Google Chrome 5 Developer Build Released

Google just released a stable version of Google Chrome 4 a few days ago, and they are already on with Chrome 5.

Today, the Chrome Dev team has released the first developer build of the next Chrome, v5.0.307.1. This version is available for Windows and Mac.

Chrome 5.0.307.1 Changelog

Windows
Use default downloads directory on Vista and Windows 7 (except where it is the desktop)
Start work on Content Settings window and sub-dialogs

Mac

Improved plugin stability.
Cocoa NPAPI plugins will now get NPCocoaEventMouseDragged and NPCocoaEventFlagsChanged events
Fix crash that sometimes happened when dragging tabs
Fix %cpu in task manager.
Give the cookies manager a search field.
Make copying of big images more robust
Improve task manager resizing behavior

Known Issues

Crash when deleting cookies in Mac
Chrome 5.0.307.1

Free Lifetime Backup for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter

We have always looked for the best backup tools and services as none of us would like to lose our data. Social networks and other websites don’t offer any kind of backup tools to save our data – but that’s where Backupify comes in!

Backupify is an online backup service that backs up all your online accounts in one place i.e Amazon Cloud Service. You can use Backupify’s free Amazon account or store your data in your own S3.

You have data locked up in Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, Basecamp, and all the other online services you use

Backupify is not just about backup, it is about controlling your data yourself instead of having it stored in hundreds of services all around the web.

Here are the services that Backupify supports at the moment:
Flickr
Twitter
Google Docs
Photobucket
WordPress
Delicious
Zoho

Services that are yet in beta now include:
Gmail
Facebook
Hotmail
Blogger
FriendFeed

Other online services like YouTube, Tumblr, RSSFeed etc. coming soon.

Is It Secure? Yes, it sure is! Security is their highest priority. They use Amazon’s data center because of the security features they offer. Backupify’s system was designed by top security experts who previously worked on sensitive data systems like billing software.

Backupify is offering these services completely free for new users for a limited time

OreObject Thinks You Need A Ball-Shaped Steel Mouse

This is the OreObject SPHEREtouch mouse. It's basically an overpriced touch-sensitive ball. It doesn't matter that it's handcrafted out of steel, titanium, or platinum because it still looks more like a tacky paperweight than like a mouse.

Depending on your choice of material, the SPHEREtouch's price will range from $155 to $255. Sorry, but all the "balls of steel" jokes in the world aren't enough to make that a decent price for an oddly-shaped mouse with questionable ergonomics that doesn't even have Bluetooth.

Chrome OS Tablet Demo Offers a Peek at What a Chrome Tablet Might Look Like

Last week Apple announced their new tablet, the iPad, and whether or not you were keen on the device (46% of you were completely uninterested), you may still be interested in this concept demo of Google's open-source Chromium OS, tablet-ized.

Chrome OS's lead designer Glen Murphy (who I believe is also a UI designer on Google Chrome the browser) posted the concept video below to the official Chromium OS site.

Remember that the demo is just a mockup, and that neither the device nor the tablet-friendly version of Chrome OS exist. Still, for people interested in a future of tablet computing, between the iPad, Chrome OS, and the other tablets that are looking to come to market this year running regular old desktop operating systems made touch-friendly, that future is looking bright. Hit the link below for a closer look at some UI image mockups like the keyboard idea above.

Soon, We'll Have SmallQWERTY Keyboards For All Our Tablets

In the future, when everything is touchscreen, there'll be a revolt. Companies like Mobience will be springing up, offering their mini-keyboard peripherals for using with tablets and smartphones. Eventually, we'll remember how good we used to have it

Mu Space Music Player Transforms Into a Bed

Is this a lunchbox? A boombox? Actually, the Mu Space music player is a bed box. Its body carries a soft bed inside, doubling as an audio pillow thanks to its rotating speakers. This is how it works:

What's Your Fastest Text Input Tool?

Designer and blogger Phil Gyford spends a lot of time with six different text input gadgets, ranging from low-tech (pen and paper) to more high tech (full keyboard, iPhone keyboard, etc.) His question: Which gadget provided the quickest means of input?

I have six input methods to compare:
The Apple Newton MessagePad 2100's handwriting recognition (1997)
The Palm Vx's Graffiti (1999)
The Palm Treo 650's hardware QWERTY keyboard (2004)
The Apple iPhone 3G's software QWERTY keyboard (2009)

To test the speed of input I was going to use the same piece of text for each one. I also wanted to use some text I could memorise, so I didn't have to pause typing/writing to look up, and the later tests wouldn't benefit from my increasing knowledge of the text.

His results:

Congratulations, full-size keyboard! Gyford is fully aware that his test isn't exactly scientific, and it probably doesn't apply to you, but it did get us wondering: What's your best input method? Share your fastest and favorite input method in the comments.