How do I save my Favourites or Bookmarks in Google Chrome?

I have been using the Google Chrome web browser for about 2 months, I like it and I want to use it but it’s not totally convincing. It is very fast and I do like the nice clear page view.

I’m a big fan of Google, they produced some great free utilities and application programmes Gmail (or Googlemail as its known here in the UK) this online email programme is refreshingly different and good. I find Google Notebook very useful when I’m looking at galleries or other artists online presence, Google Analytics provides me with detailed information on visitors, Google Maps has blown Multi Map, the AA and RAC route finders away, and that’s even before we look at the free Word Processing and Spreadsheet programmes the equivalent Microsoft versions would cost you £79.99 and that’s a special offer this week. And of course I’m using Blogger to publish this blog. 

I have found Firefox getting slower and slower with each upgrade, and it has crashed more and more. I could list more good reasons, but you can see why I want to like Chrome and to an extent it does it for me, but there are some issues that Google needs to sort out.

1. The main reason that I used Firefox was because of the very good facility to backup and save my favourite links and furthermore organising these favourites is a breeze in Firefox. This is very important to me I use the internet a lot and therefore I’m always bookmarking sites and I will often want to organise the position of that bookmark on my browser. After finding no link or command in the Chrome programme I have searched and searched forums and websites trying to get the answer of a round about way to achieve this task, I’m sure that one day Google will provide it. 

2. As I do online banking I like to download a copy of my statement. In Firefox its no problem the data is downloaded to my PC as a spreadsheet that can be opened in Excel. At the moment Chrome just presents me with the data unformatted on a blank webpage, it doesn’t download the data in any format. I’m still using Firefox to achieve this. Although this would be the bank not yet optimizing their websites to browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, I’m sure one day they will.

3. When I use Googles very own Blogger to publish a post in “You Will Never Look at Them in the Same Way Again” I have found Chrome is considerably easier to type in the text, and I don’t appear to have any formatting issues Have a look at my previous posts on this issue here and here.  You would say that should be a given: same company produces both products so compatibility shouldn’t be an issue. Should it? When I upload a picture this is displayed as thumbnail size and cannot be resized in Chrome. So first I type in my text using Chrome then close down the browser, wait 5 minutes while Firefox opens then re log into Blogger to upload any pictures. I’m not so sure this one will ever be sorted.

From the Chicago Tribune website a picture that caught my eye.

American Football is one sport that I can’t get enthusiastic about and of the North American sports only baseball can I watch and take an interest in, so while I looked for the latest baseball news from the Chicago White Sox I came across this great picture taken at the game between The Bears and the Green Bay Packers.

A trip to London planned to collect one of my pieces that is exhibited in the capital

The preparation work for the exhibition at Solihull Arts Complex is going well with the glass company and the printers able to deliver on time. I was worried because the Christmas break throws all routine out of the window companies close for the holidays so effectively this will cover this weekend through to 5th January, I have also known situations when individual workers will take addition holiday around this time, so consider if say Martin the operator at the printers who is responsible for the machine that produces my work goes skiing in January this would be a huge problem. I have 8 new art pieces to produce and Martin is central to my plans, he has worked with me over a period of time and is now able to interpret my digital photos and produces that image on the glass. Its taken time, trial and error and a great deal of sharing our respective expertise in print and photography to get our finished results, so imagine my relief when I was told that Martin had had a winter break last week.

I decided to use a large copy of one of the images as the focal point of the exhibition it is a one off never to be repeated edition of this image much larger than my usual prints,  I already have this printed but it is currently exhibited at “Art for Offices” in London,. normally I courier packages down to London, its very cost effective and saves me driving into the centre of the capital but this time I have decided to kill two birds with one stone by visiting Arts for Offices to meet the people down there for the first time and collect the piece, this will also ensure I can get it to the show without breaking it in transit, remember this is a unique piece that for various reasons can not be replaced.

After making this decision I worked out the logistics involved, I used to regularly drive through London from the M1 to the A23 when I used to live in Brighton, this was in the 70s and 80s when the M25 wasn’t even on the planners drawing board I knew the best times to travel to get that window of clearish road and also a little illegal short cut that would get me out of the heavy traffic in the West End rejoining the road signs for Hatfield and the North way past the Lords cricket ground, this could reduce my journey time by an hour.

 

My "London A to Z Street Map" purchased about 1984 still serves me well when I travel down to London on the train, from the stations I  just need to walk a few blocks down the road and of course I can use my reading glasses but driving from the M40 through to Tower Bridge, I don’t think so! I will trust to Tom Tom. 

No pictures to go with this post so I thought you might look at a photo I worked on last night this was after a few pints of Guinness at the Four Oaks Saints Christmas party so I got very creative.

Which way do you think is best this way or

This way?

Getting ready for my exhibition at the Solihull Arts Complex at the Touchwood Centre. Solihull

“You Will Never Look at Them in the Same Way Again” the Exhibition!!!

Venue:  Solihull Arts Complex

Address: Library Square

Touchwood

Homer Road

Solihull

West Midlands

Date: From Monday 19th January to Saturday 7th March 2009

Private View Thursday 22nd January 6pm to 7:30

Stand by for some unashamedly over the top self promoting of my upcoming show at the Solihull Arts Complex. As it’s a one man show there is loads of pressure:

How long will my glass suppliers be closed over the Christmas holidays?

What will happen if the pictures don’t come back from the printers in time?

What if no one comes to the Private View?

What happens if there’s a 10 foot snow fall on the afternoon of the Private View

There you are a typical Capricorn and it is also that time of the year. 

So far so good I had an amazing time with Jackie Mackay and Steph Adams two fellow members of the Solihull Artist Forum, we got together at the café Sainsburys Supermarket in Shirley Solihull and we put the World to right, had a great laugh and also found time to select the images that are going into the exhibition. Me I just throw them on the wall, nope these girls are serious, hardcore curators “will the streak of Alizarin Crimson blend with the Transparent Red Ochre on the picture on the other side of the room” I kid you not.  So now the pictures are chosen and the glass manufacture has begun ready for the printing process in the New Year.

We sat drinking coffee for about 2 hours and in that time loads of other customers looked at the portfolio so hopefully they will make their way down to the town centre and see the show. In fact the response was so good I might approach Sainsburys about taking on a franchise and aim to sell my work via these coffee drinking “sit ins” well with the credit crunch you have to explore all marketing avenues. 

Rowans Gallery in Brackley Northamptonshire

If your down in the Northampton, Oxford area you might like to pop into Rowans Gallery which is in the town centre of Brackley at the back of the Town Hall and by the side of the Red Lion pub, I’m not too sure of the landmarks there and at the moment I’m relying on the location pictures in Google maps. Its not far from Junction 11 of the M40 motorway, each time I have been down there I find I take a different route back to the motorway possibly because all the country roads look the same no problem it’s a pleasant area to drive around even at this time of the year.

It makes for a nice cosy court yard atmosphere to view artwork by artists coming from a variety of medias and arts disciplines. There’s a selection of my work on view which I change and update on a regular basis. 

of course it rained on the opening night

I popped along for the opening night a few weeks ago and had an enjoyable evening talking to other artists, I had taken my work there a few days earlier and at that stage it wasn’t far off still a building site, so it was great to see it all coming together on the big day. 

"Natures Play on Water" is in postion

Rowans Gallery

Market House Courtyard 

Brackley 

Northants 

NN13 7AB