The Bing Wallpaper for Google Homepage allows you to have the same beautiful images that Bing features daily. Not only that, but the settings can be modified to display other images, as well.

The Bing image of the day comes in low resolution, so it isn’t exactly the best option. But one can also set the extension to display Bing’s Dynamic Themes. These offer much better eye candy, with higher resolution images. One can also use images from Picasa using its featured image of the day, as well as the RSS Picasa link option. Here is how to do it:

After using it for some time, I have been very pleased with the extension’s performance. When the Google homepage is accessed, the “Google” letters turn white, and the image appears in the background. It really makes Google look much more beautiful.

Not everything is perfect, though. For one, the extension doesn’t seem to work when you manually type the URL in. This must be due to the fact that Chrome uses your cookies and history to display websites, though. The action comes to life if one simply refreshes Google afterwards, or if it accessed through a bookmark link. Basically, issues are only present when the URL is manually typed.

Also, high definition images can take a bit of time to load, and one can usually notice the changes as they are happening. Furthermore, some important writing tends to disappear, or blend in, depending on the image (email, About Google, Terms, etc.). These discrepancies make the Google Homepage experience a bit less fluid, as well as unnatural. But as they say: beauty comes with a price.

If you are a photography fan, or simply an admirer of beauty, you will definitely enjoy this extension. You can download it straight from the Chrome Web Store, so have at it.

Chrome Web Store: Bing Wallpaper for Google Homepage

This feature has been available in beta, and we have to say it is a life-saver. When one is signed in to Chrome, all devices’ Chrome browsers will stay synced. By simply clicking the “Other Devices” button on the bottom-right corner of a new tab, one can see all the opened tabs from other devices and easily access them.

I recently wrote about the convenience of syncing your game progress among all devices and platforms. This feature is the perfect example of such experience. Not only does Chrome sync tabs, but it also keeps all your apps, bookmarks, extensions, settings and other features uniform. No matter what computer or Chrome-enabled mobile device you use, your browser will be just the way you left it last time it was used.

This stable version will be rolled out in the coming days, but we will have to wait a bit more for the tab sync feature. According to Google, this one will be hitting our browsers “over the coming weeks.” I will surely be waiting for it. Will you?

[Source: Google Chrome Blog]

The app places a shortcut button in your extensions bar. Upon clicking the icon, one is presented with a list of Google services shortcuts. This list can be customized to include any service of your preference. And the available options are not scarce.

There are shortcuts available for any Google product you can think of, and even pages within those services. For example, one can have a shortcut that will direct you straight to your Google+ circles, or to the Movies section of the Google Play Store.

I have been using it for a few days, and it has been one of the most convenient tools I have found in a long time. One can even customize the link URLs and names, so the sky is the limit. This one is definitely a Chrome Spot-recommended app, so make sure to hit the link below and check it out.

Chrome Web Store: Shortcuts for Google

Game progress is saved locally in most cases. And even if it is possible to retrieve the save file, it can be a confusing (or unworthy) process for many users. Especially when one is formatting devices often, or purchasing new ones every few months (which is now very common). Some users also have multiple devices, sometimes with different operating systems. I fall under all mentioned categories, and honestly, I would rather not go through the trouble of downloading and transferring all the data.

This is what the cloud is for, and developers could take great advantage of it. For example, I already went through all the Angry Birds levels a long time ago. I haven’t played the game since then, mostly because I also lost my progress… a long time ago. It would be much more enticing to re-download games to new devices if one knew that all those levels don’t have to be played all over, again.

I have just started using the Chrome App for Dark Legends. Sure, it may look like a simple port from the mobile version. It also needs controller support and more PC-friendly settings, but there is one thing where it beats most of the competition. It is the perfect example of what the future of gaming could be. Not only can I play this game on my Chrome Browser, but I can also enjoy it with any Android or iOS device. And the best part? The multi-platform game is synchronized among all devices and operating systems.

No matter what device I use, I start where I left off last time I played. And regardless of how long I don’t play it, I know I can come right back to it. Even if it is multiple months or phones later.

This MMORPG is played completely online, but the features it offers don’t necessarily require that. Multi-platform game progress saving could be more than possible if developers allowed us to have the records in their servers. If that would be too much of a load for them, another option would be to make the app compatible with services like Google Drive or Dropbox. We could simply save the files in our own cloud storage.

It is a small feature that would make a huge difference. But it seems not many developers are taking this route. I won’t stop playing all those games, as I surely enjoy them. In the long run, though, I am sure developers like Spacetime Studios (Star Legends, Pocket Legends and Dark Legends developer) will keep me around for much longer. What about you?

Dark Legends Chrome App

Pocket Legends Chrome App

Star Legends Chrome App

Two of the best options for fixing this issue are G+ Whitespace Fix and Whitespace Remover for Google Plus. While both of these serve the same purpose, they fix the white space problem in different ways. Let’s dive in and take a look at them.

G+ Whitespace Fix

This plugin allows users to get rid of the white space by stretching the Stream content area. This means that posts will look wider and shorter, as words will have more sideways space and content will spread horizontally.

Normal

G+ Whitespace Fix

Whitespace Remover for Google Plus

While the G+ Whitespace Fix plugin stretches content, this plugin gets rid of white space by placing it differently. The extension centers the content to make it look closer together, making it more of a mirage. The empty space would still be there, the only difference is that the UI looks much more organized.

Normal

Whitespace Remover for Google Plus

Conclusion

As mentioned, both Chrome extensions serve their purpose. There is a difference in their nature, though. Determining which one is best is strictly subjective. I happen to prefer Whitespace Remover for Google Plus due to the fact that it seems much less crowded. It also seems to work much more seamlessly.

G+ Whitespace Fix has some issues when the Google+ page is first loaded. One can see the changes happening, giving it a bit of a “glitchy” feeling. Also, videos and other media content look a bit weird. For example, youtube videos stretch along with the post box, giving the video’s preview image a bit of an unnatural look (black areas on both sides).

Once again, it is all a matter of preference. But I prefer a cleaner look and experience. Witespace Remover for Google Plus has been working great, and it looks much more polished. But tell us what you think. Do you have a preference for either of these plugins? Is there a better one out there?

Chrome Web Store Links:

G+ Whitespace Fix
Whitespace Remover for Google Plus

After many requests, desperate cries and prayers, Google finally decided to release Chrome for Android. Users have been loving the Search Giant’s browser on their mobile devices since then. The product is still in beta, though, and recent reports are stating that the testing period will be over soon.

Senior VP of Chrome and Apps Sunday Pichai stated that Chrome for Android should be ready “in a matter of weeks.” This was soon after the beta 2 release of the app, which allows users to view sites in desktop mode and add bookmarks to their home screens.

“Mainly right now, I’m driven by bug quality and stability. We are triaging, tracking, and trying to make it very stable. It is in a matter of weeks.” – Sunday Pichai

The stable version should be ready well before Google I/O, so we might hear some even better news by then. Chrome for Android currently has a very small reach, as it is only available for Android 4.0+ users. The latest distribution chart shows that less than 5% of Android users have the latest software version.

It is still unknown if said exclusivity will continue after the beta moniker is thrown away, but it would be nice to see it being available for more versions of Android. Maybe even more mobile operating systems (we do know the Windows 8 version is in the works). Do you think we might see Chrome coming to more mobile device in the near future?

Chrome for Android Beta (Google Play Store)

[Source: CNET Via: Phandroid]

One of the biggest flaws of the Chrome OS is that files are very hard to manage on the devices as the built-in file manager leaves a lot to be desired. Sundar Pichai, the Vice President of Chrome has today confirmed that Google will be integrating Google Drive into the latest version of Chrome OS, thereby hoping to alleviate this problem.

“We’ll…effectively integrate [Google] Drive into the native file system of Chrome OS, all the core OS functionality will use [Google] Drive as a place to store data — if that’s what you opt in to.”

Of course, this marries you to Google Drive as your main cloud service instead of any other option such as Dropbox or SkyDrive, but we figure if you’re already using a Google product, you won’t mind too much.

[via PandoDaily]

Google Drive has been announced and people are wondering if it’s the best option for them. If you’re into photography you might be wondering what Google Drive and Picasa can offer over Flickr. We’ve created the chart above with some comparisons of key features such as price and storage size. As you can see Flickr has an edge when it comes to storage because they offer unlimited. With roughly the same price on Google Drive you only get 25GB.

Social is another key aspect of Flickr. Google Drive is mainly just a place to keep all your photos, and maybe share a few to Google+. Flickr is its own social network with a huge user base, plus you can share photos to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. One plus for Google Drive is the integration of Google services. Many, many people already use Gmail, Google Docs, and more. Flickr on the other hand really only integrates with Yahoo Mail.

If you’re a socialite Flickr is still the best option, but if you just want to store photos for safe keeping Google Drive Picasa is the best bet.

Google Drive was just announced a few minutes ago, and you’re probably wondering how the heck to use this new thing. Google has uploaded an informational video about what you can do with Google Drive, and how to use it. Google Docs is built right in to Drive, so using that should be very familiar if you’ve ever used Docs before. But Drive can store more than just spreadsheets and text documents.

You will also fill up your Drive with photos and videos, and for that there is search that looks just like Google Image Search. But search is not just limited to pictures, everything in your Google Drive is completely searchable. Google was already very cloud dependent, but now you have one place to find everything. Check out the video for a look at what you can do with Google Drive.

Finally! After months of speculation, rumors, and leaks, Google Drive is officially available. It’s exactly as you would expect from a cloud storage service. Signing up will get you 5GB for free. After that it’s $2.50 per month for 25GB, $5 per month for 500GB, and $50 per month for a whopping 1TB. If you choose to pay for storage Google will also upgrade your Gmail capacity to 25GB.

Google Drive is built to store all your Google files in one place for easy access. Instead of emailing large files you can just share files from Drive like you would in DropBox. Drive also has a desktop application similar to DropBox for uploading files to the cloud. Google Docs integration is a big feature of Drive. users will be able to work with others in real time and every change is automatically saved to the file in Drive. Links to all the apps and intro video below:

Desktop App

Android App

Chrome Apps

[via Phandroid]