Convert Email Messages or Word Documents to PDF Online using Google Docs

Here's a very simple way to create PDF files online without buying expensive PDF tools or installing any virtual PDF printer drivers. The output PDF file will look exactly like your source document preserving all the text formatting, hyperlinks, tables and even embedded images.

We'll use a feature in the just introduced Google Docs & Spreadsheets Suite that lets you create new online documents by emailing them directly to a secret email address. The documents can be sent as an email attachment or even as a rich text email.

Here's a step by step approach to creating PDF file from your rich-text email messages or a Word document using Google Docs [support for spreadsheets is expected soon]

Step 1: Assuming you already have a Google Account, get your unique email address here where you'll be sending the documents. [under Email-In Your Documents or Files]


Step 2: Using GMail, Outlook or any other email service, compose a new email message. Either attach your Word document or create a rich-text email message. Send this email to the address you copied in step 1.


Step 3: You will soon receive an email message back from Google Writely containing a link to your document on the Google Docs server. Open the document inside Google Docs.

You can also edit the document inside Google Docs in either HTML mode or the Rich-text mode itself. Don't forget to save your changes.

Step 4: This is the last step - click the Google Docs File menu and choose Save as PDF. Select any folder on the hard drive and your PDF is ready.

The whole process takes less than a minute.

Quick Tip: You can also use the Google Docs email-in feature to upload more than one document in a single email message.

Add Language Translation Flags To Your Blog in One Easy Step; Reach Non-English Speaking Readers

What's you first reaction when you land on a website that's written in Russian, Chinese or Japanese ? Most of us would hunt for that English language translation flag and if that's missing, we will copy-paste the site address in Google Translate website or Yahoo Babelfish to convert the site content to English.

Way too much effort. Now let's reverse the roles and say somebody from China or Japan visits your blog (written in English). The foreign visitor will have exactly the same problems that you faced when you were visiting that non-English website above.

Since more than 65% of web users speak a language other than English, it is essential that you provide language translation features in your blog so that you don't miss the non-English speaking traffic.

So when an Arabic visitor passes your English blog, he or she can just click the Arab flag to translate the website into his native language - That way you don't loose a visitor plus he could even subscribe if the content is good even if written in another language.

Here's a quick tutorial to add language translation to your blog. You can be any blogging platform including Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress that provides access to templates. The visitor will see nine country flags corresponding to German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian languages.

All you have to do is copy-paste the following lines of Javascript code anywhere in your blog template.

Actually the above tutorial was a bit out of date since Yahoo acquired Babelfish and WorldLingo changed their translation URLs.

Though the machine translation powered by Systran is generally not as correct as the service offered by professional translators, not all of us can afford an human powered translation. Plus the non-English visitor can alway connect the dots and make some meaningful sense of your content.

There's no translation support for Urdu, Russian, Hindi, Telugu or other Indian languages.

Add Language Translation to your Website - Tutorial

How to make foreign visitors love your website even if they don't understand your language ? Add Language Translation to website and blogs - This is a simple Step by step guide to provide instant language translation in your website. Your site visitors can translate any webpage by clicking on the corresponding country flag and read your website in their native language.

Machine translation in blogs or websites is probably the easiest way of helping readers from different countries communicate. Even if a blogger writes in Spanish and a reader speaks English, or vice versa, both of them can still understand each other.

Today, people are blogging in multiple languages to create a conversation with readers outside the English Speaking blogosphere. Free language translation tools let bloggers post messages simultaneously in English, German, French, Spanish and other languages.

The most popular free Web-based language translation tools are offered by Google, AltaVista Babelfish and WorldLingo. Using these services, web audiences who speak English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Greek, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean or Russian will be able to translate websites into their native language.

With over 65% of web users speaking a language other than English, providing the means of translating websites with English content to another language is very essential. Your multilingual website becomes more accessible and popular if users can translate your website content into their native language.

There are two methods to let your visitors easily translate your website:

Method ONE: All these services provide a translation box. To translate a webpage, you simply type in the URL of the website, choose the source and target language, and click the Translate button. [World Lingo, Google Translate, BabelFish Translate]

Method TWO: Here we will integrate the translation form in the website itself without requiring the user to visit any external page for translation. Your web visitors will be able to translate foreign language content into their native language by simply clicking the country flag icon. (Notice the top right corner of this page to see the various country flag icons). Simply cut and paste the code into your pages.

1. Alta Vista Babel Fish:
Babel Fish Translate is available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. Just add the following single line of JavaScript code to your website.

<br /><script language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://www.altavista.com/static/scripts/translate_engl.js"></script>

2. Google Translate: Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Simplified). Remember to replace the value of variable "u" with the URL of your website. The translated pages can even be bookmarked.

<table width="320"> <tr> <td> </td> <form action="http://www.google.com/translate" target="_blank"> <td width="40"><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- document.write ("<input name="u" value="+location.href+" type="hidden">") // --> </script> <noscript> <input name="u" value="http://labnol.blogspot.com" type="hidden"> </noscript> <input name="hl" value="en" type="hidden"> <input name="ie" value="UTF8" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="en|fr" title="Français/French" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539949_e76af75976.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|de" title="Deutsch/German" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539933_041ca1eda2.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|it" title="Italiano/Italian" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539953_0384ccecf9.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|pt" title="Português/Portuguese" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539966_0d09b410b5.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|es" title="Español/Spanish" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539946_2fabed0dbf.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|ja" title="日本語/Japanese" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539955_925e6683c8.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|ko" title="한국어/Korean" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539958_3c3b482c95.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> <td width="40"><input name="langpair" value="en|zh-CN" title="中文（简体）/Chinese Simplified" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/14324441_5ca5ce3423.jpg" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="20" type="image" width="30"> </td> </form> </tr> </table>

3. WorldLingo URL Translator: World Lingo is my favorite service since Google indexes the static URLs translated by World Lingo. Thus, my website can be found on Google even while searching for non-english terms. World Lingo supports English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Greek, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean and Russian. The translated pages can even be bookmarked.

<table width="320"> <tr> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&amp;amp;wl_lp=en-fr"><img alt="Français/French" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539949_e76af75976.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&wl_lp=en-de"><img alt="Deutsch/German" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539933_041ca1eda2.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <br /><td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&wl_lp=en-it"><img alt="Italiano/Italian" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539953_0384ccecf9.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&amp;amp;wl_lp=en-pt"><img alt="Português/Portuguese" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539966_0d09b410b5.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&wl_lp=en-es"><img alt="Español/Spanish" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539946_2fabed0dbf.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&amp;amp;wl_lp=en-ja"><img alt="日本語/Japanese" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539955_925e6683c8.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&amp;amp;wl_lp=en-ko"><img alt="한국어/Korean" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/13539958_3c3b482c95.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> <td width="40"><a href="" wl_fl="2&wl_url=">&amp;amp;wl_lp=en-zh_cn"><img alt="中文（简体）/Chinese Simplified" src="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/img/43/1633/320/14324441_5ca5ce3423.jpg" height="20" width="30" /></a> </td> </tr> </table>

The above World Lingo Translation Code is customized for the Blogger Template. Since I have added translation to every page on my weblog, I have used wl_url=<$BlogItemPermalinkUrl$> in the URL. You will need to change this if your blog is hosted on another service like Typepad or Wordpress.

The <$BlogItemPermalinkUrl$> tag should be wrapped inside the tags.

These techniques can be applied for translating websites to English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. Translation Support for Middle Eastern languages like Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Persian, scripts like Hindi, Sanskrit, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Konkani scripts are provided by professional translating services only.

A 20" LCD Screen vs a 20" CRT Monitor - Which is Bigger ?

As kids, we are often asked what would weigh more - a kilogram of cotton roll or a kilogram of stone - as you probably guessed, both would weigh the same.

The same logic may not apply to display sizes of computer screens. The viewable area of a 17" LCD monitor is not the same as that of a 17" CRT monitor or a 17" TV screen - it is generally much larger.



That's because the LCD screens are measured in a different way than CRT screens.

Though both screens are measured diagonally, the plastic case surrounding the monitor screen is included in the measurement for the CRT. Therefore, the actual viewable area is at least an inch less than the stated size of the screen.

LCD Display size refer to the actual screen dimensions or the viewable area and do not include the plastic edges.

Now you know why that 15.4" laptop screen looks about the same size as your old 17" CRT Monitor.
Source: Dell Support

Create a Movie of your Powerpoint Presentations with PPT To Video Scout

PPT To Video Scout is a Windows-only software to convert Powerpoint PPT presentations into AVI or MPEG Video files which you can later burn to a DVD or a VCD.

Though PPT To Video Scout is a commercial software, you can get it absolutely free (no strings attached) as part of the "Giveaway of the Day" project.

To convert your PPT slides into video, you will need to have a copy of Microsoft Powerpoint installed on your machine since the software can only run from the "Convert To AVI" command in Powerpoint File menu. No stand-alone version.

But hurry up - you should download and install the software today itself (Feb 9, 2007) else the offer expires. Check the readme.txt for instructions.

Download PPT To Video Scout

GiveAway of the Day

Home Delivery of e-Mail Messages via Snail Mail

Imagine sending an email to someone residing in a remote village who has never heard about computers or internet and there's not even an electricity connection in the house.

That's where ePost, a service of the Indian Postal Department, fits in. You can still reach that person via email.

Here's how the ePost service works - you send an email to ePost with the postal address of the recipient. The email message is then forwarded to the nearest Post office where it is printed, enveloped and delivered by the postman like other snail mail.


You can also send handwritten message through this service - walk into your nearest post office where the letter will be scanned as an image and transmitted through e-mail.

All this at a cost of ~20¢ per page per addressee. And the undelivered messages are physically returned to the sender by snail mail.

Now a company in Germany have taken that concept a step further - in addition to emails, they even deliver SMS text messages and printed copies of documents using the old-school postal system.

Like ePost, you type the message online or upload a document, make the payment and PixelLetter will then print, fold and envelope your letter and deliver it the old fashioned way. Europe only.



The glorious days of the good-old postman are back again.

Want to Turn Google Talk Into an Internet Radio Station Without Any Software? Play Live Music right from your PC

I want to stand with you on a mountain.
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever.
Until the sky falls down on me...

[Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden]

You guessed it right, this post is all about playing live music for your valentine (and friends) using Google Talk, Skype, Yahoo Messenger and other IM software.

With this trick, you should be able to do the following:

1. Play that huge song collection on your local computer using any media player like iTunes or Windows Media player and stream that music live to your IM buddies.

2. Send MP3 songs as voicemail to any of your contacts in GTalk that they can download as MP3 or directly play via the Google MP3 Player in GMail.

3. Dedicate a music video on Youtube to your valentine and it will stream live to her computer as audio via Google Talk.

The trick is to change your sound settings and set the recording device from Microphone to Stereo mix (or Wave Out Mix) as illustrated below:


1. Click that volume icon on your Windows system tray. Goto Options -> Properties and choose the appropriate mixing device from the drop down (it's Sigma Tel C-Major Audio in my case)

2. Now select "Adjust volume for Recording" and click the OK button. On the next screen tick the check box next to Stereo Mix (deselect the Microphone check box if it's selected).

That's it. Now start iTunes or open your favorite video on Youtube or any video sharing site.

Click on the GTalk contact who you want to dedicate that song to and click Call. Simultaneously hit the play button in your media player.

To send the song as a voicemail, click "Send Voicemail" in the Gtalk message box.