; February 2012 | Google Operating System News

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Get your Gmail stickers

Update 3/1/2009: Sorry, we're all out of free stickers. If you sent in a self-addressed stamped envelope postmarked by February 14, 2009, we hope you enjoy yours!


Not too long ago, one of the Gmail engineers broke out her vinyl cutter and made some Gmail m-velope stickers. Pretty soon, they were pasted to our desks, stuck on our laptops, and adorning the walls around the office. Then other people started asking us about them -- first it was just other Googlers. But when a guy I was sitting next to on an airplane asked where he could get a Gmail sticker, we realized other people might like them too.

So we designed some more, and printed up a whole bunch.



There's the standard Gmail m-velope -- dressed up in glitter. One of three bookplate style stickers you can stick on anything from the inside of a favorite book to your laptop or your skateboard. (Trading with friends is encouraged -- we realize the unicorn isn't for everyone.) And there's a sheet of keyboard shortcut stickers intended as a tool to help people learn Gmail's shortcuts. The adhesive is a bit more removable than standard stickiness, so you can take them off once you've trained your fingers.



So how do you get your stickers? We may be all about speedy electronic communication, but this time we're going old school with snail mail. Just send a self-addressed stamped envelope (along with a note if you're so inclined) to:

[removed address since we're out of stickers and no longer accepting requests]

Make sure to include enough postage to return a sticker pack via U.S. mail. It's less than one ounce, so a standard $0.42 stamp will do if you're in the United States; enclose an international reply coupon (IRC) if you're outside of the U.S. And be sure to send your envelope in soon -- one per person please.

*Our lawyers asked us to make sure it was clear that your contact information won't be maintained in any way and these stickers are "void where prohibited and only while supplies last."

Changes to the look of Gmail

You might have noticed that Gmail looks a little different lately. We’ve made some changes at Google to make our products simpler and more consistent so that your experience can be more productive and enjoyable.

Why we made these changes

The way people use and experience the web is evolving, and our goal is to give you a more seamless and consistent online experience -- one that works no matter which Google product you’re using or what device you’re using it on. The new Google experience that we’re working toward is founded on three key design principles:
  • Focus: With the design changes in the coming weeks and months, we’re bringing forward the stuff that matters to you and getting all the other clutter out of your way.
  • Elasticity: The new design will soon allow you to seamlessly transition from your desktop computer to your mobile phone to your tablet, while keeping a consistent visual experience. We aim to bring you this flexibility without sacrificing style or usefulness.
  • Effortlessness: Our design philosophy is to combine power with simplicity. We want to keep our look simple and clean. But behind the seemingly simple design, the changes use new technologies to make sure you have all the power of the web behind you.

What's changed

Throughout Gmail, you’ll notice some changes in layout and color. We’ve also minimized or removed borders in certain areas to create a cleaner look. Below you’ll find a summary of specific improvements:
We think you’ll find the new design easier to use. If your account has been upgraded but you’re not quite ready to make the switch, you can temporarily switch back to old look by clicking the gear icon in the top corner and selecting the option to postpone switching. Gmail will offer the new look to you again after several days.

Options at the top

We’ve cleaned up the Gmail toolbar, and it stays with you so that you can reach these options at any time. All of your familiar features are still there. Here’s how they’ve changed:
  • Now you can access Contacts and Tasks by clicking Mail on the left, below the Gmail logo.
  • Toolbar options like Archive, Spam, and Labels are now collapsed until you need them. Select or open a message to see actions you can take.
  • Most toolbar options are now graphic icons or shorter text to keep your toolbar more consistent. They’re in the same order as before, and hovering over the buttons will remind you of their meaning.
    Old:
    New:
  • The +/- buttons have been removed. Instead, just click the importance tag on the left side of a message in the list, next to the sender’s name, to mark it as important or unimportant without opening it.
  • Oldest and Newest navigation options have moved beneath the message range. Hover over 1-50 to reveal them.
  • There’s a new gear icon to access your settings . Use it to change your theme, get help, and access all other Gmail settings.
  • The settings gear also has a new set of options called "Display Density". Experiment with these options to adjust how much information you see on the page. Learn more about how to use this setting.


Using labels, chat, and gadgets

The left side of Gmail that includes your labels, chat, and any additional gadgets you’ve used to customize Gmail is now more adjustable, more responsive, and faster. Here are some specific changes:
  • The column stays fixed in position as you scroll through your messages so that you don’t need to scroll up to get to your labels or chat list.
  • Click and drag the solid line below your list of labels to adjust the height of the panel below them.
  • If you have a large number of labels, moving the cursor over them will automatically expand the list, and moving the cursor away will automatically contract it. This way, you can keep them hidden until you need them.
  • By default, labels and chat always show. If you’ve added other features to the left side of Gmail, such as the Google Calendar gadget or the Quick Links lab, switch between chat and your gadgets with the icons at the bottom.
  • Gmail will remember the toggle position the next time you sign in.
  • You can also click whichever icon is currently highlighted a second time to have neither chat nor gadgets show.
  • If you want to turn chat off, you can do so by clicking the gear icon, choosing Settings, clicking the Chat tab, and changing the setting to disable it.
  • You can use the arrow keys to navigate within the labels section, as well as between panels in Gmail.
  • The grey “Compose mail” button now stands out in red, unless you’ve switched to a different theme.


Reading your messages

We’ve streamlined email messages to make them easier to read and to better show who’s involved in a conversation.
  • When viewing the list of your messages, you can navigate via the arrow keys on your keyboard. A blue vertical line at the left shows which message is in focus, replacing the previous sideways arrows icon.
  • Messages in a thread flow together as a conversation. We’ve made them easier to read by removing extra surrounding graphics.
  • Put names to faces: images your contacts have selected to show (or images that you’ve selected to show for them) now appear next to each message.
  • If no image exists for a sender, a default icon shows that is colored to help indicate who said what.
  • The full list of message recipients is below the sender’s name. To show a long list, click the down arrow at the end of the row.
  • Click the down arrow to reveal more details about each message, including cc assignment and exact date. This information was previously under the “show details” link.
  • Stars for individual messages in a thread are now on the right side, next to the reply button.
  • The “Reply” button on the right is now an icon
  • Beneath the arrow to the right of the Reply button, you’ll find the options to filter messages similar to the current one, reply to the sender by chat, and others.
  • Quoted text from earlier in the conversation is now collapsed within the "Show trimmed text" icon rather than a text link. Click it to show or hide the trimmed content. Signatures are also collapsed under an ellipsis.
  • To mark messages you’re reading as important or not important, click the importance indicator next to the subject line. Or, click More in the application toolbar next to the "Move to" and "Labels" icons:
  • Reply quickly using the box at the bottom of a conversation, or use the Reply, Reply to all, and Forward links within the box.
  • The Archive, Spam, Delete, etc., options are no longer at the bottom of the message. These options stay fixed at the top while you move down the page, so they’re always on the screen.


Search and filters

Search in Gmail is easy and powerful. Use the search box at the top to find things in Gmail and on the web.
  • There’s now a single magnifying glass button for Search. You can still use the same text box to “search Mail” and “search the Web.”
  • Access the “Advanced search options” and “create a filter” tools using the small arrow in the search box. Clicking this arrow will open the new advanced search tool.
  • If you want to create a filter to automatically take actions on your messages, after filling in the search terms, click “Create filter with this search” at the bottom of the advanced search tool. You’ll see your test search results behind a new set of options to help finish creating your filter.
  • After you perform a search by clicking the magnifying glass icon, you’ll see the text version of your search term in the search box.
  • You can still search across the web from the Gmail search box; when you type your query, an option to search the web will show up as a drop-down.


Settings

Most of your settings are the same, and you can access them by clicking the gear icon.
  • Themes have been refreshed with new background color and image options. A small number of themes are no longer supported in the Gmail upgrade. We’re working to improve older themes and create new ones.
  • It’s no longer possible to customize Web Clips with your chosen RSS feeds. If you previously customized them, visit the Web Clips tab of the Settings page to get a copy of your feeds list.
  • It’s no longer possible to limit your contacts’ pictures to only the ones you’ve chosen for them. You’ll always see your contacts’ chosen pictures next to messages from those contacts; if you have contacts without associated pictures, you can still add ones of your own.
  • If you need to use the basic HTML version of Gmail, access it here; if you always need to use the basic HTML version, change your setting when prompted.


Contacts

To access the contact manager in Gmail, first click Mail at the top left and choose Contacts.
  • As in Mail, your toolbar buttons remain collapsed until you select or open a contact.
  • The “Add to My Contacts” button is now an icon.
  • The “Groups” button is now an icon.
  • The “Email” button is now an icon.
  • The left side of the page automatically expands on mouseover if you have a lot of contact groups, just like labels.
  • To get to the end of your contacts list quickly, click the range of names at the top right of the list.
  • You can still assign a picture to contacts who don’t have one of their own set, but you can no longer suggest that picture to the contact.
It’s no longer possible to access the older, deprecated contact manager.

Gmail gets better with Google+

Find emails from the people in your circles

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Share photos with just one click

Why download? The next time someone emails you a great photo, you can share it on Google+ without leaving your inbox.

Thursday 23 February 2012

t20 world cup 2012



World Twenty20 2012
Hong Kong : As per latest Future Tour Programs (FTP) released by International Cricket Council (ICC) for the year 2012 to 2020, place ICC World Twenty20 in September 2012. The tournament is schedule to be hosted by Sri Lanka. Another major event Champions League Twenty20 is now officially recognized and have official window in somewhere September to October for all the upcoming years.
As per ICC, the upcoming three ICC World Twenty20 events will be played in South Asia. The 2012 World Twenty20 will be hosted by Sri Lanka; thereafter Bangladesh will host 2014 World Twenty20 and finally India to host ICC World Twenty20 2016.
For Sri Lanka, hosting ICC World Twenty20 2012 might be savior from view point of their financial position. In current position, Sri Lanka Cricket is in debt of around $23 million thanks to heavy expenses in constructing two stadiums at Hambantota and Pallekele. Sri Lanka Cricket hopes to play some of their important matches at this stadium to recover the amount spent on building of the stadiums.

ISI chiefs: Mansoor Ijaz testimony

Islamabad:  Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claims Pakistan's former envoy Husain Haqqani had acted on the directions of senior government leaders and had devised "bad boys" as code words for army and ISI chiefs. Ijaz made the remarks on Thursday, the second day of his deposition via videoconferencing from London before a Pakistani judicial commission probing the memo scandal which sparked a political crisis in the country.

However, Ijaz offered no information that was not already included in statements he had filed in Pakistan's Supreme Court.

Ijaz said in his testimony that the envoy wrote him a message referring to the Pakistani government as "friend". He also claimed that Ispahani, which is Haqqani's wife's second name, was the secret code for the Americans. He further claimed Haqqani had said the Pakistan government was willing to give the US access to the widows of Osama bin Laden after the Al Qaeda leader was killed in a raid by American forces at Abbottabad in May last year.

He also acknowledged that he had prepared the first draft of the alleged memo himself without taking the consent of Haqqani.

Ijaz is deposing from the Pakistan High Commission in London, while the three-judge commission appointed by the Supreme Court is conducting the proceedings from Islamabad.

Following a complaint from Haqqani's lawyer Zahid Bukhari about Ijaz's long-winded statements, the panel asked Ijaz to make brief comments.

The Pakistani-American businessman presented more documents to the commission and showed what he claimed were messages on his mobile phone and emails on his laptop that pertained to his communications with Haqqani.

Bukhari said these communications should be subjected to a forensic examination before he began his cross-examination of Ijaz.

Ijaz read out a purported BlackBerry conversation with Haqqani and told the commission he had sent a message to Haqqani on May 9 about forwarding a message to American officials.

Haqqani replied shortly thereafter in a message in which he talked about the Inter-Services Intelligence and army chiefs, Ijaz claimed.

The judicial commission also took up several applications filed by Bukhari, including one opposing the move to cross-examine Ijaz via a video link.

Bukhari said he should be given time to travel to London so that he could personally question Ijaz rather than via a video link.

Bukhari also sought copies of all the evidence provided by Ijaz.

However, this was opposed by Ijaz's lawyer Akram Sheikh, who said some of the evidence was "secret" and could not be shared with everyone.

During the proceedings, Ijaz claimed he was a Muslim and recited the 'kalma' as proof. He said he was doing this to clear any ambiguity raised about his religious background by Haqqani's counsel.

The media was barred from the room in the Pakistan High Commission in London where Ijaz delivered his testimony. Following a complaint from Haqqani's counsel about the media misreporting the proceedings, the commission directed reporters to show responsibility and not beam footage of the proceedings.

Ijaz made public the alleged memo in October last year. He has repeatedly claimed he drafted and delivered the memo on Haqqani's instructions.

The government and Haqqani have dismissed Ijaz's claims. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had recently criticised the handling of the memo issue by the army and ISI chiefs.

Rehman Malik Govt to quash cases

Rehman Malik 3
ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced on Thursday to withdraw all the criminal cases against the disgruntled Baloch leaders, including top separatist Herbyar Mari and Barhamdagh Bugti.
The announcement came days after a US congressman tabled a resolution in US House of Representatives, espousing self-determination for Balochistan, Pakistan’s southwestern province that has caused ripples across the country.
Malik urged all the Baloch and national leadership to participate in the All Parties Conference being convened by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the unrest in Balochistan. Regarding FC, he said that now onward the paramilitary force would follow provincial government’s order. He said he had met Herbyar Mari in London.
Regarding the missing persons, Malik came up with a new version, saying that those being termed as missing persons were killed during Jihad in Afghanistan. He said the relatives and heirs of the missing persons must accept the fact.
Earlier, Shah Zain Bugti set out eight points of demands as precondition to starting dialogue. On the list was a call for legal action against former president Pervez Musharraf for killing Nawab Akbar Bugti.
Bloch leader Nawabzada Harbyar Marri met Nawabzada Brahamdagh Bugti in Switzerland and discussed the current situation in Balochistan. In response to this, Rehman Malik agreed that legal action would be taken against Musharraf.
He also said the Frontier Constabulary would only act on call from the provincial government.

Monday 6 February 2012

2012 with best wishes

The new year 2012 is just coming very soon and these are latest photos of new year 2012 with best wishes, happy new year to everyone and enjoy these wallpaper with your friends and family.
 Best wallpaper with best wishes for 2012 free download


Valentine's Day nice loving February 2012

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Valentine's Day wishes

Valentine's Day Gift Wallpaper

Valentine's Day 2012 wishes

Valentine's Day Loving Hearts
Best Valentine's Day Quotes For Lovers
Valentine's Day Best Quotes

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

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Happy Valentine's Lovers Day 2012 Greeting Wallpaper
 Very Nice Quotes Wallpaper of Valentine's Day 2012


Sunday 5 February 2012

Google Groups Themes

Just in case you don't like the Google Groups interface and want to customize it, there's a new light gray theme you can try. Just click the settings button, click "Themes" and select the "soft gray" theme. This only works in the new Google Groups interface.



A similar theme is also available for Gmail and it will be interesting to see if Google Groups will add support for the other Gmail themes. Maybe apps like Google+, Google Docs, Google Reader and even services like Google Search will support Gmail's color themes.

{ Thanks , Herin. }

Google Tests a New Version of the Black Bar

While Google hasn't abandoned the navigation bar launched last year, both the old and the new interface are used today. If you load google.com in Chrome's incognito mode, the old interface shows up more often than the new UI. The simplified interface made navigation more complicated, even if it looks better than the black bar.

Google even tests a slightly updated version of the old bar that uses the services from the new UI, more spacing and a different color scheme.



Here's how you can try the latest Google experiment. If you use Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer 8+, open google.com in a new tab, load:

* Chrome's JavaScript console (Ctrl+Shift+J)
* Firefox's Web Console (Ctrl+Shift+K)
* Safari's Web Inspector (how to do that?)
or
* IE's Developer Tools (press F12 and select the "console" tab)

and paste the following code:

document.cookie="PREF=ID=381502750b6e9119:U=aaee74aefea7315a:FF=0:LD=en:CR=2:TM=1328391998:LM=1328392000:S=yPtlCgLbEnezu5b4; path=/; domain=.google.com";window.location.reload();

Then press Enter and close the console. If you're not in the US and you're using a different Google domain, replace ".google.com" with your domain in the code (for example: ".google.co.uk" in the UK).

If you'd like to go back to the old interface and reset the Google PREF cookie, repeat the same steps, but use the following code:

document.cookie="PREF=; path=/; domain=.google.com";window.location.reload();