Monday, February 21, 2011

Chrome Browser Sync

Today I'd like to introduce what has to easily be the coolest Google Chrome feature. The ability to sync Chrome Apps, Extensions, Preferences, Themes, Autofill data and BOOKMARKS!


If you're an IT guru, the internet is a very big part of your career whether you like it or not and nowadays, it almost doesn't matter what position or career path you're in, the internet is a part of your every day life and you usually need to access it from your home, work and even the occasional coffee shop e-mail check/blog post.


Wouldn't it be nice to have your cloud computing world be synced across all your platforms and devices?  I think I probably shed a tear when Google released the ability to sync your Chrome browser based on your Google/Gmail account.  Now, instead of sitting at the office wishing I had the link I bookmarked last night at home, I have it everywhere I go.  My Chrome browser is syncs between my Macbook Pro, my work PC and my home PC.  This allows me to literally bookmark a link on my home PC that I might be reading, turn my PC off, grab my Macbook, go to a coffee shop, grab a cup of coffee, turn my Macbook on, launch Chrome, click on the bookmark that's already synced and part of my bookmarks on my Macbook, and continue where I left off.


Before Chrome, I had been craving such a feature within a browser, I constantly dealt with issues where my bookmarks weren't synced and it made it almost impossible for me to rely on bookmarks because I was constantly working off of different machines.  Now if I like a Chrome theme, I chose it can chose to have it synced on anywhere I have Google Chrome installed.


I have outlined the easy steps to sync your Chrome browser between multiple devices below.


1. Click on the Google Wrench at the top right, then click on "Options".



2. Click on the "Personal" tab, then enter in your Google/Gmail account you would like to use to sync your Chrome browser to.  Now click on "Customize".

3. Choose what you'd like to sync across all your Chrome installs or choose to "Keep everything synced" and click "ok".











Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Most Essential Piece to Life on "The Internet"


We've seen many tools of the trade in the online world since the late '90s.  None, however, have changed the game for web designers, online marketers, developers, researchers, geeks and gurus quiet like Google's Chrome Browser.  If you work online and have not switched primarily to Chrome, you're already behind.


For starters, it's WAY faster than anything that's currently available, not just at loading web pages but loading for the first time, loading new tabs and loading new windows as well.  People like me that are usually running tons of tabs in tons of windows, constantly opening and closing new ones and never really closing the web browser itself, Chrome has been a life saver. Because Chrome is so resource friendly, it also allows you to have multiple tabs and windows open all the time without slowing down the performance of your PC allowing you to work on projects and do research or just open tabs as "tasks" and keep them open for later.


Chrome is reliable and secure, built different from other browsers from the ground up (More Info Here).  This allows people that work within a browser to rely on it like they'd rely on their operating system.


For me, Chrome has made life much easier and continues to do so every day as Google builds and seamlessly implements new versions and features into the browser.  It works amazingly well with Google's online world of course and will get better as Google digs itself deeper and deeper into the core of "The Internet".


We'll do our best to uncover new Chrome extensions, themes and add-ons and let you know why you should have it and how you should use it.