Tools - Tech Tips

Life After iGoogle

Have you come to depend on iGoogle as a convenient home page with all of your favorite Google (and other) stuff in one place? Me too. Despite the popularity of iGoogle, Google has decided to discontinue the service after November 1, 2013. This leaves many users scrambling for a new solution. Whether you are an iGoogle user or not, you may find the suggestions below useful.

1. Google Shortcuts
If you are looking for is quick access to Google products, and you use Firefox or Chrome for your browser, this add-on may help. It does exactly what it sounds like – it adds shortcuts for Google services to the top of your browser. You can choose which shortcuts you use by clicking the gear icon. Here’s a clip of what the shortcuts look like on my browser (Firefox):

Warning: the download page is in German, but the settings and operations are in English.

2. Myfav.es
If you don’t need previews of content, just quick links to your favorite sites, this may be the service for you. There are shortcuts for many, many websites available. No account necessary. Here is what the homepage I created looks like:

Chances are, though, that you are looking for a page with gadgets that offers previews of your email, RSS feeds, calendar, etc. Read on for other services that offer a similar experience to iGoogle.

3. igHome
This one is my current favorite. The setup was easy, and in no time I had a functioning page nearly identical to my iGoogle page. As a bonus, shortcuts to Google services are included in a toolbar at the top of the page. If you are using the Gmail gadget, be sure to turn on IMAP in your Gmail settings and approve the igHome application to access it.

4. Netvibes
This one is a bit more complicated than igHome to set up, but more customization is available. Also, more widgets are available than with some other customized home pages.

5. uStart.org
This solution is similar to Netvibes. You may want to experiment with both and see which you like better.

6. MyMSN and MyYahoo
These are personalized homepages provided by their respective companies. If you don’t need any gadgets related to Google (Gmail, Google Calendar, etc.), one of these may work well for you.

7. Skim.Me
This one looks promising, but I’m still waiting for an invitation to get in on the beta.

Have you found another solution? If so, let me know about it in the comments.

Happy computing!

More About Dropbox

dropbox

After I wrote my previous post about uses for Dropbox, I found a great article by the folks at MakeUseOf that explains how to host a website using Dropbox. It is titled, appropriately, How to Host a Simple Website Using Dropbox. Here at the library, I often get asked how to setup a basic website. It’s great to have another tool to share with patrons. I haven’t tried this method myself, so I’d be interested to hear about your experience if you have used Dropbox to host your website.

Nifty Uses for Dropbox

There are lots of ways to store and share your files in the cloud, keeping them accessible from any browser. Some of the free services available include Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive. If you are a Dropbox user, you may be surprised at some of the clever suggestions Whitson Gordon from Lifehacker has for using the service in this post.

Some of my favorites are:
#6. Print Documents to Your Home Printer from Any Computer
#5. Host a Web Site or Start Page for Your Browser
#1. Keep the Same Apps, Settings, and Passwords on All Your PCs

How do you use your Dropbox?

Searching Anonymously

Lately, I have been reading a lot of posts about how to keep sites and services from tracking your internet activity. Though many of us have nothing to hide about how we use the internet, it may still be disturbing to know you are being tracked and to have personal information about you sold to the highest bidder.

Here at the library, we use Google Analytics to get information about how people use our site. Our only reason for doing this is to help improve the user experience in our online locations. Knowing which of our pages get the most hits helps us tune in to the content you want and need. We do not sell this information. Nor do we use it for targeted advertising or nefarious purposes. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the many of the other sites out there tracking their users’ visits.

If you would like to turn off tracking in your browser, you can set this in the preferences/settings area of most browsers. Those browsers that do not currently support turning off tracking have pledged to implement support by the end of the year, according to this c-net article. Personally, I use a browser add-on called DNT+. This browser add-on/extension advertises that it goes “far beyond what built-in private browsing modes offer” with a link to this list of concerns not covered by your browser’s private mode. DNT+ also allows me to pick and choose which sites I allow to track my movements. For example, I allow libraries, schools and government information sites to track me because I know it will help them to improve their services, and they won’t sell my information. I do not allow commercial sites to track me because I do not have confidence that they will use the information in an entirely constructive way. This is all a matter of personal preference, of course.

Even with tracking blockers in place, search engines may still gather information about how you are searching. If this gives you the creeps and you are looking for a non-tracking alternative browser, check out these suggestions by How-to-Geek.

Do you have privacy concerns you’d like me to cover here? If so, please note them in the comments and I’ll work up a post.

That reminds me – it’s time to double-check my Facebook privacy settings, too…

Storing and Sharing Files in the Cloud

Have you ever wanted to share a video with a few friends without making it publicly available? How about sharing a set of photos that are too large to email? What about accessing a file on your laptop from a smartphone? These and many other needs can be met by storing and sharing your files in “The Cloud.”

The simple definition of the cloud is a place in cyberspace, not on your local machine, where files are stored. For example, if you have Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail, your emails are stored in the cloud. Technically, they are stored on the servers at Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. But, from the user’s point of view, they are living out in cyberspace, not stored on the computer/tablet/smartphone where they are being viewed. The advantage of storing files in the cloud is that your files are accessible from any device in any location with an internet connection and the right username and password.

I had been working on a post that would highlight services that allow users to store and share files in the cloud. As it turns out, Richard Byrne recently did a great job listing and describing the most popular tools in this post on the Free Technology for Teachers blog. However, it should be noted that two services mentioned in that article, File Stork and Go Pileus, are no longer available at the time of this post. One excellent free resource left out of that article is Skydrive, Microsoft’s cloud solution that is integrated into Office 2010. However, you don’t need Office 2010 to enjoy the benefits of Skydrive. You only need a Windows Live ID. Also, Google Docs (mentioned in the article) has expanded into Google Drive, which is similar to Skydrive and is accessed with a Google ID.

My favorite cloud storage and sharing sites are Google Drive, Dropbox and Skydrive. What are you using? If you use a service other than those mentioned in the blog post I mentioned, please post it in a comment. Thanks!