Life without Google is almost unthinkable these days. In fact, Google is everywhere. With it you can not only search and chat but also indulge in lots of other interesting stuffs, that too without paying a penny. In a nutshell, Google is here to make your life easy and comfortable. As Google launches new product or service almost every next day, you can easily have a collection of Google apps that will help ease up your workload. Here we have handpicked some of the best Google apps that you should not miss out at any cost:

Google Desktop: – With Google Desktop, you can search your computer as you search on web. You can even make a text search over your email, chats, photos, music, files and other things that you have viewed. Google Desktop puts everything within your reach, which means you would not have to spend your valuable time managing emails, bookmarks, files etc.

Google Toolbar: – It is a must-have toolbar for your Firefox browser. With it, you can share any webpage with your friends. As Google Sidewiki is preinstalled in this toolbar, contributions can be made easily and directly. It is also good at translating web pages instantaneously and automatically.

Google Health: – Google Health is a smart tool to monitor, organize and act on your health information. With this tool, you can have easy access to your own health information, anytime and anywhere. You can keep all your health and wellness information in one place and the good thing about Google Health is that you would not have pay for it.

Google Calendar: – Do you feel embarrass when you miss an important event? If yes, you need to have this tool – Google calendar where you can add details of important events. Moreover, you can access your calendar on the fly. Text message can be sent directly to your cell phone with Google calendar and that means you will never have to miss another event.

Google Reader: – Most of us find it hard to manage our favorite blogs and websites. As the number of bookmark sites increase, you will realize that you need to do something to make them searchable. Here is something that can relieve you from this tiresome job. Google Reader is here to declutter your virtual life. With its built-in public page, you can share interesting items with your friends and of course, it is free.

Google Docs: – Google Docs is a viable alternative of Microsoft Word. But unlike MS Word, you can access it anywhere, anytime. All you need to have is a PC with internet connection and nothing else. With this magnificent online tool, you can make presentation, conduct surveys and manage documents effortlessly.

Google Trends: – It is another powerful tool to check out the current trends of virtual world. All you have to do is put the keywords and hit the “enter” button and you will get all the info that you need.

mod_pagespeed: A Tool With Unlimited Opportunities
Google’s fascination with speed is not showing any signs of ebbing down anytime soon. In fact, Google has gone an extra mile by coming up with a tool that can make your website load faster than ever. It is a part of Google’s noble initiative to enhance web experience by making it faster and safer and thus releases a new tool “mod_pagespeed” that has little to do with the complexities that are quite common when you are dealing with CSS, JavaScript, HTML and other related server issues.

What mod_pagespeed is?
“mod_pagespeed” is basically a module for the Apache HTTP Server that is developed to perform different page speed optimization processes automatically. Though this tool is still in the development stage, it is powerful enough to redress some common optimization issues such as payload size, client-server round trips, cache and some other aspects of web performance. It has been observed that mod_pagespeed is powerful enough to reduce page-loading time by 50% and if it can be employed properly, it can do better than this.

Here are some tasks that can augur well for your website but it is painful to do so manually:

• Extending cache lifetime of the images and logo of a website without affecting updation of these images at the same time.
• Re-compressing Images
• Making small tweaks in the pages that are developed in CMS

These are quite complex issues and sometime may appear nerve wracking but with Google mod_pagespeed, you will be able to ride past them. Google has already teamed up with Go Daddy and they are optimistic about making the web faster that goes in line with the guidelines of Google. In addition to that, Google is also working with Cotendo for the same purpose.

You can download this revolutionary app here .

Google is showing its benevolence by offering a web clinic for the US webmasters so that they can get some good advice regarding the visibility of their website from none other than the search engine giant. This is definitely an ambitious move of Google, who is clearing targeting webmasters to make their websites more user-friendly and search engine friendly. However, this offer is available exclusively for the non-profit organizations and Google as it seems is not interested in extending this facility to other websites.

Though Google Clinic is going to focus on the problems of non-profit organizations, government and business sites are likely to get benefited from it. Interested webmasters are invited to get registered and post information about their website. Google will then analyze those websites and will suggest how to improve the quality of the sites to improve its visibility. Analysis of the websites will be posted in the follow-up post.

Google has already outlined the guidelines for the participants that include:

• The website has to be associated with an officially registered non-profit organization.
• You need to verify the ownership of your website via Google Webmaster Tools. You can do it easily by signing into your Google Webmaster Tools account (https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/)
• Before you get registered to Google Clinic, you need to make sure that your website meets all the webmaster quality guidelines, as Google will analyze your website against those guidelines later on.

So, are you ready to get registered? If yes, just furnish some basic details about your website here and there you go.

Interestingly, Google has never mentioned the term SEO in the entire post though the entire effort is geared at making sites for SEO friendly. So, wait few more days to get some good advice from Google and hopefully, they will give us some good inputs on how we can make our website more search engine friendly.

Not an Yahoo moment for Yahoo as its millions of loyal fans are crying hoarse over its much speculated and much anticipated integration with Bing that is supposed to ring the death bell of a great search engine. This is pathetic reduction of a great search engine to an appendage of Bing. Yahoo which was once considered to be the arch rival of Google, has sold itself to Bing and it is no more a search engine. All its secrets that were developed painstakingly by some of the best developers of the world for years are in the hands of Bing, who is now revving up use this new arsenal to invade the territory of Google.

Yahoo Up For Sale
However, Yahoo is not going to acknowledge this fact. It still believes that it will be able to retain its position as a search engine in coming years. Shashi Seth, Senior Vice President, Yahoo! Search Products, in his latest post in YsearchBlog has proudly stated “Yahoo! Search will always be a Search Engine”. But the reality does not say so. It seems people are already shifting their attention from Yahoo search to Bing and we believe that Bing is relishing it.

Yahoo: The New Yes-man
The process of annihilation was started most probably on August 17, 2010 since in that day, Yahoo has posted three posts in its YSearchBlog for making people aware of the coming changes. As was to be expected, it tried its level best to convince the readers that this move is going to benefits the users by enhancing users experience but this is nothing more than just a façade. When the merger will be completed, we will like to have a new Yahoo, which will lack all its originality. It will just be a mere shadow of what it had once, it will be transformed into a yes-man of Bing.

Bing Is Better, Smarter
From now on, search listing on Yahoo! Search is likely to be powered by Bing. However, this change will come into effect in the US and Canada at the initial stage. It is likely to take 2 years more to complete the full transition in other parts of the world. Yahoo! Video, Image and Web search are now powered by Microsoft platform in Canadian and the US market.

Bing is visibly happy with the outcome. In its blog it has expressed its unbridled happiness for the successful completion of this task. Here are the excerpts:

Today I am happy to share that Bing is powering Yahoo!’s search results in the US and Canada (English only for now, the other languages will come in the weeks and months ahead).

What Should Webmasters Do?
Try to please Bing. This is all you can do since there is no need to please Yahoo anymore. If you can manage to get better ranking in Bing, we hope that you will be able to get better ranks in Yahoo as well. Try to keep a close eye on the latest developments and pray to God.

Has Google ultimately found its calling in shopping or is it becoming a shopalcoholic? This is probably the most debated question as of now, as Google has gulped down another popular website and this time it is none other than Like.com, which is one of the most favored destinations for a majority of online shoppers.

Google Loving it
You may like it or not but the fact is that Like.com has eventually been overtaken by Internet behemoth Google. Like.com, which was a having a good time with its loyal visitors, but as it seems, it could not resist the temptation of getting merged with Google. And as far as Google’s motif is concerned, what it is trying to do is to revive its long-forgotten product: Google Product search but this is just a wild guess since no one at Google is willing to spill the bean. There was no disclosure on financial term but the market is abuzz with the rumor that the takeover might cost Google a whopping $100 million. However, Google is keeping a mum on this issue.

Like.com will continue to operate separately as stated by Google and therefore, there is no reason to press the panic button yet if you are a regular visitor of Like.com. This website is specialized in a technology that is basically built on visual search. People used to visit this website for gathering information about latest fashion trend and for getting supercool shopping deals at a mind-blowing rate. Here, you can get almost anything for making a fashion statement that may range from handbags to hanky, from clothing to garments.

Like.Com Not A Loser:
Like.Com is not going to lose its identity as dictated by its owner in its home page. This deal in all its probability is like to supervise its vision and supercharge its passion and probably, it is going to create a fertile ground for Google so that it can develop new and revolutionary products. Like.com is visibly excited and ecstatic about this deal as evident from the remark of Riya chief executive Munjal Shah.

Doubts Creep In
But there are some serious doubts over this acquisition. Critics are not sure whether this deal would do any good to Google or not. Another disturbing fact is that for the last couple of months, Like.com was finding it difficult to increase its popularity and therefore, when Google approaches it, it agreed to its proposal.

However, this move is quite expected since Bing is turning the heat on Google in the search engine market by initiating the process of integrating its algo into Yahoo results.

As virtual platform is getting crammed with millions of websites and blogs all churning out thousands of web-pages and articles each day, it is becoming increasing tough for Google and other search engines to determine which website deserves to be on the top of a particular search query. However, there is no apparent reason to demystify the importance of link juice, content, website design and website relevancy as of now, but the importance of page speed as it is dictated by Google itself is sure to play a decisive role in determining the ranking of a website in Google.

In a latest announcement, Google made it clear that it is trying out incorporate the value of page speed in its algo. Though it will have minimal impacts on the current rankings in Google, it has already sent shockwaves around the world and sparked wild and widespread rumor. But there is no need to press the panic button yet, as this incorporation will not initiate any drastic change in the current ranking.

Page Speed depends on a website’s response to a user’s query. As Google always tries to deliver relevant results to its users to improve users’ experience, it is trying to take page speed into account while considering ranking of a website. Now, how on earth you will be able to evaluate the current page speed of your website. Here are some simple tools that you can try out:

Webmaster Tool: – Just log in to your Webmaster Tool Account, then go to Labs > Site Performance. It will show your site’s speed as experienced by the users.
WebPagetest:- It is another useful tool that allows website owners to analyze the load performance of their website.
Yslow:- It is superb tool from Yahoo that will give valuable inputs to enhance the page speed of your website.
Page Speed: It is fabulous open source Firefox/Firebug add-on with myriads of features that will definitely help you to make proper analysis.

At the initial stage, the impacts of page speed can only be felt in Google.com. Rankings in other country specific results such as Google.co.in or Google.com.au will remain unchanged for the time being. Do you want to more about page speed, just get in touch with us. We will definitely help you out in every possible way.

The long tussle between China and Google has ultimately snowballed into an unprecedented crisis. Google has finally announced that it is not interested to continue its operation in Mainland China, and has finally redirected Google.Cn to Google.Com.Hk, where users will be able to view uncensored version of Google search result.

Google is aware of the fact that Chinese Government may ban its people from accessing Google.Com.Uk anytime soon, but still it refuses to budge under any pressure. Google’s strong stance against the Chinese hegemony is clear indication of its unwillingness to kowtow to Chinese authority or to make a compromise with its core policy. Though both the parties have made it clear that this development will have no impact on Sino-USA relationship, but things may take an ugly turn if Chinese government takes any stern action against this leading search engine company in near future.

So far, Chinese Authorities have taken draconian actions against Google by censoring its search result. So, Google did not have any other alternative to hit back to it by discontinuing its web search in China.

Has the time come to bid adieu to our old friend Facebook or our new found love for twitting? Still wondering why? Simple, Google is once again in the headline with the launch of Google Buzz, which is all set to give Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites a run for their money. Well we are neither devoted worshippers of Google, as you are taking it to be, nor are we adamant to sort out the flaws in its newly launched social networking sites forcefully. What we are trying to do is to conduct a reality check here in this article.

Is it something groundbreaking, is something awe-inspiring or is it the repetition of another failure project of Google. Well, Time has the answer but for the time being, we will try to decipher what is missing out there in Google Buzz or what is most amazing about it.

Buzz is Here to Stay: This is the probably the most encouraging five words that you can use to predict the future of Google Buzz. Buzz may or may not be touted as a brilliant example of Google’s marketing blitzkrieg in future, but one thing is dead certain that you cannot overlook it completely. The massive marketing campaign initiated by Google is sure to tempt you to get into it sooner or later. Here lies the success of Google Buzz.

Is It Full Baked? : Most of us tired of using Google’s beta service which makes us believe that Google’s love for beta will never end but thankfully it seems that Google has ultimately managed to shed its infatuation for the beta tag. Google Buzz is a complete package; a fully backed product with delightful features. We have logged in our Google Buzz accounts (to be precise Gmail accounts) and it seems that everything is working perfectly and smoothly.

Following Footsteps of Twitter: Sound too harsh. Just give us some time to explain it. Just ask yourself what is new about Google Buzz? You will scratch your head until you reach the conclusion that there is nothing new or innovative about Google Buzz save its Gmail like interface. But this is not something unique, is it? It is more or less similar to that of Twitter and the only difference is that there is no word limit, but this is hardly anything novel.

Fuss or Buzz: Does Google Buzz really worth the buzz that is keep humming even after realizing the fact that there is nothing interesting about it? You cannot call it micro blogging site, because there is no word limit and what’s more, you cannot call it blog simply because Google does not reckon it to be. Then what the heck is all about it?

Not In My Inbox Again: You are bound to shriek with terror when you will see that the thread that will create in your Google Buzz account is getting stored in your inbox. Weird concept. Now why on earth we need them in our inboxes when most of us are struggling to keep our inboxes clean? We have not found solve this mystery. If anyone of you knows the reason please let us know about it. We will be glad to know it.

Now, the dust has finally started to settle down. Users are giving their feedbacks. But it will take some more days to decipher whether Google Buzz will survive in already crammed networking world or not. Let’s hope for the best.

The war of words has just taken a whole new dimension; as both Google and China are crossing their swords over a controversial issue that can trigger untimely exist of Google from China’s emerging Internet market. The issue came into light when officials at Google confirmed that an attack of an unprecedented level was plotted against it corporate infrastructure located at China to unearth information on some Chinese human right activists. Though cyber attack on Google is anything but new, the magnitude and the purpose of this recent attack, (as Google presents it) originated from China, is something to be noted carefully.

Google has taken a tough stance on this issue and has officially announced that it will no longer abide by the guidelines set the Chinese government that go against its core values and policy. It even went on further by stating that it is ready to withdraw its service from China altogether if Chinese government refuses to budge. This move, if taken at all, can dent China’s global image but on the other hand, Google will have to bid adieu to an emerging market consists of 300 millions users. Can Google bear with this huge lose? Will it take back the gauntlet that it has thrown down to China? Will Google be able to crumble the Great Wall of China? These are some of the questions that have kept the world guessing.

The long drama has finally ended and the climax has become evident at last. It takes more than four long months to seal an agreement between two former belligerent parties, Yahoo and Microsoft, to tie a knot of mutual understanding for ensuring better future and to give a tough competition to their main rival – the Big G. Rumor is abuzz that the hegemony of Google has come to end. Even some over enthusiastic people are crying in joy that this deal has put the first nail on the dominance of Google in search engine industry but what I think is just the opposite. The pack, which I believe has done in a hurry without caring a fig of its future implication, vindicates the sheer hapless condition of both Microsoft and Yahoo, who hitherto have become weary of building up futile resistance against the ubiquitous presence of Google.

The ground truth is that Microsoft has experienced an unbelievable setback even after launching its so-called decision search engine: The Bing, which failed miserably. On the other hand, Yahoo has virtually become invisible during this period when Google and Bing were engaged in blood curdling online battle. Ultimately Bing was humiliated in the hands of Google and Microsoft has got the worst shock when Google announced that it would offer Chrome based OS in coming year. Therefore, it is clear that this deal is just a continuation of this series of incidents. Now, lets us check out what the deal is all about:

In simple English, this revolutionary deal is aimed at improving the web search experience altogether for both the advertisers and the users. Yahoo Search will now be powered by Microsoft and Yahoo will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both Microsoft and Yahoo. Report has it that this deal will pave the way for new innovation and better web experience, as the developers of both Microsoft and Yahoo will work in collaboration. Users will be able to exploit the power and the strength of both search engines. Check out more form here.