Google Chrome and Gmail crash reasons told by Google engineer

On Monday, Google's mail service Gmail went down for 20 minutes. But this was not the only failure, because Google Chrome also crashed on Dec 10. Later on in a thread on the Chromium developer forum, Google Software engineer Tim Steele explained that the issues were due to a mis-configured server that took out Google's Sync platform.

The crashes were affecting Chrome users who were using another Google web service known as Sync, and that Sync and other Google services. 

The problem was a bad coding of the Google Sync, which accidentally sent a wrong code to Chrome and the browsers as well Gmail got crashed. 

It’s also something that cloud service providers are going to have to worry about more and more, as services such as Apple’s iCloud and Windows Live get more closely intertwined with our phones and PCs.

More there will be the use of cloud based services, more will be the chances to face such problems as a server has its capabilities. 

Later on, Google released following statement

"Earlier today, we experienced an issue with Chrome Sync, which resulted in Chrome browser crashes for a subset of users. From our investigation, it appears the crashes were due to bugs in both the sync client and server.For everyone who was affected, we apologize - we know you count on Google to work for you and we worked hard to restore normal operation for you. The sync client and server teams are currently working on fixing the bugs to prevent the same issue in the future."

Were you also affected by it? Share in comments.

[via The Verge & Wired]

Save Email attachments to Google Drive

Now you do not need to worry about your email attachments if your system gets crashed. Because a Google Chrome extension "Attachments.me" helps you to save it to your Google Drive directly. The most cool thing is that it works automatically, so there's no need to manually move every attachment there. 

It is easy to set up the app. When you're done, the attachments from the upcoming E-mails will move to your Google Drive. Keep in mind that it will also fill your Google Drive storage. 

Download app here

Do you like it? Put your views in comments. 

Screenshots

Create music with JAM with Chrome

Do you want to create your own music with your friends? Now, Google has given a solution to it by releasing the new "Jam with Chrome".  Chrome users can invite up to three friends to join in a practice session, controlling synthesized instruments straight from the browser. You don't need to rely on Garageband to create music with friends.

Go to: Jam with Chrome

On opening Jam with Chrome website, users can pick from 19 music instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, drum kits, drum machines and keyboards, and then they click again to start playing. Interface is not much easy as other Google services, but there is always Help feature there to help you.

With this step Google is developing a new wave of music composers, without need to buy instruments.

Google Chrome has now Do Not Track feature

If you use Google Chrome and don’t want your online behavior tracked by marketers, today’s your lucky day. Chrome, currently the world’s most popular browser, just got an update with the much-requested “Do Not Track” feature — which Google promised it would release earlier this year.

Do Not Track is an increasingly widespread option. Its goal is to block cookies that give marketers some idea of how you live your life on the Internet. It’s generally used in aggregated data about consumer behavior, although many advertisers — including Google itself — use cookies to target ads to individual users.

The update will be applied automatically for most Chrome users over the next few days.

Courtesy: Mashable

Get your Google back [video]

Got Windows 8? Find yourself missing your Google functionality with all that Bing on board?

Although Windows 8 ships with Internet Explorer and Bing installed in, Google is taking measures to keep users loyal to Chrome and Search, releasing a new instructional video to explain how to install the apps on Microsoft's new OS. 

Titled "Get Your Google Back," the video directs users to go to GetYourGoogleBack.com, which quickly accesses the download pages for Search and Google's browser.

Courtesy: The Verge, Mashable

Watch the video below:

Firefox turns 10

Mozilla Firefox's decade: Firefox turns 10

March 31, 1998:  Coders at Netscape start an open-source project. They call it Mozilla, a former codename for the Netscape Navigator browser which was extremely popular in the 1990s. Mozilla was derived from the words “mosaic” (another popular 1990s browser) and “killer.”

Sept. 23, 2002:  The release of “Phoenix 0.1” marks the earliest version of the browser that would eventually become known as Firefox.

July 15, 2003:  The Mozilla Foundation is established. The foundation is a non-profit organization whose core belief is, “The Web is a shared public resource to be cared for, not a commodity to be sold.”

June 15, 2004:  Mozilla launches the Add-ons Gallery, an official comprehensive list of all the extensions, themes and plug-ins users can employ to customize their browsers.

Nov. 9, 2004:  Mozilla unveils Firefox 1.0, the first full version of the browser. Fans of the project organized a full-page advertisement in The New York Times to herald the release.

Aug. 12, 2006:  Enthusiastic Firefox fans, mostly students from Oregon State, make a 220-foot wide crop circle reproduction of the Firefox logo in an oat field near Amity, Ore.

Feb. 21, 2008: The total for downloads of Firefox surpasses 500 million.

June 17, 2008:  Mozilla releases Firefox Version 3.0, which establishes a Guinness World Record for “Most Downloads of a Software Application in 24 Hours,” totaling more than 8 million. There was no previous record.

Feb. 8, 2011:  The beta version of Firefox 4 includes a “Do Not Track” feature, furthering the company’s commitment to privacy awareness.

March 29, 2011:  Firefox releases a mobile browser for Android devices, initially available in more than 10 languages.

April 2011:  The company implements a “Rapid Release” schedule, making a new version of Firefox available every six weeks. By this schedule, there are always four versions of Firefox being worked on at a given time. Users can try the “Nightly” version, which has the latest updates that have not been fully vetted; the “Aurora” version, which is more stabilized; or the “Beta” version, the last step before an official release.

July 26, 2012:  The download total for add-ons surpasses 3 billion. Firefox currently has over 17,000 user-created add-ons.

Today:  More than 450 million people use Firefox. About 40% of the code was written by volunteers. The browser is extremely popular around the world; it is available in 75 languages and more than half of users employ non-English versions.

   

Watch Google I/O 2012 day 1 keynote

If you’ve missed out on some of the action from the first day of Google’s I/O conference, here’s a chance to relive it: Google has made available the video of the entire 2-hour opening keynote. Here is the link to it

http://youtu.be/VuC0i4xTyrI

Brief summary: 

Software

• Android

In this event, Google released new version of Android code-named as JellyBean 4.1. They also displayed Project butter for increasing the graphic quality and rendering. It provides silky smooth acceleration to the devices. New Android also contains new Google search, camera, notifications, display, lock screen, play store etc. Download preview from here.

• Chrome

New version of Chrome has been released and it will be available for all platforms that means Windows, Mac OS X, Android, Chrome OS and iOS. Yes you read right. Chrome will be available on App store (Download). And it has been updated for all platforms. Download chrome from here.

Hardware

• Nexus Phone

Nexus smartphone is the device to get the JellyBean update. It has the same hardware, but the new OS. It will get update OTA (on-the-air) soon. On the 1st Attendees were gifted Nexus Phone. 

• Nexus 7

Nexus 7 tab provides the smart browsing and full reading experience. It is developed by ASUS and will be available directly from Google Play. As the name shows it is a 7 inch tablet having Quad core CPU and 12 core GPU.

• Nexus Q

Nexus Q is marketed by Google as the world’s first social Music streaming device. It connects over wifi and you and your friends can enjoy the playlist.

• Google Glass

And finally Google Glasses were unveiled by some skydivers who logged in a Google+ hangout and dived from a helicopter. They landed above the Moscone Center, where the event was taking place. It was unveiled by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google on day 2.

Attendees were gifted Nexus devices at the end of Day 1 event.

Watch the Day 1 event keynote video

                          

Chrome became best browser for one day

Google’s Chrome browser became the most-used browser in the world for one day last weekend, according to web analytics company StatCounter.

A new report by StatCounter revealed that Chrome became the top global Internet browser for the first time on Sunday. It was the most popular browser in India, Russia and Brazil, which helped contribute to it becoming the number one PC browser for the day.

“While it is only one day, this is a milestone,” said StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen.About 32.7% of global web browsing occurred on Chrome on March 18, followed by Internet Explorer with 32.5%, according to a Reuters report. On Monday, Chrome occupied 30% of browsing while Internet Explorer accounted for about 35%. Firefox occupies about 25% of the global market share, while Safari trails with 7%.

Chrome still has a way to go to beat Internet Explorer and Firefox in many regions, including China, United States and Germany.

“Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable,” Cullen added. “At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to Internet Explorer.”

[Source: Mashable]

Hands on with Android Google Chrome

Google rolled its signature Chrome browser to Android phones on Tuesday, 7 Feb 2012. If you’re one of the lucky ones running Ice Cream Sandwich, commonly known as Android 4.0, you’ll be able to download Chrome from the Android Market, now Play Store.

As you can see from the above gallery of screenshots taken from both Google and our experience running Chrome on a Galaxy Nexus, tabbed browsing is a big highlight of Chrome for Android. It also boasts the ability to have simple private browsing sessions.

Most importantly, Chrome for Android blends in with other Google services seamlessly, such as Google Maps and YouTube. It was easy for us to import tabs from our computer browsers as well.

[Content taken form here]

View this gallery for features:

YouTube and Google Maps are both integrated into the new Chrome for Android. 

 

It is easy to use.

 

Google's search bar is also easy to find. 

 

Google imports your tabs from your Chrome session on your computer. 

 

The tabs view gives you a neat way to see all your open pages at once. 

 

Flipping your phone sideways offers expanded maps. 

 

The tabs also function just as well sideways. 

 

Google's suggestion engine helps fill in what you're searching for. 

 

Chrome for Android even includes private browsing sessions. 

 

ou can do many features, like find on page, from the Chrome options.

 

It also makes it much easier to save pages for offline reading. 

 

Your bookmarks are imported from your desktop and separated from your mobile bookmarks.