Links from Chrome can now directly open in the YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ apps. For example, if you’re searching for a nearby Thai restaurant, Chrome will open the address in the Google Maps app. Just visit “Google Apps” under Settings to select which apps you’d like to open from Chrome.
Fluid Searching: Intelligent pronoun understanding & snap back to search results
With today’s update, voice search on Chrome for mobile gets better. You can now string together multiple voice searches with pronouns to get to results faster. For example, a voice search for “Who is the president of the United States?” followed by “Where did he go to school?”, lists all the schools President Barack Obama attended (all the way back to elementary school!).
Try it out by asking:
“Who is the prime minister of Canada?” and then, “How old is he?”
“How many people live in Pennsylvania?” and then, “When did it become a state?”
“Who directed Star Trek Into Darkness?” and then, “Who is his wife?”
Finally, it’s even quicker to return to your search results. Search result link you clicked not what you were looking for? We’ve sped things up so that as soon as you hit the back button, all your results reappear instantly.
Over the coming months, you’ll see Chromebooks from multiple device manufacturers. These include newly designed Chromebooks from Acer and HP, as well as new entrants ASUS and Toshiba.
Across the new lineup, the devices offer superb battery life and a variety of new designs—from a light and portable Acer Chromebook, to the large display on the HP Chromebook14, which comes in various colors; from the versatility and portability of the Toshiba Chromebook, to the ASUS Chromebox, suitable anywhere you need a computer. With today’s announcement, now six of the top laptop manufacturers are offering Chromebooks.
It’s been amazing to see the broadening of the Chromebook spectrum and we look forward to continued advances in both the hardware and software. Now more than ever, a new Chromebook truly offers something for everyone.
Posted by Caesar Sengupta, Product Management Director, Chromebooks
“Just A Reflektor” is an interactive film directed by Vincent Morisset and featuring a new song from Arcade Fire. The film lets you cast a virtual projection on your computer screen by holding up your mobile device in front of your computer’s webcam. That way, you control all of the visual effects in the experience—not by moving a mouse on a screen, but by moving your phone or tablet through the physical space around you.
The film’s heroine, Axelle, is revealed through a spotlight that moves in time with your mobile device.
In a later scene, a liquid effect is combined with a time delay, creating a video collage.
About four minutes into the film, the “reflektor” is turned toward Axelle herself.
To explore the effects used in the film, see the technology page, where you can adjust a number of visual settings and create your own effects using a robust editor. You can also watch a behind-the-scenes video to learn about how the film was made. The code for the film and tech page is open source, so creative coders can download it and try it for themselves.
The technology page lets you create, edit and share your own visual effects using footage from the film.
We hope this project inspires more filmmakers and visual artists to experiment with the latest features in Chrome. And for everyone else, we hope “Just A Reflektor” offers a new, exciting way to interact with the web.
Of course, even with all this great stuff happening behind-the-scenes, the apps are what really matter. We know many of you doing enjoy things like photo editing, checking off your to-do’s or unwinding with games, so here are a few Chrome apps to get you started:
Explore and create
Pixlr Touch Up lets you quickly touch up, crop, resize and adjust photos from your computer or Google Drive. If you’re feeling dramatic, you can also choose from a variety of film-inspired effects to apply. And it works offline, so you can get a head start polishing up your vacation photos on your flight home.
Wunderlist is a beautiful and simple to-do list, which features voice dictation and desktop notifications, which remind you of timely tasks and team updates. And for those on the move, you can take your tasks with you from computer to computer, and manage them even if you’re offline.
Be entertained Cracking Sands is an action-packed racing game that lets you speed your way past your online or computer opponents through beautiful 3D courses. And for those looking for more precise control, you can even connect your Xbox controller via USB.
We hope you enjoy what you see in the Chrome Web Store. And please share your favorite new Chrome Apps in the comments below. Posted by Erik Kay, Engineering Director and Chrome App-ologist
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