Author Archives: Brett

Google Wave has a basic “Yes/No/Maybe” gadget but this can be a bit limiting when you have a question for participants in a wave that goes beyond a yes, no, or maybe answer. However, Poll Gadget 2.0 allows you to create a custom poll with custom options and settings. It’s one of the best customizable poll gadget that I’ve used so far.

Here’s how you can add it to a wave. Continue reading →

The Napkin gadget allows you to insert a “whiteboard” right into Google Wave so you can collaborate with live, handwritten drawings. You can customize brush color and size, and you have options to undo or clear your drawing.

Surely, this won’t necessarily allow you to create any artistic masterpieces, but it is a good way to share visual ideas if you happen to think that sort of way.

It’s really easy to add to your wave. Here’s how you can do it. Continue reading →

Google Wave is meant to be a platform that allows collaboration on a variety of different levels. When you wave, you’re not just limited to an exchange of text like traditional instant messaging, but you can even include elements like video and audio.

WavePlayer is a gadget that allows you to embed MP3 files in a wave. You’re embedded MP3 will appear in an embedded audio player like this:

Here’s how you can do it. Continue reading →

Google Wave gadgets add increased functionality to Wave. The “<iframe>” gadget allows you to embed a web page into Google Wave.

This can be helpful if you want to share a website with participants in a wave without the extra step of having to click an external link outside of Wave. I also know some people will create a public wave around the topic of their website and then embed their website into the public wave as a form of sharing it with others.

In order to embed a web page into Google Wave, you’ll need to click the “Add Gadget by URL” button in the toolbar of the wave. Continue reading →

Google Wave largely appeals as a collaboration tool. This is really helpful for businesses and organizations who need to brainstorm, communicate, and bounce ideas off of each other in real-time. Thankfully, Google Wave promises to have a variety of tools available to make collaborating as easy and natural as possible.

One of these tools is “Aunt Rosie” the translation robot. Aunt Rosie gives you the ability to communicate with someone who might even speak a different language than you. Whatever you type is translated into the language of your choice. Here’s how you can do it. Continue reading →