Googling Google

September 7th, 2008

Looking forward to 2018, let’s hear your predictions

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 9:02 am

Categories: Google, Ideas

Tags: Google Inc., Advertisement, Phone, Apple Inc., Microsoft Internet Explorer, Web Browser, Browser Landscape Google, Web Browsers, Internet, Garett Rogers

Google is now officially 10 years old, an impressive notion considering their rapid dominance over any and all things that get in their way. Even Microsoft is shaking in their boots, 10 years ago people would have laughed that off as mpossible. The fact that Google has risen so fast should be enough to make Google themselves nervous about the future — let’s see what we can come up with as far as predictions go (I’ll post here, you post in the comments).

Browser Landscape
Google’s recent foray into the internet browser space will unsettle Internet Explorer and Firefox. Google will creep up to a modest 10% market share, but remain relatively steady there. The reason it will stay at 10% is because Firefox will incorporate some of the features Google has included in their browser, making “switching” unnecessary. Once that happens, they will continue to dominate. Internet explorer will start building Internet Explorer from the ground up sometime in 2010. Being too stubborn to adopt any of the features Google has proposed, their position in the market will continue to weaken.

In 2018, Internet Explorer will be non-existent, instead, it will have been renamed during one of their rebuilds. In any case, it will have 5 to 10% market share. Due to their forward thinking nature, unified base of users, and knack for getting lots of current and future users behind them during major releases, Firefox will be equivalent to today’s Internet Explorer with 70 to 80% market share. Google Chrome (or at least a browser that’s based on Chromium) will have a comparable share to Internet Explorer at 5 to 10%.

The Enterprise
Google will continue to try getting themselves into the enterprise, but it won’t be until 2015 that they begin to make an impact. As Microsoft continues to lose on the search front, and as they are losing market share in the browser wars, they will have no choice but to focus most of their efforts on the Enterprise — something they are already very strong in. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the continuing decline in search, browsers, and even operating system (to Apple), will cause their enterprise clients to get nervous and start looking for alternatives. In this case, they will look towards either Google or Apple for their enterprise needs.

Google’s stubborn attitude towards real customer service will come back to haunt them though. As Google begins pushing on the Enterprise front, the demand for real customer service will be off the charts. Google will find themselves competing with Apple over the enterprise, and Apple will win because of the level of support that they offer clients.

So, in 2018, seeds of doubt over Microsoft will have the enterprise looking for alternatives. Google’s customer service vs. Apple’s will be one of the deciding factors that cause users to move away from Microsoft towards Apple.

Mobile Computing
The lines between phones and computers will be completely blurred by 2018 — every device available will be a powerful computer which happens to have a phone feature. It’s already started happening — the iPhone is a great example of what we can expect. Phones, going forward, will have to be a computer or they will become extinct. Todays mobile phones will be the “bag phone” of 2018.

Google will be a major player in the mobile operating system space — Android will have a proven track record, and will be on almost every phone by 2018. Thanks to Google putting pressure on carriers, not only will we have a powerful computer in our pockets, we will also have the Internet anywhere for free, or extremely cheap.

Advertising
When people think advertising, they will automatically think Google. You might think that has already happened, but not really. Google hasn’t dominated every form of advertising yet, including local advertising, TV ads, radio ads, etc. This is an area that Google will continue to shine, and others will continue to have difficulty keeping up to. In many ways, Google’s advertising business may be a death trap for anyone who tries competing. Microsoft will be a classic example, and the first of many that fall into the trap.

Now it’s your turn — make your predictions in the comments!

September 4th, 2008

Google Chrome already beating Opera

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 7:10 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Opera Software, Web Browsers, Internet, Garett Rogers

Maybe Google really does have something here — in just two days, they have leapfrogged Opera in market share, and have their eyes set on bigger fish. I would have thought that Google’s foray into the browser market would have taken a bit more time to develop, but it seems that adoption has been extremely rapid. According to TechCrunch, most users are coming from Internet Explorer, not Firefox.

Microsoft must be worried, or at least they should be — imagine how embarrassing it would be if Google begins to dominate IE in short order, and Microsoft continues to lose search market share regardless how hard they try.

I would be interested in hearing your honest opinion on Chrome — personally, I have made the switch, and I am definitely not looking back. It’s everything I need, and nothing I don’t. It’s so important for newly launched services and applications leave a good taste in the mouths of early adopters — unfortunately, that is usually an extremely hard thing to accomplish.

September 3rd, 2008

Google launches Picasa 3.0 and more

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 7:21 am

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: Google Inc., Photograph, Google Picasa, Garett Rogers

Picasa is a tool that has become almost impossible to replace for many photography hobbyists, and basically anyone who takes pictures with a digital camera. The application, which used to cost lots of money before Google acquired it, has a huge community of passionate users that will be extremely happy they are finally getting a new version.

A beta version of 3.0 was released yesterday, and it has a host of new features, as you can read about on this page.

Auto-Sync to Picasa Web Albums
Keeping an album in sync between your windows client and Picasa Web Albums used to be a rather manual process — now you just have to flip the switch at the top of an album to keep everything the same. This will handle photos added, removed and modified all automatically.

Getting rid of zits
You used to need a tool like photoshop to get rid of blemishes — but now it’s built right into Picasa. Google says it can also be used to restore old photos with marks, water stains and scratches too.

Replacement for windows photo viewer
I was surprised when I went to preview a photo on my computer — instead of Windows Photo Viewer, I was shown much more appealing Picasa photo viewer.

Write on your pictures
I guess this is something that some people might find useful, though I’m pretty sure I’ll never use it. You can use text tools to write on pictures or create watermarks from right inside Picasa.

Along with the new version of Picasa, Picasa Web Albums got a pretty impressive feature too — facial recognition or “Name Tag”. Now you can tag people’s faces, and it will automatically go through your collection and tag the rest of the photos that contain that person too.

When you give Google permission to scan your photo collection for faces, it automatically begins processing. Once it’s finished, you are given a list of faces to identify — and thats all there is to it. Once you have done that, you can easily search and sort through photos by name. Watch this video to see it in action, or try it yourself at http://picasaweb.google.com

September 1st, 2008

Google confirms new browser initiative, probably not a good idea

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 4:11 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Web Browser, Web Browsers, Internet, Garett Rogers

Google has officially confirmed that it will be launching it’s new browser called “Chrome” that will take on Internet Explorer and Firefox. This is huge news, and for many people, it has been too long overdue. Rumors of the gBrowser have been floating around for years — maybe there is still hope for GDrive?

Before Google made it official, Philipp Lenssen wrote to tell us about a comic book he received that has very detailed information about a new product set to be launched tomorrow — Chrome. This product appears to be well thought out, addressing problems that exist in all other modern browsers. Among many things, Google has written its own javascript engine called V8, and has addressed security and browser stability by placing the contents of each tab in its own sandbox. According to Google, a webpage cannot crash the entire browser, only a tab. View the comic book on Google Books here.

[image from Google Blogoscoped]

Detailed information can be found in the comic book, but let’s discuss something different — why is Google making their own browser, and is it a smart move?

Why is Google Doing this?
Eric Schmidt said in 2006 that they had no plans to build their own browser, and the only reason they would is if there was real user benefit. Apparently, now Google feels that their new browser will really benefit users, and that current browser choices don’t do a good enough job. I would assume that Google wants to try making the internet more secure and useful — and feel they can do it quicker, and better themselves than the competition.

Is it a smart move?
Google is entering into a market that is well established, and is filled with users that are content. Simply launching a browser (that is beta, and probably has some bugs) will not instantly transform the browser ecosystem. In fact, I would guess that it will take Google several years to build any kind of market share with their browser, regardless of how good it may be right now.

If they aren’t careful, not only will they have a browser that resembles Microsoft Live in the search engine wars, but they will have also disrupted their relationship with the Mozilla Foundation — creators of the second most popular browser called Firefox. Why does that matter? The first screen you see when you install Firefox is Google, and the default search engine in the Firefox toolbar is also Google. These two things are important — and in a world where switching to a different search engine is extremely easy, being the default search engine in the second most popular browser is priceless.

On the other hand, if Chrome does step up to the plate and play with the big boys, Google will not have to rely on a good relationship with Mozilla, and they will have more control over their own future. They are going to have to make a great first impression, and move quickly if they want to be successful. This is a huge risk.

What do you think? Is “Chrome” a good idea? What would make you switch from your default browser to this new one?

August 30th, 2008

Microsoft spends $486 million to compete with Google

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 9:43 pm

Categories: Microsoft

Tags: Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., Games, Investment, Personal Technology, Finance, Garett Rogers

Today we’re seeing headlines about Microsoft’s latest huge investment that is going to “accelerate pursuit of Google“. They purchased a company called Ciao that is said to be used by 26.5 million people a month to compare and review products. It might be a case of regional usage, but I’ve never heard of it before, have you?

Anyway, if Microsoft thinks this purchase is going to help them gain any kind of meaningful ground on Google, I believe they are mistaken. If I was in control of the “Google pursuit” at Microsoft, I guarantee I could find better use of half a billion dollars.

That’s an interesting question — what would you do with the $1.2 billion per year that Ballmer has set aside to get Microsoft into the game?

August 29th, 2008

Google Earth to license new satellite imagery

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 9:18 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Imagery, Google Inc., Google Earth, Satellite, Network Technology, Networking, Garett Rogers

Google has agreed to license imagery for their mapping products from a satellite due to launch on September 4th. This new satellite can take detailed imagery for an area the size of New Mexico in one day. What does that mean? Well, you could get high resolution pan-sharpened imagery for the entire country in around 30 days. Impressive.

The level of detail will be approximately 50cm per pixel — that’s just under 20 inches. If you want to see what that looks like, take a look at this. Imagine having a Google Maps/Earth content that is this detailed, 100% complete and updated once a month — that’s powerful stuff.

“The GeoEye-1 satellite has the highest ground resolution color imagery available in the commercial marketplace and will produce high-quality imagery with a very accurate geolocation. It is our goal to display high-resolution imagery for as much of the world as possible, and GeoEye-1 will help further that goal.” — Kate Hurowitz (Google)

And for bragging rights, Google’s even got their logo on the side of the rocket as pictured above.

August 28th, 2008

First images of Google-powered HTC Dream

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 7:00 am

Categories: Google Phone

Tags: Google Inc., High Tech Computer Corp., Bluetooth, Digital Media, Digital Video, Cellular Phones, Digital Music, Wi-Fi, Wireless, Consumer Electronics

It was rumored that the HTC G1 (Dream) would be the first Google powered phone on the market, and if everything pans out, those rumors will end up being true with a launch date sooner than later. Android Guys have the first mock-up drawings of the Dream, and it’s clearly Google powered — the back of the phone says “with Google”.

[image from Android Guys]

The image shows a fairly basic looking phone that has a sliding screen that reveals a full qwerty keyboard. It’s also got some pretty decent specs:

• 528Mhz Qualcomm 7201 processor
• Data kit for USB connectivity in the box
• 64MB Internal RAM
• 128MB Internal ROM
• 1GB MicroSD card
• 5 Row QWERTY keypad
• Trackball
• Dedicated camera button
• 3.1MP camera (no flash) 2048 x 1536
• Video playback files - H.264, streaming, 3GPP, MPEG4, and Codec 3GP
• Dedicated YouTube Player
• Audio playback files - MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, MPEG4, WAV, MIDI, REAL AUDIO, OGG
• Wallpaper supports JPG, BMP, PNG, and GIF
• Speakerphone (mono, natch)
• Ringtones (MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA)
• HTTP, WAP Push, xHTML
• Bluetooth (class 1)
• Picture Caller ID
• SMS and MMS support (Take that Apple!)
• POP, IMAP, and SMTP, AOL, and GMAIL email
• AIM, MSN, YAHOO, and GTALK messaging
• Quad Band (850, 900, 1800, 1900)
• 3G
• 802.11b & 802.11g
• UMTS (1,4), HSDPA, SUPL
• 1150mAh battery
• Screen size is 3.17″ with HVGA (480 x 320)
• Handset 117 x 55 x 16mm
• 5.6 oz weight
• Sync capable with Google Calendar
• Downloadable content via Android Marketplace
• Google Streetview with built-in compass

We can probably subtract GTalk messaging from the list of features though — that has been officially scrapped for security reasons. There’s no word on when this API will be re-introduced, but certainly they will do their best to make it available to developers sooner than later.

Bluetooth functionality will be limited to things like headsets in the first version of the Android SDK. That means developers will not be able to create their own Bluetooth enabled applications any longer. The reason? Mostly because the API was incomplete, and would have shipped broken if it was included in version 1.0. Google has every intention of re-including this, but they are going to make sure they have it right before it’s added.

Still no official word on when the HTC G1 (Dream) will be launched — but it shouldn’t be long now. Will you get it?

August 26th, 2008

Google Suggest goes live, will people like it?

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 4:42 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Google Suggest, Security, Garett Rogers

Google Suggest is a feature that gives you automatic recommendations when you begin to search for something — it’s eluded the official Google homepage for several years, but today it has finally found it’s way there. The question now, as Philipp Lenssen puts it, is weather it will be useful or annoying in the long run.

I would suggest (no pun intended) that Google has probably done enough experimentation to determine that it will be a positive experience for everyone. I come to this conclusion because I know how protective they are of their homepage — even adding the privacy link at the bottom took forever, and even then the word “Google” was removed to compensate for the added word.

What do you think of Google Suggest on the main page?

August 23rd, 2008

Google finally ready to launch Jaiku on their platform

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 8:24 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Jaiku, Activity Stream, Text Messaging/SMS/MMS, Channel Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Telephony, Servers, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics

Jaiku is down, and according to jaikuinvites, it’s because they have finally moved their system to the Google App Engine platform. There’s no official word from Google about what’s happening, but their website describes it as “server maintenance”.

If you’re wondering what Jaiku is, you can basically think of it as Twitter, but owned and operated by Google. Here’s how they describe themselves:

Jaiku’s main goal is to bring people closer together by enabling them to share their activity streams. An activity stream is a log of everyday things as they happen: your status messages, recommendations, events you’re attending, photos you’ve taken - anything you post directly to Jaiku or add using Web feeds. We offer a way to connect with the people you care about by sharing your activities with them on the Web, IM, and SMS - as well as through a slew of cool third-party applications built by other developers using our API.

It didn’t take long after the acquisition for people to start wondering if Google had forgotten about this service. Twitter has been plagued with downtime, and it is surprising that Google hasn’t yet taken advantage of that situation.

We’re not too far away from seeing a new Jaiku though — or at least a Jaiku that’s hosted on Google App Engine. Even if the service hasn’t changed, it is certain to be very reliable and scalable now that Google is finally hosting it. For proof that it’s now hosted by Google, check out the traceroute.

August 21st, 2008

Google gains share again, should Microsoft give up?

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 6:12 pm

Categories: Google, Microsoft

Tags: Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., Operating Systems, Software, Garett Rogers

Google has been gaining market share consistently since they day they opened up shop, and it doesn’t appear it will be slowing down any time soon — in July they were up to 62%. Yahoo and Microsoft have been trying their hardest, spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year to try and change users’ minds. Unfortunately for them, their money has so far been wasted considering they are consistently losing ground to Google — a company that really doesn’t even have to try.

So, 5 years down the road, what happens once Google’s market share moves from 60 some to 90 some? Does any other current search engine have a chance? I can see the battle ground moving off US soil to another country where there may be an opportunity for success. I sometimes feel that Microsoft and Yahoo should probably cut their losses with search, and start thinking outside the box. Leave “Google Killers” to start-ups who at least have a new brand going for them.

I often ask myself why Microsoft is so intent on trying to compete with Google anyways. Shouldn’t they be focusing their efforts on things they have proven they can do well, like creating excellent operating systems that get the job done in homes and in the enterprise? If it’s the big advertising bucks spurring their efforts to try and take on Google, they are trying too hard. Why not figure out how to work relevant advertising (that users will welcome) into the operating system in a way that isn’t intrusive, or a privacy problem, then give the operating system away for free.

I make it sound too easy, but anything can be figured out. Where there is a problem, there is usually a solution, and I think Microsoft would be spending their money more wisely figuring that out than trying to topple Google. What do you think about the future of Google’s market share, and what it means for the companies trying to compete?