Hasta La Gadget!

Google recently updated its Hangout chat client with the same remote desktop control tech integrated into Chrome. This slick new feature gives you the option to take control of someone’s computer (with their permission, of course) during a video call. If you often find yourself recruited to help friends and family members with technical issues, you’ll definitely dig this. To begin a remote session, start a Hangout and click View More Apps > Add Apps > Hangouts Remote Desktop. Now that you’ve got this light work out of the way, it’s time to move on to some heavy lifting — like helping grandma set up that Netflix account she’s been asking about.

Filed under: Software, Google

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Source: Daniel Caiafa (Google+)

When you’re sharing a file in Google Drive, your time should be spent collaborating, not arranging conversations. Right? Google agrees strongly enough to have just finished tweaking Drive’s web interface for better teamwork. Users actively working on the project now show as mouse-over icons, with their Google+ relationship front and center — if they’re not friends and you want them to be, you can change that almost immediately. It’s even faster to start group chats, as a new dedicated button will launch a chatroom for everyone who’s currently looking at the project. Google expects the speedier Drive socialization to reach us within a day or two, and it’s planning to bolster the update with wider file support sometime in the near future.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Google Drive Blog

We haven’t been hearing a whole lot about Blogger amid all the changes at Google in recent months, but the company hasn’t entirely forgotten about the pioneering blogging platform it acquired way back in 2003. It’s today introduced Google+ Comments for Blogger, a fairly self-explanatory new feature that will let you bring G+ comments to your Blogger-based site. Blogger users can enable that feature in their dashboard, which will let them see both comments left directly on their blog and those made about their blog on Google+. Notably, it will also let users chose to either comment publicly or privately to only those in their Google+ circles — and, conversely, choose to only view comments from their circles instead of the teeming masses.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Official Google Blog

The phaseout of Google Reader is quickly becoming a boon for developers still carrying the torch for newsreader apps — just ask Feedly, which now says it took on 3 million new users in the two weeks since Google’s decision. Rather than simply wait for more customers to roll in on their own, though, the company is taking matters into its own hands with a major refresh of Feedly Mobile for Android and iOS. The update brings a reworked search engine that’s both extra-quick and makes topic suggestions based on the collective subscriptions of the Feedly user base, getting better as more readers join the ranks. Other updates also serve those who want to keep things moving quickly. A new Must Reads section prioritizes feeds, a title-only view maximizes screen space and an updated sharing panel both allows a customizable shortcut as well as (slightly ironic) sharing to Google+. Once you’ve gotten over the sting of another Google spring cleaning, Feedly’s potential solutions await at the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

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Source: App Store, Google Play, Feedly

Snapseed quickly took on Google+ integration after it was acquired by Google. It’s now Snapseed’s time to return the favor. An update to the Google+ apps is introducing basic image editing (currently for iOS only) and, yes, those seemingly inescapable retro filters to get just the right effect before an image goes into a post. The pseudo-Instagram layer is far from the only addition, however. Android and desktop users can optionally tell Google+ to always share their closest available location in their profile; posts in the stream now include more text and make it easier to see photos and videos; Community participants can also invite people, share posts and manage activity away from their computers. If you’ve ever wanted to fix a Google+ photo — or break it, some would argue — the Android and iOS updates are rolling out today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Google

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Via: Google+

Source: App Store, Google Play