The New Google Layout

No doubt if you are reading this, you've noticed that Google has suddenly got a lot brighter, more "animated" and has (shock horror) changed up it's layout. But this isn't just another one of those few pixels to the left, add a few links layout change-up, because depending on the version you are looking at (and yes there are multiple layouts being trialled at the moment) Google's iconic logo may have (finally) been updated, and/or the search results may have moved an inch to the left. The results appear to get a little crammed in, if you're still working on a 1024x768 screen resolution (methinks the employees at Google have long since up-sized their personal monitors from such a meager resolution).

If you haven't yet been pooled into one of Google's apparently random selection of people to trial a layout on, or even if you're just interested in seeing the other layouts Google is trialling, I've done some digging and pulled as many versions of the layout as I can and will post them below.







New Google Logo








Old Google Logo



Here are some of the different layout sprites being offered by Google at the moment:




















The Bars at the bottom are the colors of the buttons.


There are many more that are small variations of the above, which suggests Google is trialing a lot of little variations and slowly narrowing down the best features and removing unpopular ones.

Judging by the numbering, gray buttons and larger 16px x 16px icons are the current Google favorite, including the blue aqua bubbles for location based searches and disguarding the promote/delete system of customisable page ranks in favor of a bookmarking star.

Stay tuned people, there is surely more yet to come.

Has Google Changed It's Algorithm?

Has anyone noticed Google's search results have suddenly changed? I can't seem to find anything!
Where searches previously overlooked anything roughly beyond the fourth search term, it now seems all words are given almost equal if not increasing importance. I've become quite accustomed to wording my searches to get the best results out of google but all of a sudden it's flipped on it's head. How very annoying.

Bad Google! Don't make me switch to... oh who am I kidding Yahoo search sucks, and I won't even bother criticizing MSN/live/whatever the hell the Microsoft branding team want it to be called this week, it pretty much insults itself.

Peace out,
Ron.

February Web Top Review - Pixlr

Pixlr
Pixlr is one of the new generation of web apps that I love, for seeing the big old software companies standing stagnant and passing on opportunities to add the web to their repertoire, and saying stuff 'em. If they won't do it, and someone else is smart enough to get their act together and port the software, more fool the big players.

Pixlr is a free online photo editor, not unlike Adobe's Photoshop, but provided online as a flash application through your browser.

On using Pixlr we found it innovative and well featured considering the platform, though not well featured enough yet to challenge Photoshop in any real way. Still if you are comparing it to Adobe's current online offering for similar photo editing tasks, Pixlr is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

Key elements of photoshoping are missing from the tools provided, such as the 'Polygonal lasso'. This will certainly deter professional use for the moment (and really you want as much market share as possible before Adobe launches a serious counter attack).

No support for scroll wheels currently, which is a bit of a drag, nor are all the menu's laid out in a totally recognizable order. Save functions are somewhat limited, with no option for outputting a multi-layered file, a big feature most middle-ground and professional photo editing software provides. All this must be taken wit a grain of salt however, as you must remember, this is not Photoshop.

Pixlr is fast, and speedwise, comparable to older versions of Photoshop. No doubt speeds will continue to increase as the site itself grows, as well as with any improvements on the users side.

The interface is familiar, which is very pleasing, as is the inclusion of keyboard combination functions, a massive feature that is too often often overlooked by webware creators.

Pixlr also offers a few features that I have not noticed in Photoshop, which is promising. Plugins such as 'Vignette' and 'Art Poster' are sure to be assets to photo editors.

User support is friendly and welcoming, and meshes well with how customers expect a web company to present itself. They also promise updates to the software on a continual basis, which is great for users who will no doubt be submitting countless suggestions and problems over the coming months.

We enjoyed using Pixlr, and think it'll be great for people who are on the go, traveling, using netbooks, smart phones, or simply want a simple alternative to forking out for similar software offline. What it lacks in some area's, it more than makes up for these with general innovation on Pixlr's part as well as foreward planning for continual improvement of the software.

Congratulations Pixlr, our Deskie Web Top pick of the month.

Rated:
4/5 stars

You can leave a comment to tell us how you feel about Pixlr.

Deskie Web Top Award

Okay people, got a site you think could be the next big thing? Found a page that you simply can't live without? Then submit the address and a short description of the site to support(at)deskie.com with "Web Tops" as the subject, to have the site considered for a spot in Deskie's monthly Web Tops Review.

Each month a site that we deem most useful to users will be chosen for listing, with all twelve chosen to go into the running to win the yearly Deskie Web Top Award, or a number of other category awards. The winner of this Deskie Award will receive a place on the default Deskie desktop for the duration of the reining year.*

Each monthly winner will also receive promotion on the Deskie site.

So if you know or own a site you think is worth listing, get to it!

The Deskie Crew

A Simple Way to Bring All Your Sites Together

A different, but none the less valid, use of Deskie that seems to be happening is the use of Deskie as a directory for individual groups. While this was by no means how I intended Deskie to be used, I must say it makes sense, and provides yet another example of those pesky free thinking types ruining my plans for a Stalin style rein over the internet.

What with people, companies, bands and general popular topics having countless different pages over the web (think official site, myspace, facebook, youtube, wiki, blog, forums, etc.) it makes sense to need a central place where people can waste hours reabsorbing the same information again and again, over many different mediums.

So, if you'd like to show off your excessively large collection of sites, while adding yet another address to that already bloated list, you might want to give Deskie a go. Do it. It'll be fun...

P.S. If you're a bussiness, company or band that wants a commercial deskie page, either hosted by Deskie or on your own site, just send us a message and we'll do our best to help out.


Did you enjoy this article? Then maybe you should seek professional help.

Better Wallpapers and a Few Other Fixes

G'day all,
We've now added a few more options for how you're wallpaper looks. You can now choose whether you want your wallpaper tiled, stretched or repeated.

In response to requests to change the colour of the icon text background, it is now white, and partially transparent to ensure icons look great no matter what color or wallpaper is being used.

We've made it easier to add Deskie as your homepage in Firefox, just drag the link in the hints page onto your home icon.

Hope these all make your Deskies that little bit better! Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Later,
Deskie.com

Did you enjoy this post? Then maybe you should give us one million dollars.

New Webtop at Deskie.com

Okay, here's a hint, try out the new site Deskie, the web desktop i.e. webtop i.e. the same old design you've seen on computers for the last 24 years. The idea is you set it as your homepage, then create a list of links you most often use, kind of like bookmarks. These will appear in a desktop which you can reach by simply clicking the home button in your browser.

Pro's:
+Speeds up browsing
+Easy to use (same as windows/mac desktop)
+Includes Google search bar.
+Doesn't include Yahoo search bar.
+Will increase my stranglehold over the internet.

Con's:
-You need an internet connection to access it (but you wouldn't be able to do anything without anyway)
-You have to sign up to save your settings.
-Currently still in beta stage (useable, but not 100% stable)