November 19th, 2009

Chrome OS will give Microsoft a run for their money

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 7:13 pm

Categories: Chrome OS, Google

Tags: Google Inc., Operating System, Microsoft Corp., Computer, Google Chrome OS, Productivity, Operating Systems, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Open Source, Software

Ballmer just laughs off the operating system being developed by Google (and now the open source community), but you can’t deny that Google’s lined up to hit a home run.

The new operating system is designed for netbooks — those mini computers that you can buy for as low as $150. In a demonstration today, Google showed how fast the new operating system is — booting in somewhere between 5 and 6 seconds — and explained their vision to the world.

Google isn’t looking to replace all computers or operating systems — they are looking to make something that will work very well for most people. They are targeting those who want fast, hassle free, zero worry, web capable computing.

In a 3 minute YouTube video, Google explains how their operating system is different from traditional computers — and they do it very well. The concept explained in the video is easy enough for anyone to understand and “buy”, and that’s part of the reason why I think Microsoft should be worried.

Netbooks are typically “companion” devices — they are typically purchased to supplement existing computers. Google Chrome OS is all these computers should need.

It’s going to be a really long time before Microsoft can ever create a version of Windows that cold boots in 5 seconds, gives users 100% security, is free, and has the entire open source community behind them.

January 21st, 2009

Google helping tourists around New York City

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 11:26 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: New York City, Google Inc., Web Site Development, Web Technology, Internet, Garett Rogers

New York City, along with Google, launched a new website that is designed to help tourists and residents find their way around the city, and plan their days out. As a recent first-time visitor to the Big Apple, a site like this would have actually been quite useful.

Mayor Bloomberg says he hopes that “nycgo.com becomes the official online resource for tourists and residents looking for an activity or a place to go”. The site appears to have lots of information, and can definitely direct people in the right direction.

There seems to be a market for specific localized information sites like this one, and it makes sense for companies like Google to try and be a piece of them — what do you think?

January 20th, 2009

Google iPhone interface is history

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 6:46 am

Categories: Google, Google Mobile, Uncategorized

Tags: Google Inc., Mobile, iGoogle, Advertising & Promotion, Marketing, Garett Rogers

When it was launched, Google made a big deal about the iPhone interface for their iGoogle — it actually looked really good, and worked just as well.

Search Engine Land reports that Google started redirecting people to the old, and ugly, mobile iGoogle page on Thursday, which immediately sparked a lot of discussion in this thread. Google never made any official announcements about the change, but this is what was said on the support page:

Hey everyone, I have an update for you. We’ve decided to direct iPhone users to the standard mobile iGoogle page. We’ve found that people hit iGoogle from lots of different phones — we want to ensure you’ll all see the same version.

Most or all of your existing content should translate over to the standard mobile version. The only exception would be any gadgets that aren’t compatible with most mobile browsers.

We’ve got several articles in our Help Center about the mobile experience on iGoogle, which you can find in our Help Center (linked below).

It’s too bad that Google is beginning to think their convenience outweighs user experience.

January 14th, 2009

Google rips off the band-aid, bad news all around

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 7:51 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Garett Rogers

Google dropped a whole bunch of “bad news” on us today — it reminds me of when you have to make that hard decision to either rip out one hair out at a time, or go for the gusto when ripping off a band-aid.

Today, Google told us about a bunch of interesting things that are most likely in direct alignment with the economic situation:

1. Several service changes/closures
   No more video uploads at Google Video
   Google Notebook is no longer being maintained, and no more new accounts can be created
   Dodgeball is gone
   Google Catalog Search is gone
   Google Mashup Editor is gone
   Jaiku will be discontinued, but it’s interesting that “The Jaiku code will be made available to anyone”, according to Search Engine Land
2. The dismissal of at least 100 full-time staffing employees
3. Relocation of 70 employees in offices found in Texas, Norway, and Sweden
   Employees in these offices must relocate to another location, or they will lose their job. This is a very hard thing for most families to do, and will be a difficult decision for everyone involved.

I am wondering if these announcements are just the tip of the iceberg, or if this was an attempt to concentrate all the bad news into a single day to reduce the amount of negative press — I guess we’ll find out soon.

January 13th, 2009

Google launches Quick Search for Mac

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 5:20 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Apple Macintosh, Gender And Diversity, Desktops, E-mail Providers, Human Resources, Hardware, Internet, Garett Rogers

Google launched an experimental application that can basically be used in as a replacement for Spotlight. Is it better? Well, it does seem speedier to me, but it’s not a huge improvement in that sense — the improvement comes in the quality of search results. Spotlight results do show up in the Quick Search Box results if you want them too, also — that should make people a bit less nervous about trying to use this exclusively.

Currently, it doesn’t search your Gmail account, but don’t expect that feature to be too far down the road once they determine if people like the new application. According to the comments on the Google Code page, it doesn’t look like too many people are upset — most people have left comments similar to this:

YES quicksilver run by google! this happened in a dream once, except i was in ireland eating cake surrounded by scantly clad beautiful women

Once it’s installed on your Mac, the search box can be launched by hitting the command key twice.

January 11th, 2009

Googling will wreck the environment!

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 6:04 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Environment, Carbon Dioxide, Data Centers, Storage, Hardware, Data Management, Garett Rogers

According to the Times of London, a newspaper which has no problem chopping down trees to distribute spread garbage like this story, each Google query you make pumps 7g of CO2 into the air.

Techcrunch gives us some realistic comparisons, and a suggestion that will both save the environment, and make you healthy — eat less cheeseburgers. Saying that Google is pumping an unreasonable amount of CO2 into the air is simply rediculous — considering Google does everything it can to make themselves as energy efficient as possible. This includes covering their headquarters in solar panels, and building data centers that take advantage of hydroelectricity.

Are you concerned about the environmental impact of doing Google queries?

January 9th, 2009

Google has a new look, do you like it?

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 3:23 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Web Site Development, Construction, Web Browsers, Web Technology, Internet, Garett Rogers

Google has rolled out a brand new version of their favicon — that little icon you see in in the title bar of your browser when you visit a website. For many years, that icon remained static, and people took it for granted: .

Then one day, Google mixed it up and gave us a small ‘g’ on a gradient background: . This change was immediately noticable, and for me, it made me realize how often I look at the icon. It’s almost like breaking your small toe — you never realize how much you use it until it happens. The change wasn’t final, Google basically used the new design to get users to submit suggestions for a new one.

From all the submissions Google got, they really liked a few, and incorporated some of the ideas from them in their final design. Behold, the new Google favicon that you will be how you identify windows that belong to Google for the forseeable future: .

What do you think of the new design? Personally, I don’t have an issue with it — it’s sufficiently colorful, and easily recognizable. However, there were a few submissions that I think might be a little better, like this one: .

January 7th, 2009

Verizon makes a big mistake, picks Microsoft

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 8:13 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Mobile, Verizon Communications Inc., Mobile Search, Microsoft Corp., Advertising & Promotion, Search, Marketing, Garett Rogers

Google, Yahoo and Microsoft were competing for a mobile search deal that would give the winner some good exposure through the Verizon network. Unfortunately for Verizon, they didn’t choose Google — something that would have given users a level of comfort, and a better user experience out of the box.

“The ultimate goal in mobility is contextual awareness and the delivery of highly personalized experiences,” Jackson said. “These are competencies Google has in spades, so it may be that Verizon’s customers ultimately end up with an inferior experience relative to what Google might enable.” — John Jackson

On the other hand, this deal is one that Microsoft should be happy about — it’s going to give them much needed exposure on mobile devices. Mobile search hasn’t yet completely swung in anyone’s favor, and so this is where Microsoft should focus their attention — not web search.

Now if Microsoft would only launch a new version of Windows Mobile that can compete with iPhone and Android.

January 5th, 2009

Google launches Picasa for the Mac!

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 2:47 pm

Categories: Google, Picasa

Tags: Google Inc., Apple Macintosh, Google Picasa, Desktops, Hardware, Garett Rogers

Last week I blogged about a piece of information that was handed to me:

“… A Mac version of Picasa will be launched this year at Macworld …”

It turns out that Google did indeed launch Picasa at this year’s Macworld Expo, and it looks great. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but I will surely be installing it on my Macbook tonight.

today, we’re releasing Picasa for Mac. While we’ve previously offered both a standalone Picasa Web Albums uploader and an iPhoto plugin for Mac users, Picasa for Mac finally brings all of the advanced sharing and sync features of Picasa to the millions of Mac OS X users who use Picasa Web Albums. Not to mention the “it-slices-and-dices” feature list that covers everything from color balance to collages.

It’s about time Mac users had an alternative to iPhoto.

January 4th, 2009

Google testing Timeline view in main results

Posted by Garett Rogers @ 7:49 pm

Categories: Google

Tags: Google Inc., Cloud Computing, Search, Garett Rogers

One of Google’s “experiments” is apparently being tested out in the main Google search results — Timeline View. This unique view shows search results over time — making it great for searching for things that can be visualized over time.

This is the first time anything found in Google Experimental has made its way out into the wild, and of any, it’s probably the one that is most useful. The trick for Google is to be able to determine when a timeline view makes sense, and when it doesn’t.

Are you able to see this new view when you do searches like “Thomas Jefferson” or “Albert Einstein”? If so, what do you think of it?