It’s hard to believe that half of the world still doesn’t have access to the Internet. When so many people in the west take their near-ubiquitous Internet accessibility for granted, over three and half billion people don’t have access at all. Years ago, Google created what came to be known as X (or Google X) which was basically a research-and-development facility.
When you are surfing the web, do you know if you are secure? Typically, your browser will tell you when a site is secure or not. This is especially important if you are putting in sensitive information, like passwords or credit card information. Google Chrome is stepping up it’s game to keep users safe.
Does your organization leverage any of Google’s plethora of services or applications to achieve success? Google Assistant can also be a great asset for your organization as it can connect to your smart devices and speakers to create an extremely valuable tool. This week’s tip will discuss some of the best features of Google Assistant and how it can affect your professional environment.
Google is taking steps to protect the data of a small group of its users who run the highest risk of experiencing a data breach or hack. This new service, the Advance Protection Program, shows promise in protecting the information that these select few can access.
Does your business use Google’s line of Android devices for business purposes? Well, you might be happy to hear about Google’s new zero-touch solution for enterprises for their Pixel line of smartphones. If you provide smartphones for your business’ employees, you know how much of a hassle it is to set up these devices. This new zero-touch policy attempts to make a change to this.
Have you ever used Google Maps as a GPS system to help you navigate a trip you are taking? In a lot of ways, Google Maps is even more dynamic than other dedicated online applications, and it’s certainly a better alternative than trying to decipher the lines of an atlas. Google Maps even lets you chart the distance between your location and your destination, which is a great way to get the total distance of your upcoming trip.
With Adobe ending support for Flash by 2020, many web browsing tools have begun to shift away from using Flash as their default media player. For example, Google Chrome has made the jump to HTML5 for the most part. The problem with this is that there are still quite a few websites and other online tools still use this technology. In the event that you want to enable it on a case-by-case business, here’s how to do so.
If you use Google Chrome as your preferred browser, you’ll notice that its performance might dip considerably at times. Thankfully, there are ways to see just what’s causing the problem, and issues can be mitigated easily enough with a little bit of knowhow.
Augmented reality is still a relatively new concept. It seems like a gimmick at first glance, but one of the most notable technology companies--Google--is attempting to take AR and use it to create a certain utility for it in mobile devices. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, clarified this devotion to augmented reality with the announcement of the Google Lens.
With Google Chrome’s Incognito mode, you can privately browse the web, but you may have noticed that Incognito mode also disables your extensions by default. This isn’t a big deal, but it can be an annoyance that you’d prefer not to deal with. Thankfully, there’s a good way to make sure that specific extensions stay enabled, even in Incognito mode.
In a recent poll by WSJ/NBC comparing tech companies to US presidential candidates, Google came out on top with 67 percent of respondents having a positive opinion of the company. Compare this to Apple’s 54 percent, and 43 percent going to the highest-rated candidate. Perhaps Apple and the politicians can take a cue from Google and make use of Easter eggs, because who doesn’t love Easter eggs?
Of course, we’re not talking about the colored eggs hidden in the yard every spring. No, we’re referring to the fun surprises Google has added to their search engine. By entering a specific search query into Google.com, you’ll encounter a Google Easter egg. Over the years, Google’s hidden a few dozen Easter eggs. Here’s how to access FRS Pros’s 10 favorite eggs!
Type “Atari breakout” and click Images
This will turn all of the searchable images into a playable game of the classic video game Super Breakout. Be sure to turn on your speakers to enjoy the nostalgic sound effects.
Type “Askew”
This clever Easter egg will tilt your search results just enough to be noticeable. Don’t worry, after you leave the page your screen will be back to normal.
Type “Festivus”
“Festivus for the rest of us!” Festivus is a made up holiday originating from the television show Seinfeld. By searching for “Festivus,” you’ll find out exactly what the holiday is all about, while being treated to a traditional Festivus pole located on the left side of your screen.
Type “Google in 1998”
Computer users with fond memories of the 90s will appreciate this one. This Easter egg will provide you with a fascinating glimpse of what Google looked like--almost 20 years ago!
Type “Zerg rush”
Players of the popular video game StarCraft and “n00bs” alike will appreciate this egg. Essentially, this search causes Google’s letters to attack the search results, and the only way you can stop them is to frantically click each one until they disappear. However, characteristic of the game’s Zerg rush, doing so will only cause more Zerg-like letters to appear, until you’re overwhelmed and your precious search results are destroyed. Also, notice the handy-dandy score counter on the right side.
Type “flip a coin,” or “roll a die”
Google will display an animated die or coin that will provide a random result with each search. If you don’t have an actual coin or die on you, this is a great alternative.
Type “[actor’s name] Bacon Number”
The Bacon number here relates to the classic game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” not the sweet meat. In the game, you’re supposed to figure out how many films separate an actor from another movie with Kevin Bacon in it. Although, we think that automating the game like this kind of takes the fun out of it.
Type “fun facts”
Feeling curious? This egg will provide you with a random fact card. As a bonus, this is an easy way to play a game of trivia with your friends.
Type “The answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything” (no punctuation)
Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will of course know the answer to this.
Type “Google Pacman”
In yet another nod to video games, Google made a playable game of Pac-Man as a doodle in 2010 to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary--a doodle responsible for costing the US economy $120 million in lost productivity, or 5 million wasted work hours, upon its release. Thankfully, Google decided to keep the game up. Good news for bored office workers, not so much for the economy.
These are our top 10 favorite Google Easter eggs, there are actually many more to be found. Can you think of one or two eggs that we didn’t go over? Share them with us in the comments!
Bonus egg: “Do a barrel roll!”
Does your business use Google Drive? Google Drive provides several applications that are great for getting work done in the office, similar to Microsoft Office (Want to know the differences? Be sure to contact us). With Drive, there are easy ways to leverage it to your advantage in the form of keyboard shortcuts and other tips and tricks. Here are some of our favorites.
Every business wants to be like Google and provide employees with a dynamic place to work, filled with amenities. It would probably be a dream come true for your organization to sit next to Google on Glassdoor’s annual list of “50 Best Places to Work.” Reality check: you’re not Google, as you’re reminded of this every time you attempt to balance your company’s budget.
