What is Digg?136 Comments
- burberried, on 10/12/2007, -13/+156What Google needs is to not use the term "iGoogle"
- tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+57There are quite a number of greasemonkey scripts that I think google should implement by default. These include
+ GMail - Label Colors (so obvious it's painful) - http://gmail-greasemonkey.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/scripts/gmail-label-colors.user.js
+ Gmail - Preview the email with a hover event - http://blog.persistent.info/2005/08/gmail-conversation-preview-bubbles.html
+ Google Search - AutoPager - http://lifehacker.com/software/google/download-of-the-day-google-autopager-greasemonkey-252490.php
+ Gmail - Signature Float - http://lifehacker.com/software/gmail/download-of-the-day--gmail-signature-float-greasemonkey-251135.php
+ GCal Todo List - http://lifehacker.com/software/google-calendar/download-of-the-day--google-calendar-todo-list-greasemonkey-250904.php
+ Google Reader - Search - http://lifehacker.com/software/google-reader/download-of-the-day--google-reader-custom-search-greasemonkey-225612.php
+ Gmail - Attachment icons - http://userstyles.org/style/show/1807
+ Reader + Gmail = goodness - http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/7435 (http://blog.persistent.info/2005/03/adding-persistent-searches-to-gmail.html)
(please excuse the life hacker blog spam. I have no connection to them but i find they describe the scripts better than the guy who wrote it which usually consists of 2 sentences nerd speak.) - Salviati, on 10/12/2007, -6/+60Here's a few more:
+ Integrate Picasa Web with Google Maps (My Maps) without having to manually get the HTML code for the photo and put it in the caption. Have it look for the metadata on the photo itself.
+ Allow you to sinc your Google Docs and Spreadsheets files with your own computer or website. Currently, files can be saved individually, but not as a batch. This would be nice for when I am traveling and need to work on my documents without being connected to the web.
+ Be able to run the Google Docs from my own domain name, and not get re-directed back to Google's own server. I would feel more comfortable trusting the system, if I know I can control the content instead of relying on a third-party (even though I would trust Google more than most - for now).
Please add your own features below. - zeptobyte, on 10/12/2007, -8/+44No need to be rude about it. That was clearly a request, not a grant of permission.
- scispaz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18GPage is what sounds retarded to me. Also, isn't there already Google Pages?
- Etaoin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17A lot of these things simply can't be done with Javascript. Google's work is nothing short of genius when it comes to stretching the bounds of what Javascript can do (and don't forget, they did it when "Ajax" was only the name of a Greek hero) but a lot of this would require some significant reworking on the web-browser side of things. Drag-and-drop batch attachments, for example - the HTML tag that handles file input just isn't designed for that, and to my knowledge there's no browser framework that allows for that kind of external input.
Don't get me wrong, they're all good ideas - but many of them just can't be done in a web application, with the standards (and browsers) we've got. - hanso, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12The first time I opened the Google Reader I thought there's something wrong with my browser not displaying the search form - I just couldn't believe there is no search. Google product without 'search'? In my opinion this is one of the most important things to do in all of the services provided by Google.
- mobilebuddha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I switched from yahoo maps over to google maps soon after google came out with it. but recently i've gone back to yahoo maps. they've made quite a bit of improvements and there are some features that i really prefer. so one of the areas that i think google can significantly improve on is the maps. here are some of the features:
1) being able to find stuff on a map. say you are looking for a particular store (let's say home depot) in the pasadena area. but let's say you want to move the map a little to the east and see if you could find it in corvina/glendora. with google maps, you'd have to research it, but with yahoo maps, it automatically updates the screen with results of the search based on the new boundaries the user has set when s/he move the map around. i personally think it's a great feature.
2) another feature that i really like about yahoo maps is the ability to insert stops. say you need to go to burbank to pick up a friend, then head over to downtown LA to meet with someone else and then picking up your gf from LAX and meet her parents for dinner at a new restaurant in irvine. you could do 3-4 searches in google maps, or you could just put in the different places into yahoo maps and it will happily output the entire list of directions to each of the stops that you have to make up to your final destination. i found it especially useful when i need to insert a "stop" or remove a "stop".
3) the last thing that i found to be useful in yahoo maps that i haven't seen available is yahoo's ability to give you a phone # to a place if it knows the place is a business. so if you are going to the restaurant with your gf and your parents, if you put in the address of the restaurant and it matches yahoo's records, it will automatically display the corresponding restaurant/business name, telephone # as well as ratings/reviews if it has any. i don't need to see all that all the time, but the convenience factor is VERY nice.
google maps definitely pushed the envelope on mapping programs when it first came out, but compared to yahoo maps, it feels dated and the feature set isn't as nice as yahoo's. hopefully google can learn from this and make it a better program! - whuang5716, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Probably the most straightforward addition that unfortunately is so lacking right now that it can be often crippling to power users:
Partial Word Search in Gmail
So if I search for "calendar", it won't keep ignoring "calendars". It's been years with Gmail now, and I love it and it's great, but seriously - why can't they get this right? - wounded625, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12you might want to loosen your tinfoil hat a little bit.
- PiGuy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13So basically turn GMail into Outlook with an Exchange server or any comparable program..
- shortarabguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8There is Googlepages... it's like geocities, but it's what you'd expect Google to do if it were to make geocities bearable( 100 mb space, seemingly unlimited bandwidth, html OR wizard setup, etc...)
A lot of this stuff is asking for offline accessibility, but it's Google. You know... Google. As in ".com". They're not here to revolutionize your entire life, they're here to make your online experience better, and giving you offline tools is nice and all, but it's not necessarily the direction that Google is moving in right now.
Other than that, the entire article felt a little like an unappreciative brat complaining about little things because he wanted a shortcut to save all of 15 seconds when he scheduled an event, or opened an email.
Personally, I'd like it if clicking on an email from the feed on "iGoogle" didn't open an email-only window, but instead opened a window identical to one which you'd open if you were looking at the inbox through gmail to begin with. - dlsspy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10@itsthinking
I was recommending a school switch from their MS Exchange servers to google apps. They had two concerns:
1) What if the provider goes down?
2) What about security?
For #1, I reminded them that we were talking about google.
For #2, I had to stop and think for a minute to avoid insulting them. On one hand, we have the small IT staff of a K-12 school running MS Exchange on the internet. On the other hand, we have google...
For the average person, I'm sure it can only enhance data security. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7at *least* if you're going to call it iGoogle; then make sure you can get to it from www.igoogle.com
you already own the domain...
call me lazy, but not having to type ".com/ig/" makes my life more bearable
"Personally, I'd like it if clicking on an email from the feed on "iGoogle" didn't open an email-only window, but instead opened a window identical to one which you'd open if you were looking at the inbox through gmail to begin with."
....I couldn't agree more. - dlsspy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@rhfb
When I go to my spam folder, it says this:
``Delete all spam messages now (messages that have been in Spam more than 30 days will be automatically deleted)''
Is that not what you want? - airphloo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Yeah, but compare the price of MS Office to Google's apps. He wants this functionality for free... don't we all?
- DIGGerPhelpsND, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6From the article:
"Notification. I’m actually not a big fan of email notification, as they’re horribly distracting. But I know that others want it. You could use a third-party extension for this, but you shouldn’t need to."
Actually, this already exists.
http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/notifier_mac.html - slightlyoffbeat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5better support for phones (google talk, gmail, gcal)
Better support for palm and pocket PC. full support for Gcal 2-way syncing on mobile devices would make my day. i know its possible but you usually have to jump through a couple of hoops first. - ckSubs, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13What's the bigger risk:
1. Google, a huge and publicly traded corporation, goes against their terms of use and uses Joe Schmoe's files not for simple ad placement but for something SINISTER!
OR
2. Your hard drive bricks, leaving you without years worth irreplaceable files.
I know which risk I'd rather take.... - hiscity, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Most importantly, the ability to run their apps offline, which then re-sync when connected.
A simple project/gantt chart app. (which ought to be easy).
A group calendar.
A group contact list.
And a online demo to try each product without registering. Could be a sandbox. - IckyChris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Google Earth should make stereo 3D an option.
I had to buy a plug-in for 50 bucks to run in true 3D. And it is simply kick assssss.
Not all graphix cards can handle it, but it should still be a clear option. - tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4any site that uses an activeX control (things that only work in IE) completely goes against the whole point of the web, namely being platform and browser independent. Google would *never* adopt something into their web apps that was platform/browser independent.
(browser independence is not to be confused with how well a browser handles standards compliant html) - ki85squared, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Or for those of us with PCs:
http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/notifier_windows.html - joecritch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Reader: rename tags; create filters (e.g. star all items in a particular feed); "Publish to Blogger" with integrated RTE notes; better Homepage layout - it's just bunches of text at the moment.
- b612, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i love gmail but the contacts needs some major fixing
- tybris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"I love being able to drag an event to another day when I’m in “week” view … but what if it’s next week "
Err... here's a crazy idea... Use 'Month' view. - tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The *finally* implemented #2 a little while back.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=San+Francisco,+CA+(sf)&daddr=Berkeley,+CA+(berkeley)+to%3Aburlingame,+ca+to%3AHayward,+CA+to%3ABerkeley,+CA+(berkeley)&mrcr=3&sll=37.6126,-122.223587&sspn=0.361712,0.54245&ie=UTF8&ll=37.719133,-122.291565&spn=0.361193,0.54245&z=11&om=1
after you get directions there is an "Add destination link" at the bottom of the directions. - vemerge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3For a company built on its search technology, this is ridiculous. As is not being able to search in Reader -- which is my #1 gripe with Google at the moment. I just can't picture any scenario where Google can't implement search in Reader. Gah!
- tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm not sure who is burying this guy but he has some great ideas. The lack of a group calendar and contact list baffled me when I switched my domain services over to them. I had assumed that's what they meant by incorporating gCal into the other default domain services. At least have some option admin option to share calendars and/or contacts between all users within a domain by default.
- olik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3An important one for GMail: do not use my gmail address as "Sender:" header when sending email as a different account.
- nekteo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5the Gcontact idea is pretty good...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3how bout a goodle maps overlay in google earth!!!!!! that would be so much better then browser
- hiscity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The Google Earth comments should also apply to My Maps in Google Maps.
- hiscity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Google Broker, eh?
Alias "Go Broke," hehe! - iWasHere, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@sn0re
Everything is still hosted on Google servers with those services... - mightycbu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3i need to be able to change url-paths in google toolbar favorites
BTW can anyone make a (greasemonkey) script to automatically add my dugg-links to my favorites (tagged as dugg) - open_sauce, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Google Calendar needs more granularity in its reminder drop-down.
I cant select to be reminded 6 hours before an event, the options jumps from "3 hours" to "1 day"
I cant select to be reminded 3 days before an event, the options jumps from "2 days" to "1 week" - shewasjustagrl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2hm dare i say it... google porn? i mean, it's probably THE most commonly searched for content on their engine already, and is applicable to pretty much 100% of the (male) demographic.
i don't see why not :P - radu79, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree that an unthreaded view of the e-mails woulod be very useful.
This is one of the few things I don't like about Gmail (which is why I am using an external POP3 client for it). - plague, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2#3 is also implemented. Google has phone numbers for every business I've ever searched for. Then you don't even have to dial it, you just click on it and Google will connect it to the number that you enter. I've never used it, but it looks pretty cool. I'm sure all the paranoid people will worry about giving Google their phone number though.
- tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2this is a problem with DHTML and browser cache, it's not google's fault. The back button is the bane of existence to anyone who tries to use advanced web techniques like the ones that gmail employs. I just had to learn to hold down CTRL whenever i click a link in gmail (new tab).
- blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How about SyncML coming standard with Google Calendar? With a SonyEricsson phone and automatic SyncML update this is huge.
Goosync works fine but it has some limitations in the free version and I rather see this integrated. In other words, common Google, they probably aren't that expensive to buyout if you don't want to develop it. - hiscity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you want the really good stuff from Google, start here:
http://earth.google.com/earth_pro.html - WeBuiltThisCity, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2No,
What he meant was: Don't even put messages in the Spam folder. Just delete them. I've never found a message in the spam folder that shouldn't have been there - the Gmail spam filter is batting 100% for me. So don't bother showing me the messages, just delete them. I'm a bit of a clean freak and I go in and delete them when I get spam. It'd be easier if I didn't have to worry about it. - mobilebuddha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@plague:
can you show me how #3 is implemented? i just tried the directions to my restaurant for the night tonight on google maps and this is what it shows:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=90210&daddr=6081+Center+Dr.+suite+102+90045&sll=34.069725,-118.298721&sspn=0.302595,0.752563&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
compare this to the yahoo maps where it asks me which business that i've selected and gave me the phone # to the restaurant:
(i'm not sure if it'll show up correctly.. i just tested by opening up an IE window - firefox would have all of the cookies and such from my browsing/selections, but it doesn't show the directions when i put the link into IE)
lastly.. of course i don't live in 90210 - bryan314, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1gmail - ldap for contacts to compliment pop access
And Thunderbird needs to add ldap write ... but i digress. - chaddhall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you read the whole article, you would have seen this:
"GMoney. There are a lot of personal finance programs out there, but Google needs one, integrated with its other features. I’m sure it will do this one day."
That is probably the funniest name I have heard for an application in a long time. :) - shamess, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is true, but Google shouldn't allow them selves to be tied to the bounds of JavaScript. They should get people working over at W3C to have more extensive Javascript.
Or even make a Firefox addon to do stuff better. (Could turn more IE users too...) - magus_melchior, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"To-do list. C’mon. This is pretty basic."
"Glist. Instead of just adding a to-do list into Gcal, Google should come up with a really cool to-do list program, with multiple lists, project view, drag-n-drop, reminders, etc. Basically a Google GTD program, integrated tightly with Gmail, Gcal, and Google Docs & Spreadsheets."
They have a really basic list (and Firefox extension) called Google Notebook... - WeBuiltThisCity, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2An update to my previous post:
There is a greasemonkey script to hide the number of spam messages - so you can pretend the spam inbox is empty :)
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/2210 -
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