Google Search Results get new layout and design

It was different when performed searches using Google today. Though i was getting the Google search results in the same design and layout, once in a while it changed. Initially i couldn’t realize why the results seemed different once in a while. After trying a bit more, i figured it out that the searches i performed using my Google toolbar gave the same old layout and design but when i searched in the location bar of Firefox, the results seemed to be different. Later i realized that Google was seemingly conducting a test on its layout and design and the change was witness able for Google.com only and not for country specific Google searches such as for Google.co.in.

Coming straight to the point, let me take off the curtains and let you have a look for yourself and see what i am talking about. Both the new and the old Google search result layout and designs are provided below for easy visual comparison.

New Google Search Result Layout and Design (below)

Old Google Search Result layout and design (below)

Differences

1. There seems to be a clear difference in the colours used in the new layout and design. The new one has a slightly lighter shade of blue.
2. The tiltes in the new layout and design are without underlines.
3. The description text is smaller and lighter than the old design.
4. The space between the results has increased substantially.
5. The cached and similar links have seemingly removed.

My views

Though the new layout seems more uncluttered and removal of underlines is a welcome step, there is too much blank areas between the results for my liking. Moreover, removing the cached and similar links is not a big problem for me as i don’t use that feature very often. I personally seem to like the old blue colour but i guess whenever there is a change people tend to oppose it until the change becomes part of our lives. Since the present layout and design is stuck to us for a long time, it may take us some time to get accustomed to the new layout and design.

How to add a watermark using GIMP

GIMP provides a relatively easy way of adding a watermark to images. The following steps provides the entire process of adding a watermark with GIMP. The steps provided herein below have been performed with GIMP 2.6. If you are using another version of GIMP, then also the steps will almost be the same with minor variations.

1. Open the image in GIMP
2. Open the Layers window by clicking the Layers button on the image toolbar (alternatively press CTRL-L)
3. Right Click on the Background layer and select a New Layer and select OK.
4. Click on New Layer in the Layers window to select the New Layer
5. Click on the Text Tool icon (Full Black A) to bring the text option on the Toolbox. Alternatively press the key ‘t’.
6. Select the font and size and click on the photo to insert the text.
7. Enter the text you wish to use as a watermark in the GIMP text editor
8. A black and yellow box with the text will appear.
9. Move the box to the desired location.
10. Click on Filters in the image toolbar (alternatively ‘Alt r’)
11. Then click Distort (alternatively ‘d’)
12. Then click Emboss (alternatively ‘e’)
13. An Emboss screen with the preview of the text will be shown. You may just keep the settings and select OK, which will reduce the colour intensity of the text.
14. Select the text layer under the Layers box and reduce the opacity by dragging it to the left. Select your optimum watermark opacity.
15. Right click the Background layer and select flatten image.
16. Save and you are done! (Check out the monkey image for the watermark added by me)

GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. You can download your copy of GIMP for free here.

A Google a day keeps the searchOmania away!!!

Google has launched a trivia game called ‘A google a day’ wherein it is allowing everyone to search for the answers on Google. The game asks a question everyday and Google provides its vast database to search for the answers using your Google searching capabilities. The game also comes up with its own Google search page which is powered by Deja Google, which helps to avoid spoilers by providing search results before the day the specific ‘a google a day’ trivia was uploaded.

CLICK TO PLAY THE TRIVIA GAME

According to Google, they will follow the traditional style of increasing the complexity of the puzzle with the difficulty levels around Thursday or Friday. Though the game asks questions which are many a times US centered but, what the hell, it becomes even more challenging to figure out the answer if you are not from US.

It seems to be a nice strategy to get users inclined to using Google. Moreover, Google may be receiving a ton of data which it may further use to improve its search results. Keeping everything aside, I found the game to be fun as well as challenging. It will obviously help everyone become good Google searchers.

Source – Google blog

Google PageRank Graph: Google PageRank visualized

Google has undoubtedly become one of the most important sources of traffic to a website. With many of us depending on a predominant chunk of traffic from Google searches, it has become a necessity to rank better in Google search results.

One way Google ensures better search results is through its PageRank (PR) algorithm. Though the exact algorithm behind Google's PageRank is not exactly disclosed by Google, many companies have actually broken the code about PageRank, to some extent at least.

I always wondered what was the difference between different PR values. How much time it would take to move from one PR to a higher one once Google updates the PR in the Google toolbar? Finally i came across an image by Elliance, Inc. which shows the Google PageRank in the form of a graph and helps to visualize the PageRank system. Though it is not official (not by Google) but is good enough to put an end to the speculation in my mind. :)

Source: Elliance