want. This means that the potential for spam and even malware finding its way onto your computer is significantly higher if you use a mail client application. Read the rest of this entry »

There are several ways to create a collage with your digital pictures: doing it yourself from scratch with Photoshop (which obviously requires a certain Photoshop knowledge), using an automated Photoshop action that does almost all the hard work for you or simply turning to easier, more specific collage-oriented tools like Shape Collage.

This awesome program lets you create completely customizable photo collages in just a few minutes, and without any artistic or technical skill required. As long as you know how to select photos from your hard drive, and tweak a few simple configuration settings, you’re good to go. Shape Collage is completely free for personal use, and works on Windows, Mac and Linux.

But if you’re the kind of person who prefers not to install software if there’s a web app that does the same job, we’ve got good news for you: Shape Collage has just launched an online version! Shape Collage Online is a stripped-down version of the desktop app, with less options and reduced functionality, but it works perfectly fine for the occasional photo collage. Just select the photos you want to use in your collage (they must be all online, either as standalone photos or photo galleries), pick a shape for your collage and hit ‘Create’. After a few seconds, your collage will be ready!

In this brave new world of the internet, the planet, we have been told, has shrunk. Yet for Google, it seems old geographical realities still hold true.

Google Voice sounds wonderful, but I’ve heard so much about this amazing service I can’t use that I’m beginning to hate it. And Onebox music search - it sure is lucky no one in Europe listens to music, or we might be a bit annoyed at Google’s new search feature we don’t have. Thanks for making these tools available everywhere, except in Asia, Australasia, Antarctica and Europe. What’s this all about? When did the US become the world?

North America only accounts for 15% of internet users, so when are the majority going to get some of this stuff? Europe’s a bigger market, and just as developed as the US. I’m surprised that a music search service should need any local restrictions - with streaming services like Spotify there are licensing issues, but search?

With Google Voice, obviously there will be differing telecoms law, but Google has presence everywhere and there seems to be no movement at all. As we follow events around the world with complete ease, the idea of waiting months for something just doesn’t fit. So come on Google, there’s a whole world out there, and we don’t like being ignored! One day, you might wake up and find we’re all using Bing.

Gretel and Hansel is a surprisingly macabre and grizzly take on the classic Brothers Grimm tale. You play Gretel, who becomes alarmed after overhearing her mother planning to send the children away into the dangerous forest!

Presented in really pretty water-colors, with a perfect soundtrack, Gretel and Hansel isn’t particularly complicated (and there’s a walkthrough linked on the game page if you get stuck). It does feature achievements, and some of them feature very dark humor! It’s not a cute kids game, this one.

Check out Gretel and Hansel here.

[Via: IndieGames.com]

NaNoWriMo - no, it’s not an amazing new Apple product or a delightful beach resort in Italy, it’s National Novel Writing Month, a slightly crazy but totally fun international writing initiative that runs from November 1st - 31st 2009. The general idea is this: you write a novel (50,000 words) in just one month. At the end of it all, you upload your work of art to the NaNoWriMo website to be validated and sit back, basking in the knowledge that you’ve just written a novel!

So, why exactly would you want to do this? Well, some people do it for charity, while others really want to set themselves a challenge. Apart from anything though, at the end of it all you’ll be able to tell everyone that you’ve written a novel - how cool would that be?! So why is a software blog telling you all this? Well, we have the perfect program to help you, of course. Write Attack! is the ideal tool, and a very efficient way of dealing with the dreaded writer’s block. What’s more, it has a feature that is specifically designed to overcome the challenges of National Novel Writing Month - the NaNoWriMo function! Just hit the NaNoWriMo button, and the program will automatically set you a target of 1,600 words - precisely what you need to do every day to churn that novel out within the month. Come on, we all know there’s a writer hiding inside you - show us what you’ve got!

Picture the scene. You’re happily surfing the net over the weekend and suddenly this baby pops up:

Lots of things might be running through your head: What is it? Where did it come from? Why me?! Basically, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is part of the Windows .NET framework. According to Microsoft, WPF combines “application UI, documents, and media content, while exploiting the full power of the computer”. In layman’s terms, it is a graphics plug-in.

Some people are in a huff because Windows didn’t ask for explicit permission to install the plug-in and instead sneaked it in as part of the NET Framework 3.5 SP1 update. Geeks have been on the case for a while, and claim that it is not the first time Windows has done something similar, having previously installed the Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant. It only came to the attention of most users, however, when Firefox plonked a giant warning on their screens. The plug-in has been automatically disabled, as Mozilla believes it creates a security problem that leaves Firefox open to a ‘remote code execution vulnerability’ - in other words, makes it susceptible to drive-by spyware picked up while browsing.

For the moment, Mozilla has dealt with the problem, but many will be left wondering if Windows should go around installing things without our explicit permission. If you were reading a software review and the reviewer mentioned that the program sneakily installed things without asking, you’d be rightly suspicious. Should the rules be any different for Microsoft?

The Unity plug-in has produced some impressive browser games, but maybe Lego Star Wars the Quest for R2D2 is the best so far.  It’s basically a 3D hack and slash adventure, but has great graphics, is really smooth and of course has everyone’s favorite Star Wars sound effects. Pressing F puts you in full screen mode, and then you won’t even notice it’s a browser based game. Not so long ago, a game like this would have been perfectly acceptable on a home console, and it’s incredible to see this for free running in Firefox! Play Lego Star Wars the Quest for R2D2 here. The Unity plug-in is available for Windows and Mac.

We’ve been talking about different types of literacy over the last month, taking a look at the best software to help you maximize your skills. There’s more to literacy than just reading and mathematics, however: knowing how to manage your money is just as important.

Most of us have made silly mistakes with our money from time to time. Maybe you’ve spent all of your salary (or pocket money!) before the month is out, or forgot to factor in interest when thinking about a loan. For some people though, these problems aren’t a once-off, they’re a fact of life. If you think this might apply to you, then keep reading.

The key to money management is planning, planning, planning. Everyone should keep a journal of their spending and record absolutely anything that comes in or goes out of their account. Nothing can escape, not even a sneaky latte or newspaper. Presuming that you’ve been keeping up with our series, your math skills should be steadily improving, and in conjunction with the free, reliable advice offered by many governments (Australia, Ireland, Singapore, UK and the US, just for starters), you’ll be well on your way to becoming the next Warren Buffet.

Luckily, the Internet abounds with programs that keep a track on your spending and I’m going to take a look at some of our most popular. There’s no way we could talk about personal finances without mentioning Buddi. This tool bills itself as ’software for the rest of us’ and since its main aim is to make money management as easy as possible for people without financial experience, it sounds like the perfect program. One of the main things that beginners need to keep in mind is to keep your software simple, and Buddi certainly delivers.

I’ve noticed that some developers get over-excited and try to squash enough features into their programs to easily set up a gold trading company on the stock market. Exciting as that might be, if you’re still having problems making your paycheck last long enough to pay the electricity bill…well, you might be overreaching. HomeBank is a good option, a program that will give you the simplicity you need by offering only the most basic functions, without any complicated frills.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes all those numbers are just plain BORING. I can’t make them any more fun, but I can suggest a program that will inject a bit of color - Personal Finances. This brightly colored application has all the features you’ll need, accompanied by jazzy colors and some cute illustrations. Hey, it won’t make you any richer, but it might just brighten up your number-crunching!

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Math

Part 3: Reading

It’s Friday again and we’re celebrating it with our traditional time-waster. CycloManiacs is a fun bicycle racing game with an easy gameplay and many elements to make races more challenging and competitive.

You start off by riding with a cute robot on a shabby bike, but as you progress through the game (and you have quite a handful of levels to beat) you can obtain new drivers, better bikes and hidden tracks. Each race charges you with a series of challenges – such as finishing in the top five places or gathering a minimum number of items – and if you complete them you’ll be rewarded with new unlockable stuff. Jumping is also important, because it’ll give you points to boost up your bike’s speed and overtake any other competitors.

CycloManiacs is controlled with the usual WASD or cursor keys combinations (plus the spacebar or X key to jump). The game is complemented by a nice background soundtrack.

YouTube, the most famous video sharing community in the world, was launched back in 2005. After four years it has become a clear point of reference in online business for other people, who have launched a bunch of websites following the same concept: gathering similar content and sharing it online. Sometimes these websites use the YouTube brand to explain their service, and you find expressions such as YouTube for music, YouTube for photos or Youtube for books.

This post aims at list all those different versions of YouTube, including of course the ones you share with us in comments.

YouTube for kids
You may already know some of the many adult versions of YouTube, but you won’t probably be so familiar with this YouTube for kids. Totlol.com features standalone videos, and also collections: groups of similar videos categorized by topic.

Totlol.com is actually powered by YouTube and can adapt the interface and contents according to the age range we select. Parental control options let you block settings to prevent children from messing with them.

YouTube for books
If you had enough videos for today and fancy reading something instead, check out Scribd.com. This website features books and documents published by anyone, anywhere.

You can find almost anything on Scribd, from short papers about the French Revolution to an Excel Function Dictionary or a 500-page long work about Analytical Psychology.

All books and documents in Scribd are conveniently organized in categories and can be sorted by language, licence, length and file format. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: Even though it is usually considered the fast browser, Firefox can sometimes get a little lethargic. This program doesn’t really explain how it works, but it definitely helps speed things up again. SpeedyFox doesn’t need to be installed and the controls couldn’t be simpler, but you will have to close Firefox before giving it a try.

Mac: Sometimes you just want a no-thrills, lightweight image browser to go through your photo collection. If uploading and image editing is not your thing then try Phoenix Slides is a lightweight, fast full-screen image browser allowing you to display lossless JPEG transformations and accompanying EXIF data.  The beauty of it lies in its simplicity - browse images with a tree viewer fast and easy.

iPhone: Ever had the urge to just get a huge slingshot and fire penguins from it? Then try Crazy Penguin Catapult 2, where you must help the blundering birds rescue their friends from the evil polar bears. Before the start of each level you need to select your army, which you do by firing a catapult up a mountain. You’ll need to time each launch perfectly so that each penguin makes it to the top without hitting his head or flying backwards.

If you’ve ever been to Finland then you’ll know how cold it can get - especially if you’re walking around naked. Sweaty Boy finds himself in this predicament every day and in order to keep him from turning into an icicle he needs regular visits to the sauna. The trouble is, he’s too cold to even walk. This is where you come in. You need to get Sweaty Boy to the sauna by rolling him along the floor using a elaborate system of seesaws, ramps and falling blocks. Tap the white objects to remove them and watch what happens.

The presentation of Sweaty Boy has a decidedly menacing feel with bizarre graphics, dirty sound loops and some warped sound effects that combine to make you feel decidedly uneasy. Riveting logic problem-solving fun.

There’s something special about Polaroid photos that make them still attractive these days – even after having been discontinued for more than a year now. Maybe this is why there are a few websites and software tools that let you create Polaroids from your digital photos, and keep that endearing look from last century alive. It may not be the same as the real thing, but it’s a quick, simple effect that can make any standard photo more attractive.

• Instantizer - Fill in a simple form with a photo from your hard drive, a custom message and an optional rotation degree, and you’ll get an instant Polaroid with a link that’s valid for 24 hours. Simple, yet effective.
• Photo Notes -  Select a photo from your PC or a website and transform it into a Polaroid with a few extra options: custom text message, image position, rotation, text font, etc. You can also share it by email or publish it on a web gallery.
• Rollip - A popular website that lets you create Polaroids with color effects, decorations and a custom message in three easy steps. The image is immediately available for download or sharing online in an email, IM or blog.
• Poladroid - If you prefer using software, this is the tool you need. Drag and drop any image on Poladroid’s interface and the program will transform it into a Polaroid right away. You can even shake the file to make it appear faster, like the real Polaroids!

Last but not least, here are a couple of Photoshop tutorials I wrote a while ago that also let you apply the beauty of Polaroids to your photos: one tutorial to create a nice Polaroid collage with different images, and another one to transform a single photo into a bunch of Polaroids scattered all over the screen.