Finally, something for us [few] PC users [left] out there to get excited about! The Beta version of Google Chrome has launched today, and it's only available for those of us fortunate enough to be running Vista. My initial test run of it here is looking pretty good so far - I'm loving the visual representation of your most visited websites as the default homepage. Check it out here!

Google has just launched a new video feature to its Google Chat client - so now you can look your chat-mate in the face as you're talking (putting the client on par with Skype and MSN Messenger). Check out the write-up from Webmonkey here.

Not sure what to do when you're feeling chill? Sophisticated? Energetic? I Feel NYC is one of the most clever (and funny/useful) Google Maps application that I've come across. Also available for London.

The first time I used Google Chrome, I was suprised on how simple the design of the browser.   The only visible functionality are the most common use buttons such as: back, forward, refresh, favorite, address and setting buttons.  The address field looks like any regular browser, but it smarts enough to distinguish between site url and search text. It also gives text prediction as you type.  

But after using with this new browser for about a week, I'm starting to notice the limitation of this new browser.  Unlike FIrefox, Chrome does not has the functionality to add adds-on to the browser.  This limitation make me miss the convinient of accessing my favorite site through my virtual bookmark.   

I'm hoping  that google will bring back the virtual bookmark toolbar to Chrome.

 

Need to decompress a bit from sitting and staring at your computer for hours on end? Check out thisissand.com for a fun way to do it - reminiscent of those sand art crafts projects we all did as kids. Pick your colors and just click to create mountains of colored sand. Be careful though, this one is addicting...

I'll admit it - I'm a complete internet radio junkie. I love it, listen to it constantly, and rely on it to introduce me to new stuff. Up until now, I've been a solid last.fm girl, but I recently stumbled upon blip.fm. Blip is an odd combination of Twitter and internet radio, that allows you to become a "DJ," to "blip" what you're listening to, and to listen to other DJs who have similar tastes to you. I'm still trying to get a feel for how it all works, but it seems pretty great. Check it out here - and add me as a DJ - my DJ name is "isureamheather."

From former Google employees comes Cuil, the newest super engine to hit the net. I took a quick look around, and so far I really like what I see. It has a great clean design (including the option to view your search results in 2 or 3 columns), and great smart options for sorting your data (a search of the term "Olympics" presented me with tabs for Winter Olympics, Special Olympics, Summer Olympics, and categories such as "2012 Summer Olympics" and "IOC Members"). Cuil also presents a much cleaner summary of each page (in a small paragraph) than its competitors. I wonder if this will prompt enough people to make the switch over from Google...I think I'm convinced.

Twitter has just passed the One Billion Tweets mark, according to GigaTweet!

A friend just turned me on to this delightfully simple work log, ididwork.com. The name pretty much says it all; log the work that you did, tag it if you like, and ididwork.com will create charts mapping your work, email your logs to your manager (if desired), and schedule work reviews. This is a handy little tool for jobs where you have to log hours on certain projects, or you may be working on site and have to report in your work to your manager. Just a great example on how simplicity wins over and a site without too many bells and whistles can be most useful.

A wise man once said, "Wherever you go, there you are," and now with Geode, announced today from Mozilla Labs, your web browser will know where you are as well. Geode will be available in the upcoming beta releases of Firefox 3.1, and will allow users to fire up their computers from any location, direct their browser to their favorite review site (like Yelp, Citysearch, etc.), and have customized location-specific information surfaced. But the potential expands beyond just fun - imagine an RSS reader that knows the difference between Home and Work, or a news website that is truly local. Read more at the Mozilla Labs blog.

I love stumbling across creative applications of Google Maps, and TripWolf incorporates one of the coolest. It combines the GMap with Q&As (think Yahoo Answers), social networking (integrated with Facebook), and a wide breadth of information to create one of the coolest travel advisor sites out there. Just a quick look around gets great suggestions from users on sites all over the world, including tips from a destination's primary user (or "guru"). Check it out here.

No need to fret - turns out all that time spent trawling the search engines for the latest and greatest gossip...er...important news items is in no way detrimental to your brain functionality. On the contrary, a recent study shows that this activity among seasoned internet users actually promotes brain activity. Check out the full article at USA Today.

Just in case you were wondering whether the Hadron Collider being tested right now at CERN has destroyed the world yet, you now have a handy website to go to check it out: http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

...you get the Most Innovative Celebrities in Digital Media, or, the Econoclast10.

Yesterday, Twitter launched a redesigned homepage, which shows a shift in focus towards search (rather than specific users, as the old homepage highlighted). It seems that this new homepage could be a recognition, on Twitter’s part, of how users have shaped the microblogging platform - it’s now the place where you can find up-to-the-minute information on what’s happening NOW (rather than depending on search engines that are increasingly appearing to post more dated content, dependant on the slower nature of crawling the web and indexing content). Just look at the trends to see what people are talking about right this second (um…M&Ms and William Shatner? Really?). So does this poise Twitter to take on the search behemoths of Google and bing? Only time will tell…

I've always been a fan of movie posters - but I think they're so often seen as pure advertising and the excellent design sense of some of them goes unnoticed. Here is a great compilation of some of the best!

...well now may be your chance! Check out iKnow.co.jp for a really great and simple online learning tool - which allows you to enroll in and take courses directly on the site, track your progress, and connect with other students. The architecture and interface are so straightforward and simple, really easy to use. This is huge, because, as a former Instructional Designer, I know that designing a usable and functional UI for training and education is super difficult. I'm thoroughly impressed! Check it out koko.

(from CNN) Ever wonder what information Google knows about you? With a click or two, now you can find out. Google released a feature Thursday that lets users see and control data that the Web giant has collected about them. Called Google Dashboard, the service provides an online summary of a user's Google files -- Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa photos and so on -- by collecting pre-existing privacy controls in one place. More »

The LUPE may look like another touchscreen camera but this concept is designed for ease of use and simplicity even tho technically it’s quite complex.