Smaaz’s Blog

Google Announces Launch of Google Toolbar 5

Today Google announced the latest version of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. The beta version is now available in US-English at http://toolbar.google.com/T5. This release is about improving the way the millions of Toolbar users can engage with content on the web and personalize the browser experience.

Google Toolbar now lets you:

• Add Google Gadgets
• Fill in forms with a single click
• Access your Toolbar from any computer
• Clip and collect content as you browse
• Get suggestions for broken links
• Add your favorite Google Gadgets

Google made a number of announcements over the last few months about Google Gadgets to make them universally available and today’s release is no exception. Universal Google Gadgets now work from Google Toolbar and give users access to additional tools, functionality and content right from the browser. For developers, Google Toolbar is now an additional channel to distribute gadgets, especially ones designed to interact with the websites users visit.

For example, one is the Google Product Search gadget. After adding this gadget, users can select the name of a product on any web page, hit the ’shopping cart’ button on the Google Toolbar, and see purchase options for that item sorted by price. Users can click on any search result link to go directly to the merchant’s site.

Fill in forms with a click

Holiday online shopping is also easier with the Toolbar’s AutoFill feature, which lets users fill out web forms with a single click using address and contact information saved with the Toolbar. This new version has better accuracy, allows users to preview the filled-in form and even maintain multiple profiles. For example, someone who gets packages shipped to both home and office can set up a different profile for each address.

Access your Toolbar from any computer

Now Toolbar settings are not locked to a single computer: users can save them online and access bookmarks, custom buttons and other preferences from any Google Toolbar. Users who move between home and office, or are installing Toolbar on a new computer, can retrieve all their settings instantly by signing in to their Google Account.

Clip and collect content as you browse

Saving links is a great way to be able to keep track of key pages, and now with Google Notebook as part of Toolbar, users can collect, organize and share more information from the web including text and images. This integration makes it easier and more efficient to do all kinds Internet research from planning a vacation to comparison shopping.

Get suggestions for broken links

Instead of getting the usual 404 or DNS error page if they mistype a web address or if a site is down, users will see suggestions for top related pages. This feature is similar to the “did you mean?” function when you do a Google search.

This new version of Google Toolbar 5 also includes full keyboard access and support for Windows accessibility API’s.

Add comment December 12th, 2007

CNBC and Yahoo! Enter Global Distribution Agreement

CNBC and Yahoo! Finance, today announced an agreement to distribute content from CNBC, CNBC Europe, CNBC Asia, and CNBC.com to Yahoo! Finance users in the United States and worldwide. The announcement represents CNBC’s first global online alliance, and Yahoo!’s first global finance video agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, CNBC will provide video clips from its global networks and articles from CNBC.com. The content will be available to Yahoo! Finance users in the U.S. (http://finance.yahoo.com), and will also be available to Yahoo!’s 21 international financial news sites. The video clips will encompass commentary and analysis of the day’s top business stories, pre-market opening buzz, interviews, investing and stock-picking segments from CNBC programs including “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer” and “Fast Money” and international market news and analysis from CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia.

“This agreement brings together two global market leaders to meet the growing demand for online business and financial information,” said Mark Hoffman, CNBC President. “This alliance draws on the strength of CNBC’s global assets and expands the reach of our unparalleled content to Yahoo! Finance’s worldwide user base. It reaffirms our commitment to providing fast, accurate, actionable and unbiased information to our audience.”

“In an increasingly globalized economy, it’s essential that Yahoo! Finance offer investors news from the major global financial markets,” said Scott Moore, senior vice president and head of media, Yahoo!. “The addition of CNBC video content will help Yahoo! Finance users from around the world make more informed financial decisions.”

Add comment December 12th, 2007