After reading the accounts on Lifehacker and elsewhere of how Gmail had suffered an outage which had allegedly since been fixed, I decided to visit my relatively unused Gmail account. I logged in OK, but as soon as I tried to send myself a file, I got the error message you can see in the screenshot. Doesn’t entirely fill me with confidence that Google’s really got to the bottom of the problem yet. (The connection worked fine on every other site I tried, include Google itself.) Yeah, I know: all email servers have outages, it’s free so what do you expect?, etc. But it’s a reminder again that putting all your eggs in Google’s basket could occasionally be troublesome, no how matter you love the Big G’s services when they work.
Free web-based converter PDF-to-Word turns static PDF files into edit-friendly Word documents with surprising, reliable accuracy. It’s in closed beta right now, but Lifehacker readers can get in early. Made by the same folks behind the previously mentioned PDF Download browser add-on for Firefox and Internet Explorer, along with the well-received Nitro PDF Professional, PDF-to-Word converter is a bit more simple. You upload a PDF, choose Word or Rich Text Format, and fork over your email address. The RTF files are, well, as good as straight-up text can be. The Word results, though, are impressively faithful to your PDF originals, with lines, graphics, boxes, and other elements retained and arranged in fluid layouts.
Online flash card web application Cramberry creates simple flash cards in an easy to use, clean interface—great for memorizing boring study terms. Using the web application requires creating a free account, after which you can build sets of cards in a single-lined, text-only, question-and-answer style. When using the cards in studying mode, Cramberry will repeat cards that you get wrong for extra practice. The sets can also be shared with other users, although there’s no place to publish a public list of cards for others to browse, so you’ll need to know a username to share with—but the clean and simple style makes this worth a look for anybody trying to memorise facts for class. Cramberry is a free web application, signup required.
Cramberry [via Download Squad]Windows only: Image search application Ginipic searches for images across photo sharing, image search, and even local folders—making finding images a breeze. Once installed, the application docks to the side of your screen, though it can also be used as a normal window. Simply enter a search term and Ginipic will return results from multiple search engines as thumbnails—which can be saved, tagged, shared, or emailed. Selecting a specific image source will enable advanced options in the search drop-down, so you can search using Google’s advanced operators, for instance. The application boasts quite a number of sources, including Flickr, Google Images, SmugMug, Photobucket, deviantART, Stockexpert, Fotolia, and even Facebook—making this a very interesting application worth a look for finding images easily. Ginipic is a free download for Windows, requires the .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. If you simply want to find wallpaper, check out the best places to find multi-monitor wallpaper or find wallpaper by using Google’s exact dimension search.
GinipicAccording to the BBC, the Official Google Blog, and a handful of upset tipsters, Gmail went offline for roughly two and a half hours yesterday —with some users reporting up to four hours of downtime. I’m not sure if the alternate options for accessing Gmail when it’s down worked for anyone, but if you’re rocking the new Offline Gmail, you probably felt pretty smart. Did you suffer the brunt of a down Gmail? Feeling angry at the big G? Vent and commiserate in the comments. [Official Google Blog, BBC]
Windows/Mac only: Apple today released a new beta version of its Safari web browser, boasting several new features including Cover Flow, full history search, a faster JavaScript engine (dubbed Nitro), and a slew of other new features. Eye candy aside, the most remarkable feature update is the Nitro engine, which claims to run faster than Chrome, Firefox 3.0 (and 3.1, for that matter). We haven’t had a chance to vet any of these claims yet, but we’ll let you know once we do. The rest of Safari’s new features seem less like new features and more like a quick game of catch-up. For example, Safari’s Top Sites feature smells eerily similar to Google Chrome’s homepage, listing “your favourite web sites at a glance.” Likewise, the new tabs on top feature puts tabs along the very top edge of the window—also very familiar to Chrome users. On the other side of the fence, Firefox users may find the new, smarter address bar familiar as well. As an added bonus—as you can see in the first screenshot—Safari actually looks like it belongs on Windows now. Still, none of that copying really matters. We’re happy to see the browser market borrow a good feature or two here and there if it means the competition continues. Safari 4 Beta is a free download, Windows and Mac OS X only. In the meantime, let’s hear what you think of the shiny new Safari in the comments.
Safari 4 Beta [Apple]
