Google Makes Video Chat In Gmail More Easier

Gmail has offered voice, video and group chat for quite a while. To use their feature it requires users to install a plug-in first. It's not the most intuitive or straight-forward tool to use. That's why Google updated it little bit.

Now, rather than interacting with the menus to initiate video, voice, or group chats, Google has added three little icons that make it a cinch. Simply press the graphic of the one you want to do, and bingo, you're video chatting.

But what do you do if your friend doesn't have the necessary plug-in? Google now has yet another icon that, when clicked, will invite your friend to install the plug-in. Google already did something similar with iGoogle and Orkut. Google says users will still be able to "go off the record," block people, and send SMS messages from chat.

Google Lets Users Customize Search Page

Internet users can now repaint Google's white search page with the background image of their choice.

Google on Wednesday began allowing users to replace its famously white search page background with an image of their choosing. Google is letting users themselves choose the background image on their search pages.

"Today, we're introducing a new feature that brings a whole new level of personalization to Google by letting you add a favorite photo or image to the background of the Google homepage," said Marissa Mayer, Google VP of search and user experience, in a blog post. "You can choose a photo from your computer, your own Picasa Web Album or a public gallery hosted by Picasa which includes a selection of beautiful photos."

As, letting users to load their own images, it can slow down the search performance. But Google has found a way to support search page personalization without affecting page load time.

"The homepage does not load any slower," said a Google spokesperson via e-mail. "With or without a background image, the Google search elements show as quickly as before, allowing users to search just as quickly as without the new feature. We make this possible by post-loading the photo -- we load the search elements first and then load the picture into your browser cache and show it as soon as it is available. Meanwhile you can already perform your search."

Users for whom this feature has been enabled will see a link on the bottom left-hand side of the Google search page.