Whether you’re using it on your phone or your desktop, Google Buzz (
) is quickly becoming an interesting and popular way to share content with your Gmail (
) friends. However, because it’s tied to Gmail, Google Buzz is also tied to your web browser. That can be fine for lots of instances, but what if you what if your primary Gmail account and the account you use Buzz with aren’t the same? What if you want to have Buzz act like more of a regular application than a browser tab?
While we’re sure that plenty of Buzz-specific application clients are in the works, we’re going to show you how you can create your own Buzz Application for Windows (
), Mac or Linux (
The Rundown on SSBs (Site-Specific Browsers)
To create our stand-alone copy of Gmail (and by extension, Google Buzz), we’re going to create what is known as a site-specific browser (SSB). An SSB is a web browser instance that is created specifically for a certain website or web application. It has its own desktop shortcut and can appear as its own application.
Most SSBs will eschew more advanced browser features and add-ons (meaning you see the web page and not the toolbar and navigation components), keeping the focus just on a singular app or app suite. So why would anyone want something like this? Well, it makes it easy to keep a certain website or web app separate and distinguishable from other tabs. It also keeps the focus on just that app. Plus, if your main browser crashes or you accidentally close it, your SSB isn’t affected.
It can also be good for users that want to login to multiple accounts of the same service, depending on what type of SSB tool you use. Plus, for the advanced user, some SSBs support different scripting extensions that can add in extra or custom functionality specifically to that SSB — functions that might not be available for the standard browser.
Choosing the Right Tool
There are a number of different programs for creating your own SSB.
Bubbles for Windows was one of the first general purpose SSB tools. It uses Internet Explorer’s () rendering engine, meaning that it will display sites the same same way as Internet Explorer does on your PC. With Bubbles you can see your app from the system tray and get desktop notifications and drag and drop local files to your app.
Bubbles shares cookies with Internet Explorer, meaning that logging into two Gmail accounts at once is not the easiest thing to do. However, if that’s not what you need and you just want a good separate Gmail and Google Buzz client for Windows, you can download the free Bubbles for Gmail SSB.
Fluid () for Mac is easy to use and customize, plus you can add in scripts and other additions if you want to get really geeky. It uses Safari’s WebKit rendering engine — so it’s fast — and you can take advantage of any of the Safari () add-ons (like Agile Web Solutions’ 1Password ()), which makes it really slick.
However, like Bubbles, Fluid shares cookies with Safari for Mac. Again, this means that logging into multiple accounts of the same service is pretty much out of the question. We expect this to be fixed in the future, but as for right now, it’s not really an option. For developers that want to have customize an SSB and also distribute it to other users, check out the open source Fluidium project. Fluidium is in many ways the successor to Fluid.
Google Chrome () (Windows and Linux Only) Google’s Chrome browser has the ability to create an SSB from any browser tab. Google () calls this Application Shortcuts. To create an Application Shortcut, navigate to the page you want to access and then click on the Control this Page button (the icon that looks like a document) and select “Create Application Shortcut.” Then designate where you want a shortcut to be created. Now, when you launch that shortcut, you’ll be taken to that page. Like other SSBs, the address bar and navigation bar won’t be visible.
Sadly, like Bubbles and Fluid for Mac, Google Chrome’s SSB tool still shares cookies with the Google Chrome browser. Again, if you want to login to the same service under multiple accounts, this isn’t the option for you. But it is a darn easy way to create an SSB.
Mozilla Prism is a standalone app or a Firefox () extension that creates site-specific browsers that are rendered using Firefox’s Gecko engine. If you use the standalone app, you just need to enter in an address, an application name, and designate where you want the app to be located. If you use the Firefox Extension, you can turn any website into an SSB just by clicking Tools, “Convert to Website Application.”
Unlike Fluid, Chrome () and Bubbles, Prism stores cookies for Prism apps separately from Firefox. This is fantastic for anyone with multiple accounts with the same service (like Gmail) who don’t like to shuffle between logins day in and day out.
For us, this is a killer feature — because one of the downsides of Google Buzz is that it is explicitly linked with a particular Gmail account. For teams or small businesses that want to use Buzz from a main account (like we do at Mashable ()), this is a way for multiple users to share an account, without having to give-up access to their personal mail or personal Buzz messages.
Creating a Google Buzz App in Prism
The process is pretty simple, but we’ll walk you through it step-by-step.
Step 1: Download Prism either as an extension or stand-alone app. Both options are virtually the same, so which one you use really just depends on your preference.
Step 2: Either double-click on the Prism application or go to Tools -> Convert Website to Application in Firefox.
In the address bar, you want to fill-in: https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#buzz
Choose whether you want the app to be on your Desktop or in your Applications folder (or in the Start Menu for Windows) or both. You can choose to have a navigation window or not (we’d rather not have it), if you want status updates and notifications, and if you want to enable navigation keys.
By default, Prism will select the website’s favicon, in this case, a small Google logo, but we’ll want to replace that with something that looks better at a larger size.
Zandog and deviantART created a great PSD of the Google Buzz logo. I made just a couple of tiny modifications and resized it to 512×512 and saved it as a transparent PNG file. You can download it and use it for you own Buzz icon if you want something that will look nice in your task bar or Mac dock.
Here’s the image:
Right click on this image and select Save As. Then, in the icon dropdown box, select “Choose Image” and find the PNG file you’ve saved to your hard drive. This will be your Buzz icon.
Click OK.
Step 3: Double-click on your Buzz icon to launch you new Buzz app.
That’s it! Now you can use Buzz in a stand-alone browser window without distractions and you can remain logged into a different Gmail account in Firefox, Chrome or Safari.
Make Other Sites into SSBs
You can use Prism (or Fluid, or Bubbles or Chrome) to create single-site browsers for other websites. Just follow the steps outlined above, replacing the Gmail URL with the site of your choice. Keep in mind that if you are dealing with a site that uses cookies for login info and you have or want to simultaneously access multiple accounts of the same service, Prism is the best option to use. Otherwise, it all comes down to a matter of preference!
HOW TO: Make a Google Buzz Desktop App
How to integrate Twitter and Facebook into Gmail
- Sign into your Gmail account
- Go to Gmail Labs (not Google Labs)
- Scroll all the way to the bottom to get to “Add any gadget by URL” and click on “Enable”
Click to view largeDownload full size (39 KB)Click on “Save Changes” To add Twitter: Go to Gadgets and paste in this address: “https://twittergadget.appspot.com/gadget-gmail.xml” (copy the address, do not click on it) Click on “Add” Refresh the page Click on the “+” in front of “Twitter” in the left column Click on “here” to connect to your Twitter account Authenticate Twitter by clicking on “Allow” (assuming you’re signed into Twitter) You might see a screen for Twitgether which threw me for a loop but you can just go back to your Gmail account Click on “Twitter” to see all the good stuff like your timeline, direct messages, @ messages, and to search To add Facebook: Go back to Gadgets and paste in this address: “http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/104971404861070329537/facebook.xml” (copy the address, do not click on it) Click to view largeDownload full size (36 KB)Click on “Add” Refresh the page Click on the “+” in front of “Facebook” in the left column Authenticate Facebook much like you authenticated Twitter Refresh the page When you’re done, the bottom of the left column should look something like this.
Why Is PayPal Still So Hard to Find on Mobile Devices? – GigaOM
Seven months isn’t a long time for most companies, but it’s practically an era in itself on the hyperkinetic mobile web. Since last July, Motorola has launched the Droid and Google its Nexus One. Tens of thousands of new apps have been created — Apple even finally unveiled its iPad, which could potentially rewrite the rules for mobile apps entirely.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is PayPal’s visibility on mobile devices. Last July, PayPal opened a beta of its open platform so that developers could embed the payment system in their applications. In November, it went further, staging a developers conference to officially open the platform and setting up the X.com site for APIs and documentation.
If the timing felt a bit slow, the strategy was sound. As AuctionBytes noted, “PayPal believes payments for services is a bigger opportunity than e-commerce.” The Times’ Bits blog painted a clear picture of what it could mean:
PayPal imagines a future in which cash is obsolete, as are wallets. We will buy movie tickets by touching a movie poster on the street and order drinks from a touchscreen embedded in the bar.It’s a nice vision. But in the months since, PayPal hasn’t really left much of a footprint in mobile apps. I’m still paying for movie tickets mostly with cash, and the Fandango app I downloaded asks me for my credit card number, not my PayPal account. PayPal is now an option in the iTunes App Store, but few people who entered a credit card number in iTunes years ago will bother to go back and change their settings in order to use it. In short, PayPal is very much on mobile devices, but pretty much invisible.
Instead, the buzz in mobile payments in recent months has been centered on Square, whose little white dongle turns an iPhone or iPod touch into a credit and debit card reader. Square is clearly a threat to point-of-sale companies like VeriFone, but by making plastic cards even more useful on the mobile web, it could be a big obstacle to PayPal as well. You can swipe plastic through a Square reader, but not your PayPal account.
PayPal has been at once a success story and a company that hasn’t quite lived up to its potential. Its revenue has grown 45 percent in the past two years, while eBay’s main marketplace business has seen revenue fall 1 percent. But PayPal has never really disrupted credit and debit cards in e-commerce. And outside of eBay, it hasn’t become a default payment method on other sites, notably Amazon.
The web is full of consumer complaints about PayPal, but my experience with the service over several years have always been positive. Even so, most of my purchases at Amazon or other e-commerce sites use debit card payments that bypass PayPal. It’s just a pattern I fell into and haven’t felt a need to change.
That pattern will be even more deadly on mobile e-commerce. Smartphones like the iPhone and the Droid – along with the most popular apps — resonate because of their simple interfaces. They are designed to eliminate tiresome choices. No one wants to choose whether to pay by credit card or PayPal each time they make a mobile payment. And that is PayPal’s challenge — not simply to be an option on the mobile web, but to be the default.
5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Be Afraid of Sharks When Learning to Surf | Women's Surf Camp
Surfing is one of the most enjoyable water sports. There is nothing more exhilarating for a surfer than to ride the biggest waves for the longest time. However, people who want to learn how to surf, draw back from the sports even before trying a session because of fear of sharks.
Indeed, sharks are seen as hostile predators of the sea. They are large, strong, have saw-like teeth; or to put it – fierce looking. In fact, of all the world’s sea predators, sharks are the most feared. But sharks are perhaps also one of the most misunderstood predators. Although it is true that there had been victims of shark attacks, there are a lot of misconceptions about these creatures.
If you are a surfing greenhorn, do not give up the enjoyment of surfing just because of an irrational fear of sharks. Here are 5 reasons why a fear of sharks should never stop you from learning to surf.
1. Men and Women do not form part of a shark’s diet.
There is no such thing as a man-eating shark. Men are not staple foods of sharks. Other than the fact that men and women are too bony for sharks’ tastes, these animals prefer rich fat-content meats to maintain its temperature and to give it more energy.
2. Most cases of shark attacks involve mistaken identity.
Data reveals that 90% or more of shark attacks are mistakes. From below the waters, sharks sometimes erroneously identify humans as their common food. That is why in most incidents, after biting a person, sharks let’s go of the victim after hanging on for a while.3. Only a few sharks have the potential to be dangerous.
It is a wrong to generalize that all sharks are dangerous. Out of 360 species of sharks, only 4 of these are responsible for unprovoked attacks on humans: the Great White Shark, Bull Shark, Tiger Shark and Oceanic Whitetip Shark.4. The odds of being attacks by a shark very, very low.
Sharks rarely attack humans unless provoked, making the risks of being attacked very little. In fact, only 15% of the shark species frequent the shallow waters or the coast, where anyone may possibly encounter them. According to the International Shark Attack File, a person’s odds of being attacked by a shark is only 1 in 11.15 million. The risk of dying is only 0 in 264.1 million. That is why, in majority of shark attacks, the victim always survives and gets to tell the tale.5. The dangers of sharks as we know are exaggerated.
Sharks have been adjudged to be evil creatures by mere bad publicity. There are more animals that cause human deaths such as flies, mosquitoes and bees. Perhaps to be blamed for their bad identity is the media, which most likely sensationalizes every news of a shark attack. Other than the media, Hollywood must also take part of the blame for first giving the idea about the legend of “man-eating sharks” as portrayed in movies like the “Jaws” series.Surf without fear – Leave your shark fear at shore
Auto driver turns web entrepreneur
Samson runs an advertising website named as NetwayAdvertise.com. Talking to Satrajit Sen of AlooTechie, Samson said, "I started this website mainly for local businessmen who can't advertise in print or TV due to their high ad rates." Samson charges Rs.500 a year for hosting a display ad. Currently, there are about 15 banner ads running on the site and with that rate, he earns around Rs.7,500 a year from his online advertising business. The expenditures for the portal include a fee of Rs.2,000 per year for site maintenance and upgrading the domain registration, and a payment of Rs 60 to the webmaster for creating and uploading each banner ad.
Once the site was launched, Samson started getting a lot of queries on email and SMS from travellers. "Though, I can't recount the numbers, most of the queries came from the foreigners. But gradually Indians were also catching up to the number of queries. Presently, I get between three to five queries every day," said Samson. Later on, Samson told some of his businessmen friends about TukTastic and explained the global nature of internet, some of them became interested and wanted to advertise their business as well on internet. But they didn't know where to go. "I saw this as an opportunity to earn money and thus launched the online advertising site NetwayAdvertise.com to help my friends," said he.
Now with Internet becoming one of the fastest growing medium to connect with people across the world, many people may try to follow the path of M Samson and try to do something different in life.