Thank You Google!

I have been waiting for this for a long time!

I am not sure why they didn't do this originally. It just seems like a given... an automatic... but it just hadn't happened yet.

Now I wish they would allow me to access all of my uploaded music from drive!

Whodle?

There is going to be a Doctor Who Google Doodle!  You can see it now on Google New Zealand, though I am sure it will go live on the main Google page some time today.

Chromebooks Flyer

Here is the flyer that I printed out for our school.  

If you haven't donated yet, please consider giving to our High Poverty school.

For a printable version:

Chromebooks For Our School

If you have been following me for any amount of time, then you know I am a huge Google fan.  Two years ago, any mocking for being a Google fanatic was quelled when I received in the mail a free Chromebook from Google.  I was part of their Pilot Program and received one in the mail. Since that time, I have grown to love my Chromebook.  I use it everyday.  After two years of non-stop use, it is still as fast as it was when I first got it.


A couple of days ago, I heard about a special offer from Google and DonorsChoose.org for $99 Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks for Public Schools.  This is an amazing deal!  The school where I teach in is high poverty, we are barely scraping by on one lab of old desktop computers.  We don't have ipads or even a mobile lab.  I quickly put my name in and was accepted before the time ran out.

I am writing this blog post to beg for money.  I only need to come up with about $2600 to get 22 Chromebooks for my classroom.  And... Every donation using the code INSPIRE will receive a matched donation for the next 7 days!  Please consider donating some small amount to our school for this amazing deal!

If you find it in your heart to donate a little toward a needy school, please visit this site and make a donation. (Don't forget to use the code INSPIRE to get the matching donation.)

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/chromebooks-for-our-school/934086/#materialsList


This is for a non-profit, so every donation is tax-deductible!

SOPA Black Out and a positive Supreme Court Ruling

I don't know how anyone could not know this, but Wikipedia is doing a "black-out" today in order to raise awareness over the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) issue.  Here is what they say on their black-out page:

Imagine a World
Without Free Knowledge
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.

I would link to an article about the SOPA, but I can't get to Wikipedia!  Basically, the act is aimed at stopping the piracy of things like unreleased movies and such.  I guess the big companies are worried that this would give the government too much power.  With that, I agree. The government already has too much power.

Google is doing something similar.  They have blacked-out their Google Logo on their main search page.  Here is a picture of that as well:

On a positive note, the Supreme court ruled in favor of churches that they have the right to fire people based on the Church's beliefs.  Here is how the Huffington Post starts their article on the topic:

Employees of religious organizations whose job duties reflect "a role in conveying the Church's message and carrying out its mission" are barred by the First Amendment from suing over employment discrimination, said the Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion handed down Wednesday morning.

Lots of interesting news.

Cleaner Youtube

I just wanted to take a moment to recommend a Google Chrome extension.

I know we all love the occasional YouTube video from time to time.  Unfortunately, even when the video itself is clean and acceptable for viewing, the rest of the stuff that is present on the page may not be.  I've had many times that someone has sent me a funny or interesting video, but for some reason the related videos along the side have had some images that were completely inappropriate.  Sometimes I hesitate even clicking the link at all for that very reason.  So, I was glad to find "a cleaner YouTube."

Instead of attempting to describe what a cleaner YouTube does, let me just show you a couple of screenshots.

Here is a typical YouTube video:

Here is that same video's page with a cleaner YouTube:

You can click either image to enlarge... Notice that all of the extra stuff has been eliminated from the page, giving you... well... a cleaner YouTube.

If you use Google Chrome, then click here to go the the cleaner YouTube extension.  If you don't use Google Chrome, well you should.

Music Beta by Google

Yesterday I received my invitation to Music Beta by Google.  So far I am really loving it.  They offered some free music to get things rolling.  There were several categories of music to choose from, or you could select "add all". Since I love free stuff, I added it all.  Little did I know there would be 271 free songs!  (Yes, there is a 27 in there...)

This morning I downloaded the Music Manager on my home computer.  Once it was installed, it started uploading all of my music in the background.  It will continue to upload everything until it is complete. If it gets interrupted, it will pick up where it left off.  Hopefully my wife keeps the computer plugged in and turned on today!

After a day of using it (and using it while I type) it seems to work really well. As with all things Google, it is simple and easy to use. I can upload up to 22,000 songs without having to worry about adding additional storage.  There is an Android app available, but I will have to wait on that until I get an Android phone.

Talk to Search

This will only work in an up-to-date browser that can handle html5.

1. Make sure you have a microphone hooked up.
2. Click the little microphone in the search box.
3. State what you are searching for.
4. After the text enters itself from your voice...
5. Click the search button!

Custom Search

Before and After in Japan

Google has uploaded several before and after pictures from Japan. These are satellite pictures and really show the devastation that has impacted this country. Some of these pictures show whole neighborhoods... whole towns washed away. Here is a sample:

Before

From Google's Media Tools Gallery

After

From Google's Media Tools Gallery

The New York Times uses these same photos for an interactive collection.  It has the photo with a slider bar that you can slide back and forth to compare the before and after.

John Piper has posted an excellent prayer for the people of Japan.  I would like to share a snippet of the prayer.

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees. 

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you. 

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

(Read the rest of that prayer by clicking here.)

Why I love my CR-48 (Reason #2)

The Cloud!

Google's CR-48 is all about cloud computing.  What is cloud computing?  Here is a video that will help:



Using the CR-48 has forced me to become more acquainted with the cloud. There are several useful sites out there, and you can do almost anything right in the browser. I use Google Docs more and more. I even added the extra storage (20 gig) for only $5/year. That 20 gig spans across all of my Google products, including Google Docs, Gmail, and Picasa(for my pictures).

Here is another little video I think you might enjoy.

Why I Love my CR-48 (Reason #1)

It's fast!

From the Chrome OS website:

Chrome notebooks boot in about 10 seconds and resume from sleep instantly. Your favorite websites load quickly and run smoothly, with full support for the latest web standards and Adobe Flash.

Sometimes I think that it is even faster. Here is a little video giving a break down of the speed of the Chrome OS.



I already knew that their browser was fast.

Google is the King of Search!

... and Bing knows it!

Check out this blog post from Google showing how Bing is stealing search results. And it all started from the word torsorophy.

Google Hotpot

I need everyone I know to start using this tool!

Was that enough to convince you? No? Well, what about this little video about Google Hotpot?



Still not convinced? Read an official Google blog post about Google Hotpot by clicking here.

Chrome OS

About a week ago I applied for the Chrome OS Pilot Program.  This is the program where they send you their new Chrome Laptop... the Cr-48... and you have to agree to use it and send them feedback.

This sounded like my kind of thing.  Get a free laptop.  Agree to get on the web.  Tell people what you think.

Well.  Guess What?  I GOT ONE!

It came in the mail today.  They didn't even send me an e-mail telling me that I had been selected!  I just got a free laptop!  And it is Google's!  This is what I am using right now to blog!

If anyone wants to know about the Chrome OS laptop... Send your questions here and I will tell you.  So far it is really cool.

Priority Inbox from Google!

I love it when Google rolls out new stuff!

I just got my Priority Inbox in gmail!  "What is it?" You say...  Here you go:

Google TV!

Where can I get it? Where can I get it?

Blocked!

I just left Direct TV last month.  I had one month left on my contract, I completed that month, paid the bill, and said, "good-bye."  It wasn't a harsh dismissal.  I wasn't angry.  I didn't berate anyone on the phone because of high bills or bad customer service.  I simply did not want to pay for something that I am not going to use.  (There are only 4 episodes of LOST remaining, so once that is over, there will no longer be any ties between me and the TV.)

Truth is, I am just too busy to watch TV.  If I have a spare moment, I want to read.  I want to spend time with my wife and my children.  I want to study for the next sermon.  I want to accomplish some little unfinished project on my house.  These are the things that I want to do.  So, I broke up with Direct TV.

That is when the calls started.  No voice-mail.  No messages of any kind.  Just silence.  I called it back once, and it was Direct TV!

So, thanks the the amazing powers of Google Voice... They are now blocked!  Now, when they call, they will receive a very official sounding, "I'm sorry.  The number you dialed has been disconnected..."

Blogger Template Designer

I finally tried out the Blogger Template Designer. It was easy to use, had great options, and it may have made my blog better! Well, I can't vouch for the content, but it looks nicer.

I chose a salt background because I am currently preaching though the Sermon on the Mount at Church. Here is a screen shot for all of you people reading through a reader.

Click on through and check it out...

Here is a little video for the template designer.

Lock Safe Search

Another reason to like Google.

Chrome

Chrome OS?

I would describe this, but I think this video does a much better job of that... And if I tried to describe it, I would most likely be quoting bits of the video, and then my message would feel very disjointed because I wasn't quoting the whole video, and then you might be confused and not want to watch the video.  In fact, if I type any more than what I have already typed, you won't even bother to watch the video, because most of you (and me) don't read blogs that are more that 140 characters, thanks to Twitter.

Anyway, here is a video.



I feel giddy.