Two weeks have past, since I attended the Writer’s Digest Conference and emerged myself into the world of the Web and Internet. Before the conference, my computer experience consisted of typing my stories in Microsoft word, searching Goggle, typing a couple of characters on Twitter and posting photos and messages to my family and friends on Facebook. Then like Neo in the Matrix movie, because I wanted to know more about the subtle energies of the world, I swallowed the red pill and emerged into a world of feeds, pingbacks, plug-ins and Html.  It didn’t stop there. I had to figure how to use Google Desktop, manage iphone apps,  record podcasts and plan a virtual book tour for my books.

Afriend asked me, “Why do you need to know all of those things for marketing?” My answer was simple. ” Social media is more than about marketing; it’s revolutionizing the way we interact in the world. Whether we like it or not the world is going digital. And this baby boomer doesn’t plan to be left behind.”  My next step into the world of social media was to determine my brand.  For me this was a real struggle, because I ‘m a writer, numerologist and spiritual advisor. I had to narrow it down.

At the Social Media Session of the recent October Capital Bookfest in Largo, Maryland, sponsored by Kwame Alexander, Donna Hill, an author and one of the presenters said, “Your brand is that idea that is always with you no matter what kind of books you write or what you do.” She had no more uttered the words, when this thought flowed through my consciousness– everything you write, say, and do is about spiritual truth and inspiring others.  Yeah, I wanted to jump up and shout out–”I know my brand.”  But I sat there quietly as million of thoughts ran through my mind. But don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll soon find out what they are.

Google… Microsoft’un son yıllardaki en büyük baş belası. Microsoft’a rakip ofis programları, görüntü düzenleyicileri ve hatta son zamanlarda kulağımıza çalındığınca bir işletim sistemi! Hemen hemen bütün bilişim uzantılarında rakip bu iki firma… Ama MS’in Google’a rakip olamayacağı tek şey varsa o da şu an sözü geçen program; Google Desktop!

Programın ilk sürümlerini kullananlar bilir; Yavaş çalışan, yaklaşık 2 Gb indeks yeri işgal eden biraz da hantal bir programdı… Geçenlerde son sürümünü indirdim ve gerçekten inanamadım. Zaman zaman 24 saate dahi çıkan indeks süresini 1-2 saate indirmiş, hızlı, sorunsuz ve muhteşem bir offline arama motoru olmuş Google Desktop… Hani eskiden format atınca ilk Winamp kurardık ya, artık Google Desktop benim elzem programlarımdan biri… 2 yıl önceki sohbet günlüklerinde geçen sözcükleri bile tarattığınızda dosyaları karşınıza çıkarıyor. Varın siz düşünün…

Kesinlikle denemenizi tavsiye ederim.

http://desktop.google.com/index.html

Google Desktop now works with 64bit Windows 7. Why wasn’t I told about this?

I just couldn’t find any other way to search through all the old emails at work. I was running a copy of Windows XP just to keep all my archived emails. And it was getting messy.

Google Desktop apparently likes to install its toolbar in Microsoft Outlook!

One desktop application that, as soon as I started to use it, became an essential part of my system set up as a web designer is Google Desktop.

Google Desktop is a small application that runs on system start up. You add ‘gadgets’ to your desktop which range from the fun and wacky to the more useful production apps.

Google Desktop

These gadgets sit neatly and calmly at the side of your screen and you can dip in and out through out the day. And of course being Google and web based you can log in to any machine with your account details and retrieve your desktop wherever you are.

Here are the top gadgets currently occupying my desktop.

Google Calendar
See all you appointments, deadlines and holidays at glance in the corner of your screen.

Google Docs
All your Google Docs listed and simple click to open them.

Scratch Pad
Notes, phone numbers, flashes of inspiration – get them down quick before you forget them.

Twitter
The most un-intrusive Twitter client I have seen – quietly updates through out the day allowing you to scan the latest happenings.

Desktop search has become an important component of our everyday work. With the amount of information explosion, it is only natural that users and enterprises move towards enabling desktop (and enterprise) search for users – subject of course to appropriate security and access controls. BI vendors have moved into this new business space that has opened up and seems to be one of the most promising. While Business Objects had announced support for the Google Search appliance and Google Desktop back in 2006, their most important announcement lately has been the launch of the Business Objects Explorer (formerly known as Polestar) product. More about that in a later post…

Google Desktop Search is one of the most widely used desktop search appliances.  One would expect it to have an intelligent installer as well. Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow you to either choose the installation directory or the location for the search index. It installs in your system drive without providing any means to modify it from the Options setting. This can be quite annoying and frustrating if your system drive is not set up with a huge amount of space, as the Google Desktop search index will expand soon and hog a lot of space (up to 2 GB) on the system drive. I will show a tip here on how you can get around this issue by modifying the location of the Google Desktop search index to change it from the default system drive and without having to rebuild the index.

1. Right click and exit Google Desktop.

2. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\<username>Local Settings\Application Data\Google\<google desktop search>

Note: If you’re unable to see “Local Settings” – (it’s a hidden folder) – change your folder options from Tools – View – Show hidden files and folders.

3. Move the <google desktop search> folder to a different drive, e.g. D:\ Google Desktop\<google desktop search>

4. Open the Windows registry editor from Start – Run – typing regedit – Hit Enter.

5. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Desktop.

6. Select the “data_dir” key in right pane, double-click to change its value to the new location of the <google desktop search index>

7. Exit the registry editor.

8. Restart Google Desktop Search.

Desde que nasci meu forte nunca foi organização. Meu quarto era uma bagunça. Meu guarda-roupa támbém. Tudo era bagunça. Pois então cresci, virei geek e então blogueiro. Mesmo depois dessas mudanças continuei o mesmo. Hoje no meu PC nada está em lugar algum e tudo está em todos os lugares. Nada de nomes que identifique o conteúdo do arquivo. Nada de pastinhas com fotos dos natais com a vovó. Nada de pasta escondida para a pornografia. Tudo sempre está espalhado.

Foi então que encontrei o Jesus Google Desktop. Ele é exatamente o que você imaginou ser e mais um pouco.

Este é meu filho Google Desktop

Basicamente o que ele faz é trazer a engine do Google.com para o seu desktop. Desse modo você podera procurar aquela foto esquecida, que está salva numa pastinha no mais remoto diretório. Para isso é necessário saber o nome ou extensão.

Para quem tem muitos programas, que não tem atalhos no desktop, ele ajuda muito também. Afinal é um saco ir no menu iniciar e procurar na lista enorme de programas o programa desejado. Além disso caso você queira se comunicar com Deus Google basta aperta ctrl duas vezes e fazer sua pesquisa. Chega de abrir navegador para ir ao Google.

Para quem gostou do Vista, não quer o Win7 e não abre mão do XP piratex(ou não) ele oferece uma barra lateral com widgets do tipo: Post-it like, relógio digital, consumo de recursos do PC, campo de busca para o Google entre outros como um widget para o twitter.

Usando a Barra do lado direito...

...ou do lado esquerdo.

O que pode chatear é a indexação assim que você o instala. Esse processo demora algumas horas, ou dias, depende do tamanho de seus dados. O único motivo para usar o Google Desktop e não o sistema de busca do windows é o fato de o Google ser mais rápido, fácil e eficiente.

Só usando para perceber o quanto você depende dele. Vale a pena dar uma conferida. Faça o download aqui. Sua vida com o Google dentro do seu PC nunca será a mesma.

¿Alguna vez has sentido curiosidad de ver el escritorio de los demás, cómo trabajan, y que programas utilizan?

Aquí tenéis las capturas de mi equipo corriendo bajo Windows (ya que veo que es el SO que mas utilizáis), pero “customizado” para suplir las carencias en cuanto a Gadgets / Widgets, y con algunos detalles que utilizo en Ubuntu, y que ha heredado la partición de Windows.

Difícil de distinguir eh

Anatomía de mi escritorio
Los Widgets ó Gadgets son pequeñas aplicaciones que se ejecutan en segundo plano y nos permiten tener a mano información útil de manera muy rápida. En Mac OSX lo llevan usando desde hace tiempo ya que viene integrado con el sistema, sin embargo en Windows no se implemento hasta la salida de Vista.

Personalmente me parecen más útiles los gadgets de Google Desktop, que además puedes instalarlos también en Windows XP. Pulsa Shift dos veces para mostrar los gadgets, o pulsa control dos veces para abrir un buscador rápido de Google.

Seguro que no habrá pasado desapercibido el dock inferior que reemplaza la barra de tareas. Podemos añadir las aplicaciones que utilizamos con mas frecuencia, una marca nos indicara cuales se están ejecutando, y al minimizar una ventana también aparecerá aquí.

El programa que hace esta función se llama Rocket dock y cuenta con numerosos plugins y themas para personalizarlo a nuestro gusto. Desde un reloj, información del sistema, hasta botones avanzados para desconectar memoria extraíbles, o apagar el equipo. ¡Adios barra de tareas!

Si, seguro que no vuelves a utilizarla si además incluyes un lanzador de aplicaciones, archivos, y paginas Web como Launchy. Su funcionamiento es muy sencillo, pulsas ALT + barra espaciadora, y escribes el archivo, programa o pagina Web que quieres abrir. También funciona como calculadora. Puedes indexar hasta discos extraíbles. Imprescindible.

Otra aplicación interesante es Twirl, un cliente de Twitter escrito en Air, que te permite tenerla por encima de todas las ventanas con una interfaz transparente que podemos configurar.

Para terminar, una breve mención al fondo de escritorio: el zorrito de Firefox, prueba de la masificación que esta teniendo el software de código abierto. Lo usamos todos, en Mac OSX, en Linux, en Windows… Este fondo me encanta:

Animo a todos a que hagáis una captura de vuestro escritorio, con vuestros programas, y fondos de escritorio. Da igual el sistema operativo que utilicéis. Próximamente os dejare una captura, de mí también personalizado Ubuntu.

Enlaces de interes:
Google Desktop
Rocket dock
Iconfactory
Launchy
Fondo Firefox

Què és?

Google Desktop es una aplicació que s’incorpora a la nostra interfície (similar a “Vista Sidebar”).

Per a que serveix?

Google Desktop serveix per a poder visualitzar de forma ràpida i permanent a la nostra pantalla les aplicacions que nosaltres escollim dins de les que GoogleDesktop ens ofereix, que aquestes poden ser, el rendiment del nostre ordinador, RSS’s, la hora, minijocs, tasques, el nostre correu electrònic, etc.

També ens ofereix la possibilitat de fer una recerca pels arxius del nostre ordinador, amb uns resultats similars a la recerca amb Google.

Per a que el podem fer servir?

En el nostre cas, GoogleDesktop el podem utilitzar per a veure les RSS’s del nostre interes, obrir un full de tasques, mantenir alerta el nostre correu electrònic i altres utilitats.

*Fent clic sobre la imatge anirem a la pàgina de descàrrega de Google Desktop.

Twitter is virtually everywhere when you can tweet whenever and wherever you are, no matter what you might be doing — and it is now now even more enhanced with Google Quick Search Box. Google Quick Search is the latest update by Google to its desktop suite, Google Desktop, which allows you to search for “applications and local files on your computer, to web search and navigational suggestions, to items from your browser history and contacts But the great thing is the ability to tweet while you are using Google Quick Search Box using a Twitter plug-in Not you can google while you tweet — literally. Other than than, Google might just consider searching tweets from Twitter as their next great feature.

La hegemonía de Google sobre el resto de los buscadores ha hecho que cada vez más, este buscador y muchos de sus servicios sean imprescindibles en nuestro día a día. Y que nadie se engañe…lo que inicialmente nos ofrecía Google nada tiene que ver con la cantidad de productos, aplicaciones o add-ons que consumimos. Casi me atrevería a decir que el buscador ya es lo de menos…pero he dicho casi.

Pues bien, después de meterse en nuestras vidas de esta manera ahora toca preguntarse: ¿Qué sabe realmente Google de nosotros?

¿Cuánta información ha llegado a recabar de nuestros hábitos, caprichos, y preferencias? Ya os lo digo yo; “CASI NADA”…y si no veamos:

 * Conoce todo lo que miramos y los sitios/URLs que monitoreamos

* De algún modo podemos decir que podría saber qué almacenamos dentro de nuestro ordenador

* Nos ayuda a encontrar todo aquello que buscamos y por lo tanto sabe qué queremos encontrar…

* Tiene información de dónde vivimos, de nuestros lugares preferidos e incluso de nuestros viajes o destinos pendientes o realizados… 

* Puede saber en qué gastamos nuestro dinero y dónde nos gusta comprar. 

* Administra nuestra agenda y sabe en qué ocupamos nuestro tiempo

* Administra y controla nuestros trabajos y/o documentos. Y sabe cuales son las noticias o temas que más despiertan nuestro interés e incluso los libros que nos interesan.

* Sabe con quién nos escribimos y de qué le hablamos.

* Y por último, sabe cuáles son nuestras inquietudes, quiénes y cómo son nuestros amigos, e incluso qué videos almacenamos o consultamos! (BLOGGER + GOOGLE PAGE CREATOR + ORKUT + PICASA ALBUMS + YOUTUBE…)

¿Acaso vuestra madre o pareja sabe tanto de vosotros…? Seguro que no… Aún así, a mi de momento no me preocupa en exceso…Quizás soy un inconsciente pero por el momento me aporta más ventajas que inconvenientes…y a ti?

Yahoo Widgets e Google Desktop ajudam a dar cara nova ao seu desktop.

A área de trabalho de seu Windows é uma das coisas que você mais vê em seu computador, não? O problema é que uma imagem estática como fotos de filhos, de carros incríveis ou paisagens exuberantes pode ser monótono demais e alguns programinhas pequenos e interessantes vão dar uma cara nova ao seu micro, além de ajudá-lo a organizar suas coisas. Fique ligado!

If you don’t know Google Desktop, allow me to introduce you. You know that email from that graphic design firm, Creative…something? The one that you received so long ago it’s buried somewhere in a folder that, despite your organizational prowess, might as well be in Tahiti because you’ll never find it, let alone by 3:00? Well guess what. Google Desktop can find it for you. Before 3:00.

If it sounds good, I’m happy to arrange a setup. If you still need to do a little checking up on it before you commit to anything, here’s its online profile. And if it turns out I’m not a good matchmaker, breaking up isn’t hard to do. You just uninstall it. Although, you might have to use another search engine for a while, just to avoid the awkwardness.

(image from wikipedia.com)

PC Specs

• XP, SP2
• Pentium D 2.66Ghz
• 960MB ram

Mac specs

• OS X 10.5.6
• 1.5 Ghz PPC G4
• 512MB ram

The PC had trouble running the following (at once): excel, chrome, tweetdeck, yahoo messenger, itunes and… something else… maybe internet explorer. Oh, and some shitty freeware PDF viewer that lets you do mark-up.

The Mac is currently running: Mailplane, ecto, tweetie, yahoo messenger, Drive Genius, Mail, Time Machine, Growl, iStat.

Guess which one works better? Yeah, the much slower (by the numbers above) Mac. I’d love to install Intel Leopard on the PC but I a) don’t know how and b) probably shouldn’t futz with a work computer so definitively.

Oh, I also tend to have Yojimbo, Excel, Word and Taskpaper open on the Mac without problems.

iTunes is a different story. Since I use SimplifyMedia to play the home library and because that’s another app that’d be running and using up resources, I just have my iPhone plugged into speakers and run SimplifyMedia off it. I can’t search and can’t repeat playlists, but it’s a small price.

So what can’t the Mac do?

Well, most online video apparently. The PC–I think–can. The G4 PPCs always sucked for mpeg-4 and now that youtube’s gone over to it… well, it’s a good thing I’ve got the iPhone around in a pinch. If I just desperately need to watch youtube, because it comes up so often. Though I suppose if someone were to send me a link to a Coldplay music video… like Fix Me… I’d want to watch that.

I can’t play any games on the Mac. I mean, I suppose I could if I wanted to dig up a bunch of three or four year old games. But since I’ve had the iPod touch/iPhone, I haven’t given a shit about computer games to kill the time. iPhone games are much better for the short five minute diversions.

Well crap, Port Map doesn’t work with whatever shitty router they’ve got here. Because it’s ancient, I’m sure (or because I’m connected straight to the DSL modem via wireless). Doesn’t really matter. Don’t need a lot of home access to the work computer. I could set up logmein.

I just realized I could set up Bento to make emergency forms. That’d be kind of neat I suppose. Seems like a lot of work.

So what’s the benefit to the Mac at work? Well, Mailplane’s superior. So’s Yojimbo (Yojimbo actually makes my job–that actual job I rarely do–much easier and faster). Tweetie’s kind of better than tweetdeck. Kind of. There’s a lot I don’t like about Tweetie, but it’s the best native Mac twitter client I’ve used.

Spotlight’s another big deal. I have Google Desktop on the PC but it’s freaking useless; running Leopard, which has a much more intensive Spotlight than Tiger did (and therefore shouldn’t run well on this shitty PPC), I’m able to pull up whatever I want. When I need it.

I’ve never really had a real use for Spotlight. At home, I use it to delete old files I haven’t opened or some shit. But here, at work… in a few days, it’s totally changed the way I do my job.

Of course, I do still have 56 to do items in my email. But I’m slacking on those because I’m lazy and I was lazy on the PC too.

Textexpander. I’ve got textexpander running too.

Unul din lucrurile de care mulţi utilizatori de Windows se plâng este aspectul oarecum tern. Cei de la Microsoft ştiu evident asta, aşa că au introdus în Windows Vista şi Windows 7 o interfaţă grafică mai atractivă. Dar chiar şi cu Windows XP există câteva posibilităţi de înfrumuseţare, şi nu mă refer la simple cosmetizări, ci la un aspect mai inteligent, care îţi oferă din prima informaţii utile. Yahoo are un program care se numeşte Yahoo Widgets. Odată instalat, el dă utilizatorului posibilitatea de a alege din mii de miniaplicaţii pe care le aşează pe ecran. Ele pot arăta vremea, ultimele ştiri sau textul melodiilor care sunt redate de playere. Cei mai interesaţi de ce se petrece pe propriul computer pot vedea în timp real informaţii despre temperatura procesorului, gradul de ocupare a harddiskurilor, cantitatea de memorie de lucru folosită şamd. Cam acelaşi lucru îl oferă şi Google, dar numai dacă utilizatorul îşi instalează un program numit Google Desktop. Nu intru în amănunte, din punct de vedere grafic face cam ceea ce face şi Yahoo Widgets. Pentru cine îşi doreşte o interfaţă asemănătoare cu cea a unui Apple, există posibilitatea instalării unui program care se numeşte Object Dock. E practic o bară animată de scurtături către un număr perfect configurabil de programe sau dosare şi fişiere de pe computer, imitând aspectul barei similare din sistemul de operare Mac de la Apple. Programul e evident gratuit, altfel nu i-aş face reclamă.