Google Chrome Extensions: Dictionary Lookup

A small extension that allows you to quickly look up definitions of words and phrases in the Webster dictionary (the only legally scrapable dictionary I could find). Hold Ctrl and double-click or select any word to look it up - an inline box will open to the dictionary entry of that word.  You can also manually-entered queries using a shortcut which displays a small lookup form.

Google Chrome Extensions: Dictionary Lookup

Browser Size

Browser Size

The case of the 500-mile email

The case of the 500-mile email

Google Acquires AppJet

Google buys yet another company: AppJet, the start-up that created EtherPad, an innovative online word processor. The EtherPad team, that includes three former Googlers, will join the Google Wave team. EtherPad will be available for the existing users until March 31, 2010.

"Other real-time editors like Google Docs work by broadcasting an updated copy of the document to everyone every 15 seconds. This creates a noticeable lag that gets in the way of collaboration. You start editing something, only to find 10 seconds later that someone else deleted it. Etherpad updates every copy of the document every half second. This 30x increase in speed changes the experience completely. Your edits hardly ever clash with other users'. So you work confidently instead of tentatively." (from EtherPad's site)

Google Acquires AppJet

Google DNS

Google launched a DNS resolving service called Google Public DNS that uses Google's infrastructure to improve page loading time. A DNS resolver converts domain names into IP addresses and this process might slow down browsing.

"As the web continues to grow, greater load is placed on existing DNS infrastructure. Since Google's search engine already crawls the web on a daily basis and in the process resolves and caches DNS information, we wanted to leverage our technology to experiment with new ways of addressing some of the existing DNS challenges around performance and security."

You can replace your ISP's DNS service with Google Public DNS by changing the settings of the network connection and using the following IP addresses:

* 8.8.8.8
* 8.8.4.4

Google DNS

Get Gmail Messages Delivered on Multiple Computers via POP

Do you access Gmail messages on two or more computers via POP clients like Outlook or Thunderbird. The problem (or advantage) with POP access is that once an email message gets downloaded onto one computer, it is skipped by other email clients.

To explain that further – let’s say you have configured both your personal laptop and work computer to download emails from your Gmail account via POP access. Now if the emails are downloaded to the laptop first, they wont be available on your work computer (and vice-versa).

Get Gmail Messages Delivered on Multiple Computers via POP

D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure

SAFELY SHARE DIGITAL FILES LOCALLY AND OVER THE INTERNET
The D-Link® 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-323) when used with two internal 3.5” SATA drives¹ enables you to share documents, files, and digital media such as music, photos, and video with everyone on your home or office network. With the built-in FTP server³, you can access your files remotely over the Internet from anywhere in the world and keep data safe by only giving rights to specific users or groups. When configuring the DNS-323, you can create users and groups and assign them to folders with either read or read/write permissions.

This is ideal for an office environment with employee-specific sensitive data or for the home where you can ensure your children will only have access to age appropriate material. With the built-in USB print server port, you can add a USB printer to your network without a dedicated computer so anyone can print from anywhere on the network.

D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure