Google Chrome has been moved out of Beta

Google after releasing the 15th update for its Google Chrome Web browser and officially ended the beta testing phase for the application Thursday. It already has some 10 million active users. With the 15 updates under its belt, the browser has improved its stability and performance.

"Google Chrome is a better browser today thanks to the many users who sent their feedback and the many more who enabled automatic crash reports, helping us rapidly diagnose and fix issues," they wrote in a Google blog post.

Shortest of Beta Period at Google: The Chrome seems to have spent the shortest period of time in beta status. Considering the previous record of Google which is known for taking its time with beta projects, even in its most popular offerings - this is a healthy development. Launched in September 2008 Chrome was in beta for just three months. If you compare this with Google's Gmail e-mail which began beta testing in April 2004, and more than four years later, the e-mail app is still there.

However Google says that it applies a different time frame and standard to its client software than other offerings. Google also indicated that Chrome was fairly advanced when it was released in beta.

What is new in Google Chrome

• Google Chrome is built on the Chromium open source project, anyone can see features being developed by Google's team and the developer community.
• Chrome now offers users better stability and plug-in performance. Video and audio issues and other common bugs have been fixed.
• Speed has also been a focus and now the javaScript engine runs 1.4 times faster.
• It is now easier to switch between another browser and Chrome with bookmark import and export features. Google also worked to give users greater control of their data. To that end, all features in Chrome that affect user privacy are grouped in one place with an explanation regarding what each one actually does.

I am using both Firefox and Google Chrome as some of the sites are still not designed from Chrome and show display errors. So the users who were shying away till now can download from here and start using Google Chrome.

Now chat from Gmail to a mobile through SMS

Even if the person you are chatting with is not available near PC you can chat with then using this new feature unveiled by Google Gmail - SMS Chat.

Leo Dirac, Google product manager says - "A few weeks back, we ran into a few snags when we first started rolling this out, but starting today you can turn on text messaging for chat,"

You get your own unique Google chat phone number, so the person receiving the texts will be able to know who you are by saving the digits under your name in their phone book.

How to enable Gmail SMS Chat? - just go to the Labs area in Settings to turn it on.

Then- you can type any US phone number into the search box in the chat window on the left, then select “Send SMS.“ You can also select the contact you want to SMS first and then add their phone number. You can send messages to US numbers from anywhere in the world. If you’re on the receiving end, when you get a text message from Gmail on your phone, messages from each contact will come from a unique number with a 406 area code (406 spells G0O…), reply like you would to any other text message and the reply will be routed through Gmail’s servers straight to your friend’s Gmail chat window.

How to block a Gmail sender while chatting from your mobile? Recipients can also block the service simply by sending the word BLOCK in response to a chat message, so you won't be stung by pesky messages all day either.

Google is rolling out this service in the US at the moment, although it appears to be only a matter of time before it will be available in other geographies

How to use Tasks in Gmail

One of the most requested features in Gmail - "Task management" has been unveiled by Google. Task management is important especially since it comes as default in most desktop- and web-based email clients.

The fact that task management goes hand in hand with handling email - this will be one of the most use solutions alsong with email. A new tasks management feature is now available in Gmail to let users manage tasks from within the web-based email interface.

Enabling tasks:

The experimental-only feature first has to be enabled under the Labs tab in the Settings section of the Gmail web interface.











Adding new Task:



You can access tasks by clicking on the Tasks link right below the Contacts option in the left-hand part of the Gmail web interface, which will open a dialog for creating a new task.

To add a new Task simply press ENTER













Adding New task for email:

Alternatively, you can turn the currently open email message into a new task by choosing the Add to Tasks option from the drop-down menu labeled More Actions, which will automatically put the message subject as the subject of a new task and provide a link to the email message in the task body.







Managing Tasks:


Use Actions Button at Bottom to indent OR Move Tasks up or down


Indent Tasks to List Sub tasks for a Major Task

Click on ">" after a task to edit task Details











Task Details

Task details like due date and Task Notes can be edited from Task Detail view.


Tasks Keyboard shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts (if enabled) for Tasks:

- Open Task Box: "g" and then "k"
- Create New Task: ENTER
- Delete a Task: Delete the text and hit BACKSPACE
- Navigate Between Tasks: Arrows
- Indent/Unindent Tasks: TAB and SHIFT-TAB
- Reorder Tasks: drag and drop or CTRL-UP and CTRL-DOWN
- Main View/Detailed Toggle: SHIFT-ENTER
- Create a Task from Email Message: Shift-T (alternatively, choose Add to Tasks from the More Actions drop-down menu)



Since this is experimental Labs feature, it is not yet ready with full features. For instance, the current incarnation of Gmail Tasks lacks basic features like setting reminders, sharing tasks with others or setting task priorities. Tasks integration with Google Calendar that we would expect from Google is also non-existent at this time.

Users who looking for more comprehensive task management features should check applications such as the excellent Remember the Milk service that integrates with Gmail, iGoogle and Google Calendar and provides offline functionality through Gears as well.

Readers can write the comments to this post about their experience with Tasks in Gmail.

How start up and small business can save money using Google Apps

Most business these days use Microsoft's Office suite of software applications. MS Office (as it is popularly called) is almost as common as a PC in an office. But using office is also a very costly affair. A cost which can be avoided by start up and small business.

Using Google Apps can reduce your cost multi-fold. Here is a quick assessment on how much you can save in an small office with 10 persons:

MS Office
MS office: $400/licence (Cost $4000)
Hosted Email solution for 10 employees: $114/month (Annual Cost $1368)
Installation and maintenance: $600
Total: $5968

Google has offered something similar for over a year, and like OpenOffice (another free package), it's free. Just sign up for Google Docs, and you can create new spreadsheets, documents and presentations or upload those created by Office or OpenOffice, and export or download them in formats that are also supported by both.

Google Apps
Package cost: Free
Setup cost: $50
Training cost for 10 employees: $500
Ongoing Maintenance: Free

You save: $5968 - $550 = $5418

While not as full-featured as Office or OpenOffice, Google Docs offers much more flexibility. You can share documents with multiple people and even allow them to make changes so multiple people can collaborate. If you're out of town or on vacation, you can review and edit files saved online from any machine with an Internet connection and a web browser.

If you combine OpenOffice (another free open source application) and Google Docs, you'll be able to do anything you currently use Microsoft Office for and more (yes more) at zero cost. There may a training cost for training your staff familiar with Microsoft Office to make them aware of google Apps.

And to be on safe side you can keep one or two full version of Office available just in case you need. Microsoft will soon be releasing a version of Office that will run in an ordinary Web browser, called Office Web Applications. These will be available at a small cost compared to Office but not free.

So before you are writing your check in the name of Microsoft for hundreds of dollars to buy expensive Office licences, you should definitely check out the free alternatives available. And sice they are free - what you are going to lose?