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Google Docs facilitates finding facts and doing research

While making a travel itinerary, writing a term paper, or creating a budget in Google Docs, users no longer have to leave the confines of the word processing program to find specific facts or do research.

Google announced today the launch of a new feature called the "research pane" that lets users find information in Google search directly from within the documents program.

In a blog post, this is how Google software engineer Sarveshwar Duddu explained how to use the feature:

You can access the research pane from the Tools menu by right clicking on a selected word … Read more

A better path to files

For many Mac users, the Finder provides plenty of functionality. But if you're looking for more powerful control over your files and desktop, Path Finder can be an attractive alternative. This standalone file browser complements and improves on the Finder, with scores of useful integrated features.

The program lets you quickly access favorites; view the contents of almost any file in a preview drawer; and move files more easily using the Shelf and Drop Stack. Other features include the capability to compress and decompress files; mount disk images; view invisible files, securely delete files, and work from the command … Read more

Customize OS X system preferences (tip)

The folks at Macworld have reported on a new feature in OS X Lion that is quite useful, especially if you regularly access the system preferences.

Apple's system preferences in OS X are organized into several categories such as Personal for managing the look and feel of your OS X session, Hardware for adjusting input devices and displays, Internet & Wireless for adjusting online services and connectivity, System for user accounts and backup options, and Other for third-party add-ons you may have installed.

While this organization of the system preferences can be useful, if you access preferences a lot … Read more

Open-and-save convenience

Default Folder X is a system preference pane that can save you a lot of time finding and flipping through folders, especially when opening and saving files.

The primary interface pops up with every open and save dialog, across all your applications, giving you faster access to multiple folders and commands. You can jump to favorite and recently used folders (even by clicking on open windows), enter Spotlight metatags, and manage files and folders right from the dialog--so you don't need to go to the Finder for simple tasks like renaming and deleting.

Default Folder X also lets you &… Read more

Praise with Songview

When you think you've seen every variation on music management software, along comes a new one like Songview. It's a free "worship song display" program, though you provide the songs. It includes a slideshow and PowerPoint presentation maker, and a built-in Bible feature that can access a wide range of texts. It automatically produces a song use history for CCL licensing and offers congregation alerts, fade in and out, and slide editing during live displays, making it ideal for clergy and lay users who prepare worship services and programs. It's easy to learn and free, … Read more

Eleven awesome Gmail Labs features

Gmail isn't just cool because it's part of the Google family of services, it also has many extra features created by independent developers. These features are available to you at no additional cost by enabling them in the Labs area of the Mail settings menu. Here's a collection of 11 of the most awesome Gmail Labs features to get you started with a personalized Gmail experience:

Canned responses

While the name sounds like a vacation responder, it's more of a template insertion tool than anything else. You can add custom signatures or even a collection of … Read more

System Preferences not opening properly

Several users have experienced an issue where System Preferences will not open properly or freeze when opening in Snow Leopard. Users are required to Force Quit the System Preferences window most of the time they attempt to access it.… Read more

Monitor your Mac processes

MenuMeters is a free, open-source, small-footprint set of menubar tools for monitoring CPU, disk, memory, and network usage. You set up MenuMeters in a system preference pane, adding any or all of the four meters that you want to appear in your menubar. The CPU meter displays load information along with options for graphs; the disk meter show activity on local disks, with space usage on a drop-down menu; the memory meter shows RAM usage with an optional paging activity indicator; and the network meter provides multiple options for displaying and scaling activity. MenuMeters has a long, stable history and … Read more

Enhance your contextual menus

FinderPop is a free preference pane that extends the functionality of OS X's contextual menus, helping you more quickly browse, open, move, preview, and get info on folders, files, volumes, and apps using your mouse, in much the same way that other "launcher" apps increase efficiency with keyboard commands. This popular, venerable application has been around since Mac OS 9, and one of its main purposes is to emulate the old Apple Menu Items folder.

At its most basic, FinderPop lets you browse the contents of a folder or volume just by control-clicking on it, while also … Read more