Develop new gadgets with support from Google.

http://www.google.com/gadgetventures/

Try your hand on Google pilot program dedicated to helping developers create richer, more useful gadgets. Inspired by the success of iGoogle, which has been driven by the creation by 3rd-party developers of a broad range of gadgets, Gadget Ventures provides two types of funding:

1. Grants of $5,000 to those who’ve built gadgets we’d like to see developed further. You’re eligible to apply for a grant if you’ve developed a gadget that’s in our gadgets directory and gets at least 250,000 weekly page views. To apply, you must submit a one-page proposal detailing how you’d use the grant to improve your gadget.
2. Seed investments of $100,000 to developers who’d like to build a business around the gadgets platform. Only Google Gadget Venture grant recipients are eligible for this type of funding. Submitting a business plan detailing how you plan to build a viable business around the gadgets platform is a required part of the seed investment application process.

Chrome Experiments - The Power of JavaScript!

http://tnerd.com/2009/03/20/5-best-chrome-experiments-the-power-of-javascript/

Google has always been a step ahead when it comes to creating a buzz for its products and attracting great talent to build upon its tools.

ChromeExperiments.com is one such example. Applications showcased on this site are mostly built on JavaScript technologies and are a showcase of out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. These Applications/Experiments might not be put to use as it is, however, they serve their purpose of demonstrating the power of JavaScript and the Browser.

Following are the top 5 experiments from the bunch.. (I recommend viewing these experiments in Google Chrome. Click here to download Chrome if you don’t have it installed already)

BallDroppings: It’s a musical app which looks like pong. The balls are dropped one after the other, users can draw lines/bars to keep the balls from going off the screen. The balls bounce off the bar drawn on the screen creating a sound every time a ball hits the bar.

Click here to launch the experiment or watch the video below to see it in action.

Browser Ball: This is another fun application which shows the power of JavaScript and how well Chrome handles it.

All you have to do is Open windows and throw the ball through them. Not only that but you can also add new windows on the fly.

Click here to launch the app or watch the following video to see it in action

Ball Pool: Ball Pool works on the laws of physics. Shake the browser, move or throw the balls around and see how the browser and see how the onscreen objects react to it.

From the Author: Start by shaking the browser, then create new balls (click on empty space), move some others (drag) and reset the screen (double click).

It’s like the old days once again!

Click here to launch the experiment or watch the following video to see the app in action

Boombox: This application lets you control the volume of the sound by resizing the channel window.

For demo purpose the application plays a song online, however, it would be great if it can be integrated with any of the music services online.

Click here to launch the application or watch the video below to see the app in action

Monster: This application demonstrates how JavaScript is used instead of Flash to create 3D objects and animation in the browser.

Click here to launch the animation or watch the video below to see it in action.

What's new with iGoogle?

iGoogle?

I'm an iGoogle addict. I check my news, email, stocks, feeds and weather there and sometimes even manage to squeeze in a game or two during the day. Having everything in one place is super convenient, but I often wish I could deal with all my stuff without having to leave my iGoogle page. With today's release, I can. We've rolled out an updated design for iGoogle to all U.S. users, which includes full canvas views for gadget and support for full feed reading.

Not all of our gadgets have canvas views yet, but here are some of the best:

• News - New gadgets from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post give me full-page views of what's new in the world. Nice.
• Games - The Sudoku gadget lets me play thousands of full-page Sudoku puzzles without squinting at 6-point type. The GoComics gadget gives me my fix of Garfield and Doonesbury and lets me choose from all of their other comics. I've also spent many coffee breaks browsing through videos from YouTube and CurrentTV.
  
• Entertainment - I've configured the TV Guide gadget to my zip code and just used it today to figure out when the newest episode of The Office is playing. Flixster's movies gadget lets me access trailers, ratings, and theater information for any movie. I also use the iLike gadget to browse news, concerts, and free MP3s from my favorite musicians.
• Google stuff - The new Gmail gadget lets me read my full email and perform simple actions like send or reply to emails without leaving iGoogle. Last but not least, a gadget that I authored and use every day is for Google Finance, which provides full-screen finance charts and news of the stocks in my portfolio.

Here's a full list of our highlighted canvas view gadgets.

We've also replaced the tabs at the top with a left navigation that allows for access to any gadget with one click. We're very excited about these changes because it makes iGoogle a more useful homepage and a better platform for developers. And this is just the beginning: Expect to see more canvas gadgets created by developers and more new features on iGoogle soon. Not in the U.S.? Don't worry. We'll also be rolling out this updated version in other countries very soon.