Google launched Allo for desktop today and it's not perfect.

Some tech companies just don't get the concept of what a desktop app is and how with the Cloud, apps on mobile, the web, desktop can all work together. At least Facebook's WhatsApp and Google still don't get it. The latter just brought its Allo messaging app to the desktop via the Chrome browser. Don't try with Microsoft Edge, it won't work and Google will invite you to download Chrome - no surprises here. If you've used WhatsApp desktop before, the concept is the same and just head to Allo website and scan the QR code to get started. Otherwise keep reading on.

After you've updated and started Google Allo on your Android device, launch Chrome on your computer and go to g.co/alloforweb. The site will display a QR code. Open Allo on your phone and tap the three horizontal bars - also known as hamburger menu - at the top left hand of the app and tap "Allo for web" > Scan QR Code. From there just point your phone to the QR code on your computer screen and Chrome will load all your Allo messages. Put your phone away and start messaging your contacts. A little hiccup though: Your phone must remain online for Allo Desktop to work. Otherwise you get a message in your browser that your phone is unreachable. 

That's it. Google Allo now works on your desktop. It's not perfect and I can't believe it took Google so long to come up with this.

Download Google Allo in the Play Store.

Google Chrome loads pages faster and consumes less memory.

Google Chrome is by far the most popular mobile browser and in the desktop world too. I have often tried to move away from it adn give browsers like Opera, Firefox a try, but did not last long. Opera is the browser that I have the most because of its data saving feature, the first browser on the market with such a feature. Now that Chrome also let me save some money and data, that relegated Opera to the background, only being used to test new updates. Speaking of update, Chrome was updated to version 59.

Chrome 59 will now load pages faster for a better browsing experience and consume less memory thanks to an updated JavaScript engine. There is also the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

Check out the update in Google Play Store and happy browsing.    

Google Photos AI-powered archiving is rolling out now.

Google just made archiving photos a tad easier with a feature update rolling out now for Android, iOS and the web version of Google Photos. We take pictures of memorable moments and also of receipts, notes and other file types. However, we don't necessarily want to see them all mix up together. The new Archive feature will help handle all that and put some order in Google Photos.

The manual archiving is still there should users want to remove some pitures out of the main display. The new feature will use machine learning to find those photos you most likely would want to archive. Of course, users will still be able to review the suggestions and remove any photos they don't want archived. Archived photos can still be found under Archive in the app or on the web or when searching for them.

The feature is already available for Android in Google Play Store. Give it a try and keep your Google Photos main display neat.

Source: Google Photos

Google Sheets now supports rotated text, accounting number formats, thicknesses and double borders.

Not all can afford Microsoft Office or Office 365. Google, thankfully, offers a free option that works on the web, a Android phone and Apple's iPhone. While Google productivity apps do not match Microsoft's offer yet and is even far from it, it is still an alternative to consider with Google constantly adding new features to its productivity app. Today Google has updated Google sheets app with new features based on users feedback. 

Users will be able to rotate text in Google Sheets cells to fit long header names into thin columns. This feature only works on the web, meaning you cannot rotate text on an Android device. The rotated text will show on any Android device though.

Google also made it easy to add currency symbols within the same monetary cells amounts. Again, this feature is available only on the web version of Google Sheets. Additionally, users will get to choose several border styles, including thicknesses and double borders. This feature is available in Toolbar > Borders > Borders Style.  

Google also added the following features:

• Support for using a mouse with the Sheets Android app
• Ability to view and select existing custom colors in the Sheets Android app
• Ability to drag and drop rows and columns in the Sheets Android and iOS apps
• Formatting suggestions in Explore in the Sheets iOS app

Google Sheets is available free for download on Google Play Store.

Slowly but surely, Google is catching up with Microsoft offerings.

Source: Google

Insert videos in Google Slides from Google drive and YouTube.

Today, Google made it possible to insert videos in presentations from Google Drive and YouTube. After inserting the videos in Google Slides, users will have the option to choose when to start or end the video; whether the video should auto-play when presenting. Additionally, users will also have the option to mute or play the video with audio by doing right-click on the video and choosing Video options. 

Inserted videos can be played both on the web or a mobile device. However, inserting videos to Google Slides is only supported on the web. For those viewing the presentation and do not have permission to view the embedded video, can always request request access.

Google announces three useful Google+ new features.

Google+, Google's social network will receive an update next week, four days after Donald Trump's inauguration. This update brings with it some useful features and shows that Google is still serious about Google+ despite failing to attract users the same way its competitors do - Facebook has over 1 billion users while Google+ has about 100 million only, a bunch of zeroes less. Let's see what's in that update:

Hiding low-quality comments - Finally users will be able to have some control on comments on posts, which Google says will let users "focus on the comments that matter most." Users can still click "View more comments" to see them all.

Showing you more of what matters - Google+ has been redesigned to fit more information on the screen and less white space. Google also added zoom functionality to Google+ web.

Bringing back events - The last feature is for Google+ web only which will see the the coming back of Events. Beginning January 24, Google+ web will support the creation and joining of events.  

Will these updates make you use Google+ more?

Source: Google's blog

Google improves file previewing of Microsoft Office, PDF and images file in Google Drive on web.

Like most cloud storage apps, there is a feature in Google Drive for previewing several file types within the app and today Google has improved this feature in Google Drive on the web. The preview feature supports Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat or photo editors available in Gmail, Inbox and Google Drive.  Its very useful if you do not have these files installed on your device.

Here's what is improved:

Cleaner interface: Buttons and toolbars stay out of the way when you’re not using them.

Spreadsheet zooming support: If you preview spreadsheet files in Drive, you can now zoom in and out to inspect specific cells. This complements earlier launched improvements where we added support for frozen rows and columns, and the ability to switch between sheets.

Simpler zooming for document files: Zoom buttons are now easier to find and make images and documents larger than you could before.

The new features will be rolling out in the next 2 or 3 days.

Source: Google