Welcome to Dooba Reviews

New Version of Google Chrome – Supports Bookmark Sync and Extensions

Author Thomas | 25.01.2010 | Category Freebies, Web

Well, the moment is finally here for Google Chrome aficionados.  What is Google Chrome?  Well, the following should help explain:

Google Chrome (the browser) now supports extensions which are really cool. Extensions can help you block ads on pages, track information such as prices on Amazon.com, and much more.

The second great addition is bookmarking sync. With bookmark sync, you can create a uniform experience across the different computers you use, simply sync your bookmarks (click the wrench in the upper right to get started).

Cool stuff.

Just Received Access to Google Wave – First Impressions

Author Thomas | 14.10.2009 | Category Web

After much anticipation, I received my Google Wave invitation from Google.  The service right now is in “Preview” which means some things may not work quite right until the official release.

Right from the start, I was impressed with how it works, and could see this being a game changer for the web.  Good for Google!  And good for us, since we as web users can benefit greatly from it.

I used Wave a bit but soon discovered that there’s not all that much that you can do until you have some contacts in your contact list.   I’ve started to see some of my Gmail contacts appear in the Wave contact list which means that they’re getting Wave too.  It’s great that they’re being added automatically.

I added pictures into a wave.  This feature will be very, very handy for sharing pictures.

I tested out the Yes/No/Maybe widget and it worked.  I did notice the following day that the profile images in the contacts took a while to load, but no other major irregularities so far.

Right now the extensions list has only a handful of extensions, but we hope that to grow quickly.

Google Wave will be incredible once the user base expands past the preview audience and all Gmail account have automatic access to Wave.

The trick will be how many people switch to Wave once it’s released.

Google Wave to be Released

Author Thomas | 29.09.2009 | Category Software, Web

Google Wave is set for release tomorrow to 100,000 lucky testers.

Like 100,000 Golden Tickets awaiting to be sent to the lucky winners who will find in their email inboxes tomorrow an invitation to the revolutionary new service/product.

Google Wave will combine in-a-sense, email, instant messaging, blogging, sharing, etc.  Email will work much more like a conversation.

A ten minute demo of wave from the developer tool:

From the Developer Conference (the long video):

Hopefully, we’ll all get one of the Golden Ticket invites to start testing, exploring, and enjoying Google Wave.

Google Reader and why it’s helpful

Author Thomas | 17.09.2009 | Category Freebies, Web

Google Reader has been on the scene for a very long time; however, it’s such a handy tool, and so very few take advantage of it, it’s worth mentioning.

Google Reader can Save You Time

Think about all the websites you visit on a weekly basis (or even on a daily basis).  Once you start adding up how often you visit each site (CNN.com, Dilbert.com, etc.), the minutes start adding up.

Google reader lets you subscribe to your favorite websites, family blogs, etc. and view when an update occurs, you can generally read the whole article right within Google Reader and even view the images from the article.

Think of the time savings.  Instead of visiting dozens of different sites and poking around to see what is new or worth reading, you can at a glance view all the headlines from your favorite websites, and select the ones you wish to read.

Don’t Miss Out

Because the articles are stored in Google Reader for you stay there until you mark them as read/archive them, you don’t have to worry about missing updates while you’re away.

Save the Good Stuff

Google Reader lets you add a star to favorite articles.  You can also email an article within Reader and share it with others.

Just a favorite we thought we should share: Google Reader.

The Best Things in Life Come in 3’s: Chrome v. 3.0

Author Thomas | 16.09.2009 | Category Freebies, Web

Isn’t there something magical to the number 3: Three Stooges, Three Blind Mice, Three’s Company, Three’s a Crowd?  Well, Google Chrome is joining the Three’s Crowd with version 3.0 of its famed Google Chrome Web Browser.

Alas, most people still ask, “What’s a browser? Is that Internet?”  Sigh.

I was visiting my sister’s family a few weeks ago, and she was complaining that her Internet kept crashing.  Well, of course, the issue was Internet Explorer (which is a web browser and how you “get on the Internet.” But it’s not the only way…).  I updated her version of Internet explorer and installed two service packs that were lacking in Windows Vista.

I then installed Google Chrome for her, and let her play around with it.  She liked Chrome almost instantly.  She noticed that Chrome downloaded/displayed pages much, much, much faster than her old browser (Internet Explorer).  She also liked how Chrome remembered what she typed (I’m guessing in the URL bar).

Chrome is a great browser, and I’ve been using it since it was released.  I even had the 3D version of it on April Fools Day.  Wow.

Now Google has released version 3.0 (which is an updated to Chrome), and the browser displays web pages even faster, has an improved new tab design, and the color scheme is even better.

With the new release, you can even install themes.  To add a theme, just click on the Settings Wrench in the upper right corner, select Options, and under the Personal Stuff Tab, select “Get Themes.”

Go ahead, give the Google Chrome Web Browser a try.  It doesn’t replace the current browsers you have, so you can always go back to the slowness and the crashing of Internet Explorer if you prefer.

Google Voice App for Android and Blackberry Phones

Author Thomas | 30.07.2009 | Category Software, Web

There’s been a Google Voice app for the Android phone for a while now, but recently, Google released an update that makes it even more useful.

Long press on your Android home screen and select Shortcuts and then select Toggle Google Voice (this is assuming that you have the Google Voice App Installed). You can now Toggle the following options on Google Voice when you press the shortcut:

1. Use Google Voice for all calls
2. Only use Google Voice for international calls
3. Do not use Google Voice for any calls
4. Ask to use Google Voice for each call

The Ask to use Google Voice for each call option brings up a little dialog when placing a call which lets you select to use your Google Voice telephone number or your regular telephone number for the call.  This is helpful if you’re calling mobile-to-mobile with somone on the same carrier allowing you to save on minutes.

Google Voice Starts Sending Invitations

Author Thomas | 15.07.2009 | Category Freebies, Web

Well I just received the invite that I’ve been waiting for to enable Google Voice.  If you’re not familiar with Google Voice, the following short animation will surly help and most likely peak your interest:

In a nutshell, here’s what Google Voice can do (given to me in my first voicemail from Google):

Welcome to Google Voice! Google Voice gives you a single phone number that rings all your phones, saves your voicemail online, and transcribes your voicemail to text. Other cool features include the ability to listen in on messages while they are being left and the ability to make low cost international calls. To start enjoying Google Voice, just give out your Google Voice number. You can record custom greetings for your favorite callers or block annoying callers by marking them as SPAM. Just click on the settings link at the top of your inbox. We hope you enjoy Google Voice.

Having a transcribed voicemail is awesome!  How many times do callers leave very long messages and you listen all the way through to make sure you don’t miss something?

A few notes and tips right off the bat as you start using Google Voice:

1. Choosing your number on Google Voice – I put in my area code and tried all sorts of word combinations to come up with a cool number, but none were available.  I then started to wonder if my area code was even open.  It took a little bit of searching online for a list of area codes that Google Voice accepts only to not find the list!  However, all was not lost.  I saw on the Google Voice help page that you can type in your area code AND/OR a number or letter combination.  If you type only the area code, you’ll get the list of numbers available.  I did that, and snatched up a number.
2. Setting up voice mail – Have your phone ready when you click add a phone because Google wants to place an automated call to verify your phone you’re using.  Once you’ve done that, you can set up your voice mail.  The connection quality didn’t seem all that great.  We’ll see if it was the connection or the service as I use it more.
3. Next Steps: Configuration - You’ll next want to visit the settings option once logged in to set the “Do not disturb” function, call screening, add phones, etc.  You’ll most likely stick with the defaults at first, but it’s good to know.

Notifications – I turned off the option to send a text message when I receive a new voicemail. Email is enough for me since I receive email on my phone anyway.

Call Screening – If you enable this option, callers that are not in your contact list will be required to state their name during their first call.

Call Presentation - If you turn off this options, calls can be answered by you without the “Press 1 to accept option”

If you leave the “Call Presentation” option turned on, you can do the following while an incoming call is ringing (an you pick up):

Press 1 - Will accept the call
Press 2 – Will send the call to voicemail
Press 3 - Will let you listen to the voicemail (if the caller leaves one) as it is being left
Press 4 – Allows you to accept the call but also record the call contents

Other basic options:

Want to change your Google Voice Number? Just go to Settings > Phones > and click the “Change” link next to your number.

Want to have different voicemail greetings depending on who called? Go to Settings > Groups

Want to change which calls get forward to which phones? Go to Settings > Groups

Below are more Google Voice videos for your viewing pleasure:

Google Voice Mobile.  You can install the Google Voice App on your Android Phone (or BlackBerry) which will give you the option to have all outgoing calls show to the receiver as your new Google Voice Number.  I installed the app and tested it out.  Works great.

Google Voice Conference Calling (how to)

The spam filter is great, but one of the best features is the ability to access voicemail on the web.

Bytheway, the service is free for calls in the continental US.  If you want to make an international call, check the rates.

It’s 2 cents/minute to call your buddies in France or the United Kingdom (if you’re calling a cell phone over there though, it’s a little more, so check first). If you want to go the other way way, calls to China are 2 cents/minute.

The service is a great idea for people in the workforce with multiple phones as well as a line of defense against unwanted calls.

You don’t have to deposit money to start using the free service, because, hey, it’s free.  In fact, my account started with 10 cents already in it.  That means I could call China for 5 minutes courtesy of Google Voice.  The great rate for international calls will make holding a skype phone connected to your computer not look so good.

Aviary…Awesome

Author Thomas | 08.07.2009 | Category Freebies, Web

I stumbled upon some hilarious images at Worth1000.com today, and saw an interesting add for the first online vector editing program. Hmm…I’ve had need for some vector image creation, and I thus got my first look at Aviary. Aviary, in a word is AWESOME. Basically, Aviary offers a suite online tools for image editing and graphics creation.

Below are some of the FREE products they offer. The tools are built with Flash, so it had no trouble running in my Google Chrome browser. With the talk about the New Google Chrome Operating System, Aviary is more relevant than ever.

Phoenix

Phoenix is Aviary’s image editor. Bye bye Photoshop! Again, simply awesome that it’s being offered for free, and the pro version is a very small yearly subscription. I’m pretty cheap, but the yearly subscription price looks very good if you want to use it commercially.

Peacock

Peacock can be used to create backgrounds, effects, etc. It’s pretty amazing and even more amazing that it takes place within the browser.

Raven

Raven is the Vector editing program. Simply awesome.

Do these tools replace Adobe’s suite of tools that cost thousands of dollars? Perhaps not right now, but that’s the thing about disruptive technologies; Aviary may very well replace the need for the user that doesn’t need all of the features of the Adobe suite.

So, go Aviary! Sign up if you have the chance for a free account and test it out. If you really like it, sign up for the paid account. I’m sure they’d appreciate it, and that would help the community to keep going.

The Web Changes Everything: Logo Tournament

Author Thomas | 23.06.2009 | Category Web

Just a handful of years ago, this concept would have been very difficult to achieve, but with the Web, it’s easy.  LogoTournament.com lets you create a logo creation contest for about $250.  You have 30 or more graphic artists start creating logos for you business, website, organization, etc.  You indicate general ideas about the look and feel of the logo and what you want the logo to communicate.

The graphic artists from around the world start posting ideas for your logo.  You give feedback and start to rank the logos.  At the end of the contest (just a matter of days), you select a winner and the logo is yours and the developer wins the contest money you put up through the website.

The site has examples of logos that have won, and there are many, many logos.  There are thousands of graphic artists that have joined the site.

It’s a fantastic idea and business model.  Logo Tournament is located at http://www.logotournament.com

New Version of YouTube – YouTube XL

Author Thomas | 06.06.2009 | Category Web

YouTube, owned by Google, released a new look for their site made especially for viewing on television.  The new version of the site can be reached at http://www.youtube.com/xl

Our initial impressions are that it’s an improvement.  Although this view is made for visitors using their TVs to visit the site, there are none of the annoying comments that plague the site.  With such a clean look and easy navigation, many visitors will be using it as their default view.

Using the Wii, we (ha, ha) tested out viewing YouTube/XL.  What was interesting was that instead of a black background, YouTube XL was white.  The videos displayed nicely although, the low res videos were a little blocky.

All in all, it’s an improviement, and we like it.