Google Scribe: Predictive text for your computer

The boys and girls in white coats at Google's Labs have come up with another wizard wheeze. Google Scribe is predictive text -- for your computer!

As if mysterious animated logos weren't enough for one day, we've also got Scribe. Simply type, and Scribe offers a drop-down menu of ten options. Scroll down to the word you want and hit your return key, or press the relevant number. To get rid of suggestions just press Esc, which also allows you to type actual numbers.

It's not just words in the dictionary: the suggestions are linked to Google results. After a couple of letters of this Craver's name, Scribe suggests 'Trenholm State Technical College'. Type a capital 'G', and Google suggests 'Google Reader', followed closely by 'God'. It even has a crack at adding HTML when you type an angled bracket.

Suggestions can be ordered alphabetically, or in keeping with Scribe's idea of relevance, context or expectations. When we typed 'Richard' we were offered 'The Lionheart', which then offered 'Saladin', which offered 'Middle East', which offered... 'Frequent flyer programs'. Okay, so it's not perfect.

Drag the bookmarklet to your toolbar and Scribe will work in any text-input box, including Gmail. You can turn off automatic suggestions, instead only seeing suggestions when you hit the tab button on your keyboard. Another useful idea from the Labs, or more time wasted? Spill your guts in the comments section.