“Dark theme all the things,” I always say, and so it seems that someone at Google has stolen the phrase I totally didn’t coin by myself. In addition to Google News, Chrome OS, and even a brief stint of Google Search featuring a dark theme, your ‘My Activity‘ page is now much easier to look […]
Continue ReadingNew & Upcoming Features
Google to show vaccination locations in Maps and Search, and optimize deliveries using AI
To build on its efforts to arm users with the information needed to keep their families safe during the pandemic, Google is now looking to list COVID-19 vaccination sites on Search and Maps. From its COVID data layer to listing health and safety precautions that businesses are taking against the spread of the virus, and […]
Continue ReadingYoutube web app gains PWA install prompt – may be hinting at offline support
Hot off the heels of the Google Calendar web app gaining offline support for Workspace users, the Youtube web app is now showing the PWA install prompt in the Chrome Omnibox for some. It’s important to note that some users have stated that they’ve seen this for a while now, but a mass rollout is […]
Continue ReadingDrive File Stream becomes ‘Google Drive for Desktop’ in the name of simplicity
Previously “Google Drive Backup and Sync”, Google’s ‘Dropbox’ style solution for allowing you to synchronize your files to your computer via a local folder recently received a major update. Instead of having to download all of your Drive files to your local machine in order to edit them, thus taking up your hard drive space, […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Sheets adds quick cell and range navigation with new ‘name box’ feature
One of the most frustrating things for new Chromebook owners who are accustomed to Microsoft Excel on Windows is coming to Google Sheets as an alternative, and missing out on a few features that its competition did well. One of the things that I heard a lot in stores was that customers wanted a way […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Calendar gains offline mode for Workspace, further hinting at PWA support
A major benefit of running the Google Calendar Play Store app on your Chromebook is that you have the ability to view events without an internet connection. It can make all the difference should your wireless drop off or if you’re traveling. With the rise of Progressive Web Apps, more and more websites are beginning […]
Continue ReadingBeeper is coming to bring iMessage and 14 other chat apps to non-Apple devices
Yes, you are reading that title correctly. The founder of Pebble (remember those pre-Apple Watch smart wearables?) has come out to the public with his new project and it is an enticing premise for sure. We’ve seen attempts at something like this in the past and it has never quite worked out, but no previous […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Play Books adds a fun, new reading mode for children following the shut down of the Rivet app
While opening the Google Play Books app on my Lenovo Chromebook Duet last night so that I could read a story to my son, I noticed something peculiar. Instead of being met with the standard reading experience, I was instead looking at a redesigned, chunky, kid-friendly interface. This new reading experience was not present the […]
Continue ReadingChrome 88 introduces the controversial Manifest v3 which seeks to fix the ‘extensions problem’
I’ve been covering Chrome extensions and their many mishaps for quite a while here now. Each time something crazy happens with a developer stealing user data and such, like the 15 cases of this last month, the four last week that Facebook busted, and even the popular tab suspension tool gone rogue, there’s been talk […]
Continue ReadingThe upcoming Chrome OS diagnostic tool will be baked into the settings menu
Late last summer, Chrome OS developers began work on a new Diagnostic app that will eventually give users access to a suite of tests for their devices. Based on how the features have evolved, I’d say that the Diagnostic app will be utilized as a tool for self-diagnosing system and hardware issues as well as […]
Continue ReadingChrome 88 is rolling out now with a heavy focus on security, web app features, and more
Chrome 87 dropped back in November, and with it, a load of improvements to the browser’s speed and battery. In fact, it featured the largest jump in performance that we’ve seen in Chrome for years! Now, Chrome 88 is rolling out and has shifted gears to focus heavily on security features, though it takes on […]
Continue ReadingFor better or worse, Gmail on the web will now let you resize your chat and rooms section
Love it or hate it, Google Chat exists in the left-hand sidebar of the Gmail interface. Regardless of how that makes you feel, there is one thing that I’m sure we can all agree on – it’s notoriously difficult to resize. Most of us will primarily resize the chatbox to minimize it so we can […]
Continue ReadingFind out which apps are rising or falling in popularity on your Chromebook using these new icons
The Google Play Store has plenty of means for finding interesting new content to install and consume. Not only is there a Top Charts section, but for Chromebook owners, there’s even a Premium category to show you which games work well on your device. There are also several filters across the store which will help […]
Continue ReadingFamily Sticky Notes, Sunrise Alarms, and the Weather Frog all leap on to Nest Hubs
As a part of a large server-side update, Google is bringing several new features to Nest Hubs and third-party smart displays. While some of these have been available to several users, they have yet to be rolled out to everyone. You should begin to see them shortly, so keep an eye out. These changes were […]
Continue ReadingNew Chromebook screen capture to get deeper settings and microphone toggle
There are a few upcoming features that we’re very excited for in the coming releases of Chrome OS in the Stable Channel. Things like dark/light theme, holding space, reading list, and the updated screen capture are on on the list of our most-anticipated new features that we expect to hit in either Chrome OS 88 […]
Continue Reading