Use custom fonts with Over for iOS

With Over you can place text over a photo. The app has several free fonts, but it also allows you to import your own font to the app.

Over was recently one of the apps offered by Apple for free as part of its celebration of the App Store's fifth anniversary.

The simple app helps add some creativity to photos by overlaying text or artwork onto your personal photos. You're able to customize your artwork by changing the color and fonts used. Built into the app is a long list of free fonts,

along with many more fonts you can purchase in-app.

Recently added to the app was the ability to import any font you currently own in. All you'll need is the TTF or OTF file for the font (the app can't open a ZIP file).

Once you have the file and are sure you have the rights to use it as you see fit, you can get it to your device by e-mailing it to yourself, or via Dropbox.

I downloaded Google's Roboto font, which is coincidentally available as a purchased font from Over for 99 cents, and placed it in a Dropbox folder. 

Don't give up when you see this image. Just tap on the download button to add your font to Over.

Using Dropbox to access the font files, you'll receive an error message stating Dropbox can't view the file. That's OK, just tap on the download icon in the lower-right corner of the screen and you'll be presented with the option to open it in Over.

When e-mailing a font file to yourself, you simply need to wait for it to download and then tap on the attachment. From there you'll be able to open the font in Over.

Once the import process is complete, Over will alert you and you'll then see the font listed at the top of the font list. You can now use it as you would any other font within the app.

Currently there's no method to delete installed fonts, but the Over team has indicated it's in the works and will be coming in a future updated.

How to clear browsing history on the new Chrome for Android

The latest version of Chrome for Android makes it much easier to clear your browsing history than before.

Clearing the browsing history on Chrome for Android has always been a bit of a chore. You either had to memorize chrome://history, or bookmark it. Chrome 28 for Android has changed that by adding a menu item for quick and easy access to your browsing history.

Once the history data comes up, you can click on the "X" next to the individual sites you want to clear. You can also click on the "Clear browsing data" button to clear your entire browsing history, cache, cookies and site data, saved passwords, and autofill data.To get to Chrome's browsing history on Android, hit the menu key, then select "History."

Use Google as a Proxy Server to Bypass Paywalls, Download Files

If you have trouble accessing a web page either because the website is blocked at your workplace, or because that page happens to be behind a paywall, there are a couple of undocumented Google proxy servers that may help you read that page.

When you access any page via one of these Google proxies, the content of that page gets downloaded on Google servers and then served to you. The lesser-known gmodules.comproxy, discussed later, will even allow you to download documents, videos and other web files that are otherwise blocked.

1. Google Translate as a Proxy

To use Google Translate as a proxy, set the destination language as the actual language of the page and the source language as anything but the destination language.

For instance, if you are to access a page written in English, set the destination language (tl) in the translate URL as “en” and the source language (sl) as “ja” for Japanese. (example)

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://example.com/

Google Translate Proxy (bookmarklet)

Advantage: This is the most popular Google proxy and the download web pages looks exactly like the original provided the domains serving the images and CSS aren’t blocked at your place.

2. Google Mobilizer as a Proxy

Next in the list is Google’s Mobilizer service. Google has discontinued the main mobilizer service on google.com (secure) but you can still access it through any country-specific Google domain like google.co.in or google.ie. The URL would be:

http://www.google.ie/gwt/x?u=http://example.com/ (example)

Google Mobilizer Proxy (bookmarklet)

Advantage: The presentation (CSS) isn’t retained but this mode is perfect for reading text-heavy pages and do have the option of disabling inline images for faster loading.

3. Google Modules as a Proxy

The gmodules.com domain is part of the Google personalized homepage service and is primarily used for hosting gadgets that are available for the Google homepage.

http://www.gmodules.com/ig/proxy?url=http://example.com/ (example)

Google Modules Proxy (bookmarklet)

Advantage: This is the only Google proxy that will let you download files (like PDFs, .MP4 videos, etc) in addition to viewing regular web pages.

Chrome for Android gets much-sought built-in translation

On-the-fly translation of Web pages is a fixture in Chrome for PCs, but now it's in the Android version, too. Also arriving: SPDY-augmented data compression.

When Chrome for Android encounters a Web page in a different language, it will offer to translate it.

(Credit: Google)

Google, always trying to break down language barriers as part of its mission to make the world's information accessible, has added on-the-fly, automatic Web page translation to its Chrome browser for Android devices.

Chrome 28 for Android, released Wednesday, has the translation feature built in, said Chrome team member Jason Kersey in a blog post. The feature has been built into Chrome for personal computers for years.

• An optimized user interface for right-to-left (RTL) languages including Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew.Also new in Chrome 28 for Android, according to Kersey and another Chrome team member, Dan Alcantara:

• Full-screen support on tablets, which lets Web apps -- in particular games and video -- take over the entire screen.

• Support for Google's experimental data compression service that lets fast Google servers read a Web page, optimize it for mobile devices, then transmit it faster to a mobile device using Google's SPDY network technology. The service only works with unencrypted Web pages.

Google's server-assisted browsing only works for unencrypted Web pages. Encrypted ones use a direct channel to the secure Web page.

(Credit: Google)

Google reportedly prepared to spend $500M marketing Moto X

The Web giant's handset unit is also taking steps to limit "bloatware" pre-installed by carriers, sources tell The Wall Street Journal.

Motorola promises the "first smartphone that you can design yourself."

(Credit: Motorola)

Google is apparently going all in to support the Moto X, the first flagship handset released by Motorola Mobility since being acquired by the Web giant a year ago.

Google is expected to allow the unit to spend up to $500 million marketing the highly-anticipated smartphone in the U.S. and overseas, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The device is expected to be available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless this fall, sources told the Journal.

With an emphasis toward customer convenience and customization, Motorola has reportedly taken steps to limit "bloatware," the apps and services pre-installed on handsets by carriers that are often useless and difficult to remove without rooting the device. Customers will be able to choose the colors for the back of the device and the trim and engrave a name or message to the back cover, ABC News reported earlier this month.

A Motorola spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

After months of rumors and speculation, asign-up page for the Moto X handset finally went live earlier this month, offering users access to the product information and promotional offers. The page, which touts the Moto X as "the first smartphone designed, engineered and assembled in the USA," promises that the handset is "coming soon."Beyond a solid partnership with Verizon, Motorola has struggled to sell its Android smartphones. With Google's backing, the Moto X represents Motorola's best chance in years to make inroads against Apple and Samsung.

Motorola said it expects to have more than 2,000 new employees at a Fort Worth, Texas, facility building the phones. The domestic location will enable the phones to arrive in customers' hands within days of their order, according to ABC News.

How to cache offline maps in Google Maps 7.0

One of my favorite Google Maps features -- the ability to save map data for offline viewing -- has been hidden away in the latest version.

Yesterday, Google loosed a new version of its Google Maps navigation app for Android onto the Google Play store with a new, streamlined design and a bunch of new features to aid exploration. However, like the new desktop interface announced at I/O 2013, this new version 7.0 update seems to have lost a few features in translation.

One of the most obvious omissions lamented by early updaters is the apparent loss of the ability to cache map data for browsing offline without a data connection...or so it seems.

True, the menu option that we're used to is gone, but it turns out that the Offline Maps feature is still baked into this new version of Google Maps; only it's hidden. Here's how to access it:

The new Offline Maps technique isn't as clear cut as the old menu and selection box method.

1. Open the Google Maps app and zoom the map screen so that the area you want to cache is displayed.

Type "OK Maps" into the search box. The autocomplete suggestions offer no hints that you're on the right track.

2. Tap the search box near the top of the screen and type "OK Maps" into the field. Alternatively, you can tap the microphone icon and just say "OK Maps," as well.

When you hit search, Google Maps will start downloading the map data for offline browsing.

3. Tap the Search button and watch as the app downloads the street data, storing it locally for later offline viewing. Downloading large areas can take awhile, so I'd recommend that you do your caching on a Wi-Fi connection.

Despite the fact that I'm in Airplane mode with no data connection, I can now zoom in for a detailed view.

4. Profit. Enjoy your offline map data. Remember that GPS should still work on most devices, even without an Internet connection, allowing you to see your current position on the map. However, searching for a location or getting directions still can't be initiated offline.

It's just that simple. I've tested and confirmed this method with both the Google Nexus 4smartphone and Nexus 7 tablet. Offline Maps was a navigation lifesaver for me when traveling abroad with my Nexus 7 and no readily available Internet access, so I'm glad to see that the feature is still a part of the app.

If you've got the updated version of the Google Maps app, sound off in the comments and let us know what you think.

Five tips for the new Google Maps on Android

Checking out the new version of Google Maps and noticing some new features, but also some missing ones? Here's five quick tips

to help you navigate the new interface.

After promising that Maps would receive a face lift and some new features at Google I/O, the app is finally delivering the goods. Google Maps v7.0.0 tidies up the interface and brings some shortcuts for the features you use the most.

The new version is rolling out via Google Play to Android devices running 4.0.3 and higher (with an iOS coming sometime in the future). If you haven't received an update yet, sit tight. You do have the option of downloading it from a third-party file hosting service, but this is not recommended.

Now, let's get into the five things you should know how to do in the new Google Maps on Android:

Location information in the new Google Maps on Android, old vs. new.

Tip 1: When you look up a destination, you can slide the information card up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the call, save, and share buttons (borrows the Google Now card appearance). You'll also see the street view of the location, ratings, and reviews. No more trying to tap on the tiny map pin to open the information page!

Personal map data and recent searches in the new Google Maps on Android, old vs. new.

Tip 2: Tap the silhouette icon at the far right-hand side of the search bar to gain quick access to your map data. This data includes reviews, saved addresses for home and work, nearby offers, saved places, and even recent searches.

Google Maps old vs. new layer selection.

Tip 3: Traffic and satellite layers have been relocated to a general menu. Simply tap on the gray tab along the bottom left-hand side of the app and the menu will slide open, allowing you to enable your desired layers.

Google Maps Local (old) vs. Google Maps Explore (new).

Tip 4: The Local feature has been replaced by Explore. Press the search box at the top and then scroll down the page to find the Explore banner, where you can choose from eat, drink, shop, play, and sleep. There's even a menu with categories so you can find places around you without knowing the business names.

Confirmation that a map is saved for offline use in the new Google Maps on Android.

Tip 5: If you want to save Google Maps so you can access them while offline, just say or type "OK Maps" (Google Glass, anyone?) in the search box. You'll see a message that says the onscreen map area has been cached.

Update: In lieu of feedback about the method used for saving maps offline, Google has added a new "Make this Map area available offline" link under the search box for faster access. 

You may have noticed that Latitude is nowhere to be found in this version of Google Maps. If you want to see locations of friends, you'll have to open the Google+ app and choose Locations from the left-hand menu.

Have you noticed an important difference or awesome shortcut for the new Google Maps on Android? Share your tip or general thoughts on the new version in the comments!

Use Pebble with an Android device? Install this app

The official Pebble app on Android doesn't send every alert to your watch. Pebble Notifier, on the other hand, does.

(Credit: Jason Tech Digital News)

Now that the masses have the chance to walk into Best Buy and pick up a Pebble watch, the weaknesses of the watch and apps will naturally be front and center. One of the weaknesses of the current official Pebble Android app is lack of support for notifications from third-party apps.

Pebble Notifier, a free app available in the Play Store, will send notifications from any app installed on your device to your Pebble watch. Setup takes little time, and is very straightforward.

To use the app, you're required to grant it accessibility access (the same is required by the official Pebble app), which allows it to interact with notifications on your device. As such, it can then push notifications to your Pebble watch for any and all apps installed on your device.

You can set the app to send notifications for only the apps you've selected, or to exclude certain apps. After you've curated your list of apps, make sure to tap on the menu button and select save.The first time you launch Pebble Notifier you'll be asked to enable its accessibility. After it's enabled you can then decide how you want it to handle notifications. You can either have the app send notifications for every app -- all the time -- or you can customize the settings.

Once it's all set up you can expect any notification that comes to your device (so long as it's for an app you have activated in Pebble Notifier) to show up on your watch.

Falcon Pro updated with workaround for Twitter tokens

A hidden feature in a recent update to Falcon Pro lets anyone use the app. Here's what you'll need to do.

Falcon Pro is a popular Twitter client for Android users. So popular, in fact, it's reached the 100,000-user (or token) limit implemented by Twitter on two separate occasions. The first time the developer, Joaquim Verges, reset the tokens, thus disabling the pirated copies that were a large part of the reason the limit was hit.

The second attempt at resetting the key resulted in Twitter disabling any new users from using the app. Not everyone was able to reauthorize the app after the second token reset before Twitter took action. It wasn't (still isn't) a good situation.

Eventually Falcon Pro was removed from the Play store, leaving plenty of paid users (and users who were willing to pay) without access to the app.

Today Verges posted an update regarding Falcon Pro and its future. In short, the app is now free and available as a direct download from http://getfalcon.pro. You'll need to side load the app if you decide to download it from the site. You can enable side loading of apps by launching your Settings app and going to Security, then checking the box next to "Unknown sources."

Simply making the app free and releasing it for all to download outside of the Play store doesn't solve the token issue, though. In order to get around the limit, you'll need to find a hidden custom log-in screen.

The workaround is brilliant. By allowing users to create their own Twitter application keys and in the process their own tokens, anyone can log in to Falcon Pro and use the app to its full potential. Visit this page on Twitter's developer portal and create your own application. The app name you use will show on every tweet you send through the app, so make sure you pick something that shows off your personality. Before we go on to the next step, e-mail yourself the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret.Start by tapping the falcon on the main page, then tap and shake your way to the custom log-in notification. If you're not patient enough to try and figure it out, or you just want to use the app without jumping through hoops, you can find instructions here.

Once you create your app, you'll need to visit the Settings tab to change the application type. Twitter defaults all apps to read-only permissions, which won't allow you to even send a tweet. As such, change the application type to "Read, Write and Access direct messages" before adding your keys to Falcon Pro.

By now you've unlocked the custom log-in screen, created a Twitter application, and e-mailed yourself the Consumer Key and Secret. The next step is to copy and paste the Key and Secret from the e-mail you sent yourself into the respective fields under the custom log-in screen.

After doing that, log in to Falcon Pro as you normally would and start tweeting away. Pretty sweet, eh?

It's nice to see the developer come up with a selfless way for users to take advantage of a lot of hard work put into such a great Twitter app.

Add multiple accounts to your Google Analytics on Android

• Login to Google Play, Search and install Google Analytics.
• After installation, by default your Google account used for Google Play will be considered.
• There is no option to add another Google account in Google Analytics app.
• So, go to your Gmail app on your Android device and add another account by going to Gmail App settings and to the top right corner you have an option to add another account.
• Once the new account is added, go back to Google Analytics app.
• To the top left corner, select your new account (Gmail ID) that you just added on your Gmail app.
• If you have already synced or added your blog or website to this account, then this website will appear in the list.
• You can then customize to view what you want to monitor.

Sync Outlook with Google using Google Apps

The solution for this is to use “Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook”. This is a small setup which can be installed in your machine and choose the options that you want like email, calendar etc. You have an option to select the type of sync – one way from Outlook to Google, Google to Outlook or Both. Once the setup is complete, all your data will be automatically synced between Google and Outlook and all your Outlook meeting invites are now visible on your google calendar.

Most of the apps use Microsoft Exchange Server which is not cost effective, because of which many companies don’t go for this. Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook users Google Apps Server instead of Microsoft Exchange Server.

Now, install Google Calendar from Play Store or App Store on your Android/Apple device. If you are using a Samsung Phone then by default the calendar app would be S Planner. You can now view/ modify/create a meeting all on your mobile device.

Download App: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gappssync

How to delete a ‘Post’ in your Google Site

Google Sites is one of the easiest way to start with a website for free of cost. You don’t have to worry about buying a domain, hosting, website building. Thanks to Google for making it very simple and easy to customize. But, Ever wondered on how to delete a ‘Post’ in your Google Site while udpating your site. In Google Site under a page you are allowed to create pages. You have an option to delete a page – “Delete Page”. But if you want to delete a post there is nothing called “Delete Post”.

Follow the steps to delete a post:

1. Login to your Google Sites account.
2. Select the Site that you have created and the one which is to be modified.
3. Go to the page containing the posts.
4. Click on the post that you want to delete. (Example: “Test Post”).
5. Now, click on the “More” (right-top corner) and click “Delete Page”. You will not find “Delete Post”.
6. You get a pop-up as shown below.
7. Click on delete. This will delete the post and not the page containing multiple posts.

It’s easy for anyone to just login to Google Sites and create a site and continue writing articles. But when it comes to customizing the way you want, it may not be possible and you may have to stick on to the few standard templates that are given and the customize options that are given by them. I have used Google Blogger, Sites before and its a great way to start with.

Let me know if this helped by leaving a comment or if you can find a better way to do the same.

How to Use Google AdSense Ads on your Responsive Website

Google has also officially recommended that website owners use the responsive design approach instead of maintaining separate mobile and desktop website as responsive design “keeps your desktop and mobile content on a single URL.”

Responsive Google AdSense Ads

If you been using Google AdSense Ads on your responsive website, you may have noticed that, unlike your content, Google AdSense ads have a fixed width and they will not shrink or expand based on the screen size of the visitor.
For instance, if you are using the standard 728×90 leaderboard unit on your website, the ad unit may extend well beyond the screen if someone is viewing your website on a mobile phone that can only accomodate 320 pixels.
Google AdSense Ads aren’t responsive by default but there’s a simple JavaScript based workaround that will make your Google Ads respond to the screen size. Best of all, the Google AdSense team has officially approved our Responsive Ads technique.
Before we dive into the code, please take a look at this demo page.

Ads by Google Dash Designs www.dash-to.com
Website and Mobile App Design Quality, Speed and within budget

The demo has exactly one AdSense unit above the fold but the size of the unit will vary depening on visitor’s screen. If you are viewing the demo on a widescreen, you’ll see a leaderboard ad while a mobile user will see a medium rectangle or even a 180×90 link unit depending on the screen resolution.

Making Google AdSense Ads Responsive with JavaScript 

1.             <!-- You can add multiple Adsense Ad units -->

2.             <!-- Just change the ad on Line #4 and Line #7 -->

3.              

4.             <div id="google-ads-1">

5.              <script type="text/javascript">

6.              

7.                       adUnit   = document.getElementById("google-ads-1");

8.                       adWidth  = adUnit.offsetWidth;

9.              

10.                    /* Replace this with your AdSense Publisher ID */

11.                    google_ad_client = "ca-pub-1234567890";

12.           

13.                    if ( adWidth >= 768 ) {

14.                      /* Leaderboard 728x90 */

15.                      google_ad_slot    = "AAA";

16.                      google_ad_width   = 768;

17.                      google_ad_height  = 90;

18.                    } else if ( adWidth >= 468 ) {

19.                      /* Banner (468 x 60) */

20.                      google_ad_slot    = "BBB";

21.                      google_ad_width   = 468;

22.                      google_ad_height  = 60;

23.                    } else if ( adWidth >= 336 ) {

24.                      /* Large Rectangle (336 x 280) */

25.                      google_ad_slot    = "CCC";

26.                      google_ad_width   = 336;

27.                      google_ad_height  = 280;

28.                    } else if ( adWidth >= 300 ) {

29.                      /* Medium Rectangle (300 x 250) */

30.                      google_ad_slot    = "DDD";

31.                      google_ad_width   = 300;

32.                      google_ad_height  = 250;

33.                    } else if ( adWidth >= 250 ) {

34.                      /* Square (250 x 250) */

35.                      google_ad_slot    = "EEE";

36.                      google_ad_width   = 250;

37.                      google_ad_height  = 250;

38.                    } else {

39.                      /* Ad Link Unit (200 x 90) */

40.                      google_ad_slot    = "FFF";

41.                      google_ad_width   = 200;

42.                      google_ad_height  = 90;

43.                    } 

44.           </script>

45.           

46.           <script type="text/javascript"    

47.             src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">

48.           </script>

49.          </div>

To get started, create multiple ad units (say 768×90, 468×60 and 300×250) inside your AdSense dashbaord and replace the relevant google_ad_client (ca-pub-1234) and google_ad_slot (AAA, BBB, etc.) identifiers in the code with your own values.

Next, copy-paste the above snippet anywhere on your web page and, based on the size (resolution) of the user’s device, the most appropriate AdSense Ad format will get served automatically. If you wish to include multiple AdSense ad units on the same responsive website, just use the same snippet of code but increment the ID (line #4 & line #8) such that they read google-ads-1, google-ads-2 and so on.