One Last Hurrah For Picnik Photo Editor
Well, the awesomeness of Picnik is not dead, but I must admit that I kind of feel like google has crushed another great only service by goggling them up. The Picnik service, for those who are not familiar with it, was a very fast loading and easy to use online image editing tool that would allow you to re-size, crop and even perform some rather cool effects on pictures right from your web browser. I have been personally using this site ever since Google shipped me a CR 48 laptop last year and fell in love with its simplicity and ease of use on an all web laptop.
Google Swallows Another Cool Web App
For those that have been playing around with the new Google ChromeBooks you already know that they integrated the basic features from Picnik right into the OS. If you open an image from your file manager you will be able to choose the “edit” button at the bottom right to see what I am talking about. Other Google users will see the Picnik image editing features
Picnik Is Refunding All Existing Paying Members Money
Just a little more proof that Google has no need for more money, but a very nice gesture all the same. You will be getting a full refund from Picnik very soon if you are currently a paying customer. Even if you are on the last day of your 1 year subscription they say you will still receive a full refund just to say thanks (or I’m sorry) not really sure which..
The Good News – Free Premium For Everyone
So if you have paid for the premium service on the Picnik photo editing site or not, you are going to be able to to use the premium service for free until the site officially closes on the 19
of April 2012. This means you can start adding all those cool photo masks you wanted for free!
I am definitely sorry to see this site go, but we will still be able to access many of Picnik’s great features right inside of the photos section on Google+ so don’t worry its not gone for ever, just moving over to a new online home.
The integration into the photo sharing on Google+ is just one more of the reasons that I am starting to prefer this social network over the old blue one 
and I am sure that there are many more cool updates to come soon enough.
Put me in your Google Plus Circles
Here is my official Google+ profile : Nick Simpson Google+
And here are some great Google+ pages to add too..
AlienServ Web Hosting On Google+
Google Chrome Extensions Are Here!
Well there has been a big wait for the release of extensions for Google Chrome and the wait is finally over! You can now download and install all sorts of cool add-on extensions to extend the capability of Google Chrome. There have been many a Firefox user who has refused to make the switch to Chrome because there were no way to add features to the browser like there was on firefox. Well this is no longer an issue, since the most recent Chrome Update.
Google Chrome Extensions Are Here!
Now you can add features and tools to your standard installation of Google Chrome on the fly. Most all of the extensions are very fast to install and intuitive to use. Once an extension is installed you will see a new button appear to the right side of the omnibar and you can then access the new feature very easily. This makes for a great shortcut list to all of the extensions on your “web desktop” so to speak. If you add all your favorite google apps and google services, this may be a look into the future of what the Google Chrome OS may look like.
You can start downloading all the cool extensions for Google Chrome right here:
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/
You will have to update Chrome first by going to “about” and then choosing “update”.
Once you have the latest version of Google Chrome you can open a new page and access extensions at the bottom right of this screen.
There are many very useful and cool extensions already available for Google Chrome and soon enough there will be many more. There are many developers working on updates to the old firefox plugins to port them for Chrome and many new mashups on the way too.
What Can I Do With Chrome Extensions?
Well there is a wide variety of extensions to choose from, everything from password managers, to social networking add ons, to seo plugins. It really depends on what you use the internet for. There are many available so you will be sure to find some that suite your needs no matter what you are looking for.
Here is a list of some that I have found useful and think you will too:
Chrome Milk : An easy task manager app that allows you to keep all your to-dos in one place.
Fastest Fox : This is one of the coolest add-ons for Chrome, it allows you to make your browsing experience fast and more efficient, this is a must have for Chrome lovers.
One Number : Access your gmail, google voice, google reader and google wave updates all in one place!
goo.gl URL Shortener : Googles own url shortening service.
Chome SEO : Check page rank, alexa rank and a lot more with the click of a button.
Stumble Upon : Add stumbleupon.com usability to your Chrome Browser.
Picnik : Photo editing on the fly has never been easier than using this great Chrome extension.
Ping.fm : This Chrome Extension makes use of the mobile ping.fm api to allow you to update all your social statuses in small window very easily.
There are many more extensions out there but these are the ones that I have tried out and found to be very useful in my day to day operations online. I will add more to the list as I find more Chrome extensions that I find useful. If you have any suggestions, you are welcome to comment below and I will add your favorites to the list here too.
Free Web Site Tools
