The Top 3 Blogging Platforms

This hub explores three of the most popular blogging platforms available. It compares them in terms of ease of use, search engine optimisation, and customisation. If you're thinking about starting a blog, this will give you an idea of which platform is the right one for you.

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Is Google Music Coming To Britain?

Is Google Music ever going to be available in the UK? If so, when?

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The Second Coming of Microsoft

An interesting piece on the how Microsoft is finally starting to step up its game against Google and Apple with a renewed push into hardware.

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Great Apps and Extensions for Google Chrome

One of the best things about the Chrome web browser is the Chrome Web Store. This online store offers a plethora of apps and extensions which help improve productivity, ease-of-use, and the power of your browser.

But with so many add-ons available, it can be difficult to find the best ones. This article will suggest a small selection of apps and extensions that every Google Chrome user needs to try.

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The 10 Best Themes for Google Chrome

Google Chrome is one of the most customisable web browsers around. One of the great things about it is the ability to customise the browser's theme. There are thousands to choose from in the Chrome Web Store, but I've narrowed the list down to 10 of the best ones.

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Top 5 Modern Web Browsers

The modern web requires a modern web browser. This hub reviews the top 5 web browsers to help you pick the the browser that will best suit your needs.

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How to Find Blogs to Follow on Blogger

Unlike Tumblr or WordPress you can’t simply do a search for blogs or blog posts under the category of, say, photography. And the thing is, that’s exactly what you want to do. You want to be able to search for blogs or blog posts related to particular topics so you can read and follow them.

So, since Google won’t let us search Blogger for blogs and posts on differnet topics, how do you find blogs to follow on blogger?

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How to Sign Up for and Use Google AdSense

Before I get into any detail, I’ll quickly explain what Google AdSense is, for those of you who aren’t entirely sure. AdSense is a program from Google which allows you to display ads on your blog or website. Every time someone clicks on one of those adverts, some money is paid to Google by the advertiser. But if the ad is displayed on your site or blog, you’ll be paid a percentage of that money. This makes Google's AdSense program a great way to start making money online.

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Comic Sans and Kardashians

For those of you who use Google Chrome, I have a couple of very clever extensions you might want to download. 

The first is called Comic Sans Surfing. It turns all text on the web into - you guessed it - Comic Sans. This would be quite fun to try out, don't you think? Even better, install it on your friend's computer while they're in the other room, rather being boring and just fraping them.

The second extension is one you might actually want to use all the time. It's called Kardashian Blocker. This one also does pretty much what it says on the tin; it blocks websites which are “known for hiring the Kardashians to sell or market products. It will also block media websites including TMZ and E! for spreading Kardashian friendly propaganda under the disguise of news.” How about having that on your internet, eh?

How to Legally Download YouTube Videos

There are a number of programs and services out there that allow you to download YouTube videos. Not all of them are legal, most of them are complicated and slow. Thankfully, there is a better way.

Steps:

1. If you’re not already using it, download and install the Google Chrome web browser.
2. Visit the Chrome Web Store.
3. Search for: YouTube Downloader: MP3 / HD Video.
4. Click "Add to Chrome."
5. Go to YouTube and watch any video. You’ll notice a download button has been added below the video. Clicking this will allow you to download the the video with various levels of quality and in different formats. The number of options depends on the video; if it only streams in 240p quality, you won’t be able to download it in 360p quality or higher.

N.B. This extension previously allowed users to download the video’s sound as an mp3 file, though Google has now put a stop to this. However, the creator of the extension set up a petition here– which has garnered over 900,000 signatures at the time of writing– and is now meeting Google to discuss the matter.

Google, Let Us Find Blogs. Please.

I'm just going to put it out there that Google really needs to add feature to find posts and blogs hosted on Blogger. Right now, the only ways to search for blogs on specific topics are as follows:

1. To use Tumblr or WordPress to search for specific tags along with Blogger or Google. And then follow the links to blogs. And then copy the URL's to the Reading List. 
2. To search for them using Google itself. As with the previous method, this is a little complicated and clumsy. Say you wanted to find blogs about photography. This is what you'd type: photography site:blogspot.com

And these would be the results:

I should make one thing clear: that's pathetic. Google, you need to do 2 things. The first is to give us a search box that we can use to find posts/blogs from labels and keyword searches. The second, is to stick a follow/unfollow button at the top of every blog (just like Tumblogs) so we can stop messing around with copying and pasting URL's.

Tumblr and WordPress make it easy to search for posts or blogs on any subject you like. The fact that Blogger doesn't is a major failing. I hope this isn't an oversight on Google's part and that they are, in fact, creating a solution. But until one arrives, this great blogging service still has one enormous flaw.

The current G+ mobile app

It's damn good. It actually makes me want to use Google+ just for the hell of it. It looks so elegant. I mean, it's probably the sharpest looking mobile app around, certainly within the social media bunch. And it works very nicely too; none of the annoying lagging in the Facebook mobile app.

If you use Google+ there's no reason not to download this app. Of course, there's no reason to use Google+ but, hey, who am I to tell you what to do?

Chrome for iOS

For all you wise people out there who use Google Chrome as your browser of choice, I have wonderful news: it's now available on iOS. That means if you're one of the bazillion people who has an iPod, iPhone, or iPad, you can use a real browser instead of Safari. And because i'm so nice, I'll even give you a download link.

If you'd like to read a little more about the app and what it means for mobile web browsing, read this article.