Posts Tagged Beta

Google Voice


Google has yet again created a utility that could revolutionalize the cellphone world. This new application is called “Google Voice“. Following are the general features of this application:

1. Call Screening: This allows users to customize the screening for all callers or unknown callers.

2. Listen In: It works like an answering machine. It allows user to listen to the voice mail that the caller is leaving and then chose to take the call.

3. Block Calls: This allows user to customize the callers or unknown numbers to be blocked and provided a standard voicemail message also.
Voicemail Features

1. Notification: Allows you to get an email / sms if anyone leaves a voicemail

2. Listen to Voicemail: Allows you to listen to the voicemail through your cellphone or over internet

3. Personalized greeting: You can customize greetings for different callers.

4. Share Voicemails: You can forward voicemails to anyone.

This is still in Beta phase, as most of the new Google applications. You can register with Google to use this as a beta user since the usage is invitation based only (reminds of how Google started Gmail).

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Tags: application, Beta, Google, Voice

Google Picassa for Apple Mac


Google has released a Beta version of Picassa application for Apple machines. Picassa for Mac provides the same functionality to Mac users as the origional version of Picassa for Windows based PC Users. It integrates well with Apple’s iPhoto application. It primarily works the same way as iPhoto. Using iPhoto, Mac users can search for photos on their hard drive and edit them as well. In case of edited images, iPhoto maintains the updated image with the link to origional image as well. Picassa handles this better than iPhoto and maintains both the origional and edited image together along with their location. One key difference is that Picassa will show images as “Read Only” which means that you cannot edit them in Picassa, they way PC users can. This is to ensure compatibility between iPhoto and Picassa.

The Mac users will however miss the following features which are currently available in PC version:

  1. Geotag
  2. Webcam image capture
  3. Screen Capture
  4. Screen Saver
  5. Photo Viewer

Good job Google !

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Tags: Apple, Beta, Google, iPhoto, Mac, macintosh, Picassa

Windows 7 Beta: Unearthed


Windows 7 will allow Microsoft to come back into the Operating System world with a bang after their decent, but unsuccessful Windows Vista endeavour. My Vista experience has been more than satisfactory. It is a more stable & usable OS than Windows XP, windows7_logo1barring its nagging resource hunger and features that are better disabled. Windows 7 Beta has thoroughly impressed me over past few weeks. Microsoft has kept the goodness and resolved most of the issues with Windows Vista. The installation process was extremely convenient and unlike my initial trouble with Vista, it installed all the required drivers effortlessly. The basic OS desktop performance was exemplory with no impact on performance while installing additional software/applications, downloading files, etc. The biggest inconvenience of User Access Control that used to pop up every time I wanted to install anything on Vista has been taken care of in Windows 7 through new ACTION Centre. This also provides concentrated information of all security related information. Like in Windows Vista, Windows Defender (Microsoft’s anti-spyware utility) comes pre-installed with the OS. There are loads of other features like DirectAccess, BranchCache, Enhanced Search, Bitlocker to GO, Windows Bitlocker and Applocker. Windows 7 will surely change the game of existing computing environment, both for home & business users. With the slated launch date of October22 this will surely change the game.

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Tags: Applocker, Beta, Bitlocker, Microsoft, Vista, Windows 7