Tools

Over 251 Google Products & Services You Probably Don’t Know

by MAHESH MOHAN on December 24, 2018

First Published: July 24, 2009; Last Updated: Monday, December 24, 2018.

Google may be a synonym for search, but it’s not restricted to that feature alone. If you are not a tech-savvy person then chances are that you are unaware about majority of Google’s products and services.

Anyway, how many Google products and services do you use? The common answers will be Gmail, Google+, Drive, Docs, or an Image Search. But Google is well beyond that.

Over 2.2 billion Google users. Over 1 billion YouTube users. Over 1 billion Gmail users. Over 1 billion Chrome users. Over 1 billion Maps users. Over 2 billion Android users. Over 1 billion Google Play Store users. That’s the stats of Google.

Don’t Miss: Over 71 Microsoft Products, Services, & Apps You Probably Don’t Know

3 Best Of The Best Remote Desktop Access Software That Are Free

by MAHESH MOHAN on October 1, 2018

The Best Remote Desktop Access Software

There was a time when I (and probably you) struggled with Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop software on a Windows PC to remotely access someone else’s computer. It was a terrible experience and never worked for me as it involved quite a few network settings and protocols — which I still don’t understand much.

And there were few free and premium remote desktop connection managers like LogMeIn, GoToMyPC, etc. at that time. But I was least interested in trying those remote desktop connection managers as it was of no use to me.

Then, with the advent of the smartphone era, I tried remote desktop apps for mobile like Splashtop, PocketCloud, LogMeIn, Join.me, and TeamViewer, etc. and almost all of them failed to impress me. It was simply not the kind of productivity apps that I wanted or even care about.

My impression completely changed when Microsoft and Google introduced their own Remote Desktop apps for web and mobile a few years back. The good thing is… both works perfect and is free without any restriction.

So here is a quick review (plus comparison) of the 3 (and only 3) best remote desktop access software that are free.

1. Chrome Remote Desktop

Chrome Remote Desktop is a Google Chrome app that lets you access all your computer(s) from another computer or from your mobile device(s). It can be used for a variety of purposes like to access your own computer from a remote location or to provide (or get) remote support or to securely access your files or software applications on your computer from a mobile device, and so on.

What I really like about Chrome Remote Desktop is that it’s linked to your Google account. So there’s no such thing as an extra user id or special codes to access your computer from another device of yours. And the installation and setup is pretty simple. All you need to do is install the Chrome Remote Desktop app on all your devices (computers, tablets, mobiles) and you’re good to go. [Read more…] about 3 Best Of The Best Remote Desktop Access Software That Are Free

Todoist vs. Wunderlist vs. Any.do: The Ultimate Comparison Of The Best To-do List Apps With Pros & Cons

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 18, 2018

Wunderlist vs. Any.do vs. Todoist

There are several to-do list apps on the web that helps you to get things done. However, the problem is finding the perfect task manager because there are so so many of them — both free and paid.

I have tried a bunch of them over the past several years and can definitely say that there is no such thing as a perfect to-do app. It’s all about your requirements as all of them offers a variety of features. It also means that if you are looking for a task manager with a particular feature then chances are it already exists.

Today, I have cherry-picked three of the best to-do apps, namely Todoist, Wunderlist, and Any.do, that are intuitive, feature-rich, powerful, and massively popular. And I have limited the list to just “3” as I believe they are the best of the best and is probably the only to-do list apps you’ll ever need to get things done.

Don’t Miss: The Fantastic Ten Tools (Free) To Skyrocket Your Productivity

Note: I have shortlisted, reviewed, and compared the free plans of Todoist, Wunderlist, and Any.do based on the criteria that I have set personally. But I believe it’s comprehensive enough and have highlighted almost all the aspects of the aforementioned apps (citing the web as well as the iOS platforms).

Todoist vs. Wunderlist vs. Any.do: Quick Comparison

Todoist

Platforms:
- Desktop: Web, Windows, macOS, Chromebook
- Mobile: iOS (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch), Android (Phone, Tablet, Wear), Windows Mobile, Apple Watch
- Add-ons: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Outlook, Gmail
Third-party Integrations: IFTTT, Zapier, Google Calendar, Slack, Alexa, Google Assistant, Gmail, Dropbox, and a lot more.
Free Plan Features: Sub-tasks, Sub-projects, Task Priorities (4 levels), Due Dates, Recurring Tasks, Collaborate, Keyboard Shortcuts, 10 Themes
Premium Plan Features: Labels, Filters, Comments, Attachments (up to 20 MB per file), Voice Recording, Reminders (Email, Push, SMS), Location-based Alerts, Project Templates, Automatic Backups, Calendar Feed, Add Tasks via Email
Price: Free / Premium ($28.99/year)
Visit: Todoist
Download:
- Desktop: Windows | Mac OS X | Chromebook
- Mobile: iOS | Android | Windows Mobile
- Browser Add-ons: Google Chrome | Firefox | Safari

AdBlock vs. Adblock Plus: The Ultimate Comparison With Pros & Cons

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 18, 2018

AdBlock vs Adblock Plus

It’s no secret that ad blocking extensions like AdBlock, Adblock Plus, and AdBlock Pro are becoming increasingly popular today with over 200 million active users and it’s costing publishers billions of dollars.

In fact, as I write this blog post, both AdBlock and Adblock Plus have over 50 million users. I was actually not using an adblocker until few months ago as I rarely click ads. So, I argued with myself why should I install an adblocker when it doesn’t make any difference.

However, I tried AdBlock few months back — when YouTube ads became increasingly annoying — and immediately realized that it’s a must-have for me. The only thing is… it’s NOT the extension’s ad blocking capability that I find interesting. But it’s something else — which I will explain below.

Adblock & Adblock Plus: A Brief History

As you probably know, the two most popular ad blockers for Google Chrome are AdBlock and Adblock Plus. What’s the difference? Well, it sounds similar but they are two different extensions developed independently.

Apparently, AdBlock was inspired by Adblock Plus itself when it was just a Firefox only add-on. Now ‘AdBlock Plus’ is also available for Google Chrome, Android, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, etc. and ‘AdBlock’ is available for Google Chrome, Safari, Opera, and iOS.

Adblock Plus is the most popular Firefox add-on with over 21 million users (it’s got the first-mover advantage on Mozilla Firefox) and AdBlock is the most popular Chrome extension (it’s got the first-mover advantage on Google Chrome).

By the way, both AdBlock and Adblock Plus claims that it’s the most popular ad blocker and both have over 40 million users. However, AdBlock has almost 2x more ratings than Adblock Plus on Chrome Web Store, so I guess it’s safe to assume that it’s the most popular ad blocker on Google Chrome. [Read more…] about AdBlock vs. Adblock Plus: The Ultimate Comparison With Pros & Cons

Over 71 Microsoft Products, Services, & Apps You Probably Don’t Know

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 14, 2018

Microsoft Products

I have always wanted to list all the Microsoft products and services (just like I did Google’s). But Microsoft’s products are really diverse in nature and a good percentage of them are actually targeting companies and business users. Therefore I found it difficult to list all the products in an organized way.

Microsoft’s products were mostly desktop applications until a few years ago. Now things have changed substantially and Microsoft has been launching a lot of standalone web and mobile apps for individual consumers. This is why I (finally!) decided to list all the Microsoft products and services.

Don’t Miss: Over 201 Google Products & Services You Probably Don’t Know

A List Of (Almost) All Microsoft Products, Services, Tools, & Apps

Over 1 billion Windows users. Over 500 million Windows 10 users. Over 1.2 billion Microsoft Office users. Over 400 million Outlook.com users. Over 3 billion Skype minutes a day. Over 669,000 Windows Store apps. That’s the stats of Microsoft.

Credit: Microsoft by the Numbers
[Read more…] about Over 71 Microsoft Products, Services, & Apps You Probably Don’t Know

How To Change Chrome Bookmark Favicons In Less Than 5 Minutes

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 12, 2018

Google Chrome

If you’re a power Google Chrome user then you probably know that we CAN’T change the favicons of Chrome bookmarks. But it’s possible in Internet Explorer and it’s super easy. Since Internet Explorer stores all the bookmarks in your PC’s Favorites folder (C:\Users\<Your User Name>\Favorites), you can change its favicon by using the “Change Icon…” option of each bookmark’s Properties (Right-click Bookmark > Properties > Change Icon…).

iCloud Email Address: One Productivity Tip You Probably Didn’t Know (Plus 3 Things About Gmail, Outlook.com, & Yahoo Mail)

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 11, 2018

Apple Cloud

I never blogged much about iCloud Mail or Yahoo Mail as I never find it useful or interesting — except the disposable addresses in Yahoo Mail.

A disposable address lets you create up to 500 temporary email address within Yahoo Mail. You can create a disposable address any time and delete it after use. It’s a good thing if you don’t want to reveal your “real” email address to anyone.

It’s a feature that is really missing in Gmail or Outlook.com but both Gmail and Outlook.com support sub-addressing though it’s not as useful as disposable addresses. Anyway, I didn’t want to switch to Yahoo Mail only to get that feature.

But a few years back I realized that an iCloud email address (@icloud.com) is also useful — and interesting — as it supports both sub-addressing and disposable addresses (sort of). [Read more…] about iCloud Email Address: One Productivity Tip You Probably Didn’t Know (Plus 3 Things About Gmail, Outlook.com, & Yahoo Mail)