14 DAY TRIAL // Google is always launching new products and technologies, but it looks like it saved some of the best for today, April 1st 2011. Touch and voice input are all the rage right now, but what about the future?
Well, Google is thinking about that already, in fact, it's got something to show for it, gesture recognition courtesy of the Motion technology available in Docs and Gmail, only today. We all know the keyboard and mouse are so 2003, these days everyone is looking at newer, faster and better ways of interacting with devices.
Google Motion (Beta) in Gmail and Docs
With Gmail and Google Docs Motion, you'll not only get work done faster, you'll live a healthier life as well. If you thought the Kinect was awesome then the Motion technology is right up your alley.
Sure, you can hit the 'r' key to reply to a message in Gmail, but wouldn't it be a lot easier if you just pointed your finger backwards?
Also, you can hit 'tab' then 'enter' to send an email, but who wants to hit two keys in a row for a simple action like that? With Motion enabled you can just do a 'lick a stamp' motion, touch your knee with your palm and you're done, the message is on its way.
Motion can help you get through your email faster, but it can also help you get some work done. What's more, collaboration is a breeze with the new Docs Motion.
Writing documents has never been easier. With over 10,000 supported gestures, anything you can think of can be easily translated into words. But it gets better, pie charts are a breeze with Motion, get a couple of coworkers (make sure you wear different colored shirts) position yourself accordingly and that's it, your spreadsheets have never looked more professional.
You must act quickly though, Gmail and Docs Motion are only available today, aka April Fools' Day.
Chromercise - the world's no. 1 aerobics program for your fingers
Getting on your feet and moving all around will do wonders for your health, but it can get tiring. Luckily, Google has something for you old timers who insist on using a legacy keyboard and mouse setup.
There's no denying that Chrome is fast. So fast in fact, that it can be a chore to keep up. If you feel your typing speed could improve, Google is happy to help with the brand new Chromercise fitness program.
Chromercise has won praises from authorities in the field of finger aerobics, such as Digits magazine, which has called it "more than a daily workout—it’s a wrist-to-tip lifestyle transformation rooted as much in its adherents' hearts and souls as their muscles and tendons."
There's a great workout video and even Chrome themed finger sweatbands, all you need to get those fingers in shape and typing hundreds of words per minute. With a little effort you may even break the current 216 words per minute world record.
But if you want to have the fittest fingers you better get cracking since, again, Chromercise is only going to be available for April Fools.
After all of this, it's only natural that you'd think Google is the greatest place on Earth to work at. Luckily enough, there's a job opportunity that may just the thing for you.
Want to work at Google? Physic reading has been a great hobby of yours? Turn it into a profession with this exciting job opportunity
The best part is, there's no coding skill or even a higher education degree needed, all you need to apply for an Autocompleter position at Google is great typing skills. All those long hours with Chromercise will be finally paying off. A bit of talent for premonition will help as well.
You can watch the video below to get an idea of what the title of Autocompleter entails, basically you need to be able to type really fast, figure out what people are going to write in milliseconds (or even better, read their minds and predict it before they even start typing) and be really knowledgeable in pretty much everything there is to know on Earth.
But, wouldn't you know it, this job opportunity is limited to today as well.
Just in case you haven't figured it out by now, all of this is part of Google's traditional April Fools' jokes. The company is always trying to outdo itself and it hit a home run this time, some of the stuff it's created this year is absolutely hilarious.
