Back in 2007, Google launched iGoogle, a new personalized Google homepage for signed in users to put whatever gadgets they want on their homepage, while still having easy access to Google search. There was a fair amount of enthusiasm for …

When Google launched Google+, it didn’t take long for some of us to speculate about the demise of Google Buzz. Now, we don’t have to speculate much more because Google has come out and said they’re shutting it down, along …

Google has redesigned iGoogle, its custom homepage product, so that it is more in line with other recent Google redesigns. That includes the navigation bar at the top and the left panel, as seen in the image. “In addition to …

Google has acquired widget developer Labpixies, which developed some of the first gadgets for Google’s personalized homepage iGoogle. It also develops apps for Android and iPhone.

"Over the years, we worked closely together on a variety of projects, including the launch of a number of global OpenSocial based gadgets. Recently, we decided that we could do more if we were part of the same team…" says Don Loeb of Google’s iGoogle team.

Sending someone a picture or document while chatting online can seem like the most natural thing in the world; it’s common enough for topics like children or school papers to be discussed.  So Google’s upgraded one of its offerings by making it easier for people to trade files.

Google now has a video chat application that can be used from your iGoogle home page. This is just the latest feature Google has added to its ever-growing list of products/features that make it more like a giant social network.

Last week, Google introduced social gadgets for iGoogle in Australia. Today they have made them available in the US. Well, they’ll be gradually rolling out starting today, anyway.

The social gadgets let users share, collaborate, and play games with their friends. There are 19 of them at this point that have been debuted today. They include things like:

It looks like the term "iGoogle" is about to grow a little less apt.  Starting this week, social gadgets will debut for iGoogle, allowing and encouraging some users to connect and interact with each other.

Initially, people in Australia are the only ones who will gain access to the new gadgets.  There are twelve of them (more should come out later), and they provide gateways to things including News.com.au, YouTube, GoComics, and chess.

All of geekdom has descended upon the city of San Diego, California for Comic-Con 2009. The four-day event, which showcases everything from action figures to theatrical coming attractions, is the highlight of the year for many fanboys.

Are you attending Comic-Con today? Let us know.

It’s been almost seven weeks since we first covered the Google Photography Prize contest, and now a winner’s been declared.  A jury of artists and art critics selected the iGoogle theme created by Daniel Halasz.

Accessing the Internet from a mobile device can be a frustrating experience; small screens, slow speeds, and "streamlined" (meaning stripped) interfaces often make people feel like they’re missing out.  But a certain Mountain View-based search giant is trying to fix all that with a new, beta version of iGoogle.

Google has introduced the iGoogle showcase, which is a gallery of celebrity iGoogle pages for you to peruse, and if you like one well enough, emulate theirs for your own. I suspect this is a way to generate more interest in the use of iGoogle (it certainly worked for Twitter).

Google has or is working on pretty much all of the main ingredients for a really great social network. The problem (in my opinion) is that they are scattered and not integrated as well as they could be. Do you particiapte in any of Google’s social projects? Tell us which ones.

Gmail

Google has released a gadget called What’s Popular for iGoogle. You may draw some connections between it and a certain site called Digg, and some are speculating that it is even an indication of a broader plan from Google to creep into Digg territory.

Google has introduced an iGoogle gadget for Insights for Search. It displays the top rising searches and top related searches on your Google home page. Users can change the settings to show results for a specific location, keyword, category, or source.

Never mind money, search, and advertising for a minute.  Whether you go home every evening and power up a PS3 or just have fond memories of early arcade and Nintendo games, Google’s got something to bring a smile to your face as gaming themes for iGoogle have been unveiled.

Gmail chat has come to iGoogle. This means users will be able to chat with their friends and associates without leaving the comfort of their Google homepage.

The feature is not a gadget like most of your iGoogle features. The chat feature comes in the form of a sidebar and resides below the left-hand navigation menu.

About two months ago, Google announced a new "Tasks" feature in Gmail Labs. the feature provides a window in Gmail similar to that of chat and lets you add tasks by simply clicking in the empty area and starting to type.

Now they are offering a mobile version of the feature for iPhones and Android devices. It is also accessible by any xhtml enabled phone.

Last year, Google was kind enough to tailor a specific version of its personalized homepage tool iGoogle, to the ever-popular iPhone. They even offered a video showing how nice and convenient it would be for iPhone users.

Keeping within the Holiday spirit, Google is doing something a little more significant than helping track the path of Santa Claus. They’re offering a number of iGoogle themes for causes in an effort to spread awareness and raise donations.

They’re clearly taking it seriously because there is a link to them right from the front page of the search engine, and usually there is not a whole lot of change going on there aside from the occasional doodle.

Google has rolled out a new version of homepage customizer iGoogle. They say they’ve rolled it out to all U.S. users, but that would include me, and I have seen no signs of it on my page, so apparently "all" is a little strong. Hopefully I will be included soon, because being a fan of iGoogle, I would find the new features quite useful.

Google announced a collection of new iGoogle themes from well-known artists today. Among them are: Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Gucci, Burberry, Vera Wang, Bob Dylan, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, and more.

An interesting mix to say the least. Google explains: