[Devils Workshop] “The top 10 all-time great Google Doodles” and 3 more...

The top 10 all-time great Google Doodles
Sync Firefox addons across multiple PCs
Pay back time – Pirate Bay fined over $4 million
Chrome extension to get lyrics to a song on YouTube

The top 10 all-time great Google Doodles

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 07:32 PM PST

Ever thought how many colors does the regular Google logo have? Did you know that when the traditional logo encapsulates the 3 primary colors Blue, Red, Yellow- ‘Green’ came in as Google did not want to merely ‘follow’ rules. This list is all about the best Google doodles we have seen in the past decade. So which one of those make it to my top 10?

I must admit that this has “NOT” been an easy task. I had more than plenty to choose from.

#1. Burning Man (1998): Google’s first ever holiday doodle. This one may not be artistically the best, but its the first time Google added a little something to its logo. Burning Man is a popular American event celebrated as a symbol of ‘self expression’ – used and understood aptly by Google.

#2. Teacher’s Day (2005): In honor of the US Teacher’s Day, Google designed a quirky logo. The reason its on my list is because it cleverly sticks to the color theme of the original logo as well as merges it well to the classroom environment.

#3. Louis Braille’s Birthday (2006): Google nailed it with the logo written in the Braille system honoring the birthday of the Frenchman who invented the Braille system for the blind. It smartly retains the trademark colors.

#4. Earth Day (2007): When it came to Earth Day specific logos, I had way too many to choose from. This one stood out as a clear winner. The courage to break away from its traditional colors and speak up against global warming, made an impact with all its users.

#5. LEGO’s Anniversary (2008): Next on the list is the logo celebrating the 50th anniversary of LEGO Bricks, the popular toys used to build structures and now the Google logo. I like it because its simple and smart.

#6. USA Election Day (2008): Next on my list is the Election Day (November 4) doodle encouraging citizens to vote. Obama should thank Googlers for finally budging from their computers to the voting booth just like the alphabets of ‘Google’ did.

#7. Radio Day (2009): Google’s doodle honoring Alexander Popov, inventor of the radio, is among my favorites. The logo is reminiscent of the first radio ever created. What stuck with me though is how the wire slyly forms the lower part of the letter ‘g’.

#8. Bar Code (2009): October 7, 2009 saw the Google Bar Code logo in honor of the invention of the Bar Code. It sure takes courage to deviate from one’s own logo to such an extent. Google seemed to carry this one-off with ease. Wonder what the price would translate if one really put a bar code on this multi-billion dollar enterprise.

#9. Pac-Man Anniversary (2010): Earlier this year, Google took us all back to our childhood when with a Pac-Man themed logo. When I first saw the logo, I liked it. Then I realized one could actually play the game. That’s when I loved it. I think I forgot what I was even trying to search for.

#10. Indian Independence Day (2010): Recently Google honored India’s 63rd Independence Day with an animated logo. The ‘o’ starts out as a traditional Indian artwork – ‘Rangoli’ and ends with the colors of the Indian Flag. Google has done some brilliant doodles for USA, France and many more. However I had to narrow down this list, so took the ones that stood out the most.

So those are my top ten picks of the Google doodles. The colorful ‘Google Search’ icon has become a part of our life. The one major reason Google is so amazing with its logos must be because you easily spell the word ‘LOGO’ using the letters of ‘Google’.

If you want to view all the Google holiday doodles, check them out at the Google doodle gallery here. Which ones are your favorites? Let me know your views. Drop behind your comments below.

-- This Post The top 10 all-time great Google Doodles is Published on Devils Workshop .

Sync Firefox addons across multiple PCs

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 04:30 AM PST

Shuttling between work and home can be like juggling through different time zones!! Though I use the same browser, which is Firefox- both seem like they are in two different worlds because my add-ons are completely different. I get used to one and have a problem with the other. I guess this was the same problem the developers of Siphon faced when they decided to come up with a Firefox add-on sychronizer.

Siphon syncs your Firefox add-ons across different computers. Apart from add-ons, it also manages your saved passwords across these computers.

Using Siphon:

Download Siphon from here.
You will be asked to create an account, following which it will load your Firefox add-ons.

Login with your new account, and Siphon should load all your Firefox add-ons. Install it to the other computers on which you use Firefox. Click ‘Synchronize’.
I could choose to have certain add-on not be synchronized.
My passwords could be saved across multiple Firefox browsers that I use. It is better to not save passwords when you are using a public computer.

Siphon, created by Ian Halpern, is a useful add-on. Its more like an add-on for add-ons. It’s still in the beta phase so we can expect improvements such as switching between user profiles, syncing themes, etc.

Have you tried this add-on? Don’t forget to drop in your comments below.

Link: Siphon

-- This Post Sync Firefox addons across multiple PCs is Published on Devils Workshop .

Pay back time – Pirate Bay fined over $4 million

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 04:18 AM PST

The tweets have become loud enough to deafen the cyber birdies. Its but obvious after the recent fiasco with The Pirate Bay and the Swedish Court. It’s the eternal war between the entertainment industry and the free file exchange rampant over the internet. Will this recent judgment against Pirate Bay mark the end of an epic battle?

A brief account of what has happened with “Pirate Bay”

The Pirate Bay was started in Sweden in 2003 as an online file sharing platform run by Fredrik Neij, Gottifrid Svartholm, Peter Sunde and indirectly by Carl Lundstrom.
Early 2008 saw a spate of legal attention thrown over at this website by the entertainment industry based on copyright infringement.
The site became a commonly used platform for sharing music, movies, videos and many other files subject to licensing issues.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry believed the site served as a medium for many others to indulge in piracy and demanded compensation.

Pirate Bay argued on the grounds that they were within the legal structure of Sweden as they merely redirected the user to other locations where the concerned file was hosted. Therefore they believed the site would steer clear off the charges of piracy.
The trial ended in March 2009 costing Pirate Bay founders a massive compensation of around $3 million and a year of imprisonment.
The defendants appealed for further trials. Recently, after the second round about the Swedish Court, 26th November was judgment day. Despite the imprisonment period coming down shortly for the founders, the compensation has increased to a whooping $4 million.

What is worth noting is that after all this, the site is still functional. Apparently, it now runs under a different ownership and registration.

What are your thoughts about this recent judgment? Do you think it will change the face of piracy or simply go unnoticed? Let me know what your opinions are through your comments.

-- This Post Pay back time – Pirate Bay fined over $4 million is Published on Devils Workshop .

Chrome extension to get lyrics to a song on YouTube

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 03:50 AM PST

It is good to have some music while coding. Bon Jovi is one of my favorite singer. I listen to his songs though I do not understand them thoroughly. Usually I download lyrics from any popular website which comes first in my way and save it to my computer. When I watch any YouTube music video, I have to find that file in my computer, cascade windows to watch lyrics and to play video simultaneously.

Now forget those old techniques. Here I tell you about how you can be free from searching lyrics on the internet, saving it to your computer, find it into the hundreds of folder to open that file again. Here is your magic wand just install Chrome extension and start enjoying the lyrics along with your favorite music video.