Posts Tagged ‘Google’
Google Wave gets user manual!!! November 9th, 2009
It’s no secret that Google Wave is hard to understand, and goes over our heads. It is supposed to free us from our preconceived notions of communicating and collaborating with people online, but these may be difficult to shake off since we’re all used to email and instant messenger. It’s supposed to give us the freedom we need to use it as a tool in different ways, but let’s be honest, sometimes we want someone to teach us how to float first instead of just pushing us into the deep end of the pool. After all, as the guide notes, Google Wave is “notoriously difficult to understand“. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Google, Wave
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What is Considered a Good Application???
November 6th, 2009
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. — Antoine
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. — Antoine
What is a good application? or lets put it this way what defines a good application? It’s not just one thing, of course, there is no magic formula for making a good application.
What makes me love an application or what i think is a good application: the buttons and features should be in the right place. This is one of the reasons why i love applications by Google. Nearly all their applications make sense.
Example: I was working on a Word as well as an Excel document today and I was thinking that wouldn’t it be great to be able to access this document from anywhere. In other words, I wanted to upload it somewhere. The first thing that strikes anyone is to Gmail it to myself so I have a copy in my mailbox, but then I though: I’m sure Google is smarter than that, and they already have a better solution. And they already do, at the top of the page, next to Gmail and Calendar, there is Documents. Which does exactly what I expected it to do. This, for me, is what defines a good application. It’s made by people who already thought of what you want, and implemented it in the most logical and reasonable way. All I have to do is think “where would I put the button if I was a programmer/user of this feature?” and I will find it instantly.
Cheers 
Tags: Google, Softwares
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An Apple or A Google Fan??? October 30th, 2009
I came across this article today which speaks quite highly of Apple, and I thought I’d drop some thoughts on this topic as well. These days i’m trying my hand on programming for the iPhone, learning to use MacOS, Xcode and even the iPhone have been interesting experiences. I’m an Apple newbie(though being using Ipod for years now), but perhaps it’s that what gives me a unique viewpoint of the whole situation. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Android, Apple, Google
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Mozilla Unveils Raindrop Messaging!!! October 27th, 2009
Just as Google Wave represents an attempt to imagine what e-mail would look like if it were invented today, Mozilla’s Raindrop represents an attempt to imagine a more modern communication client.
The Raindrop project was introduced the other day at the Mozilla Labs website by the Mozilla Messaging team which also develops the email client Thunderbird. Built around the idea that “email isn’t fun anymore,” Raindrop aims to be the only software program a user needs to manage all messaging needs. It does so by allowing the user to add different data sources like Gmail or Yahoo Mail accounts, Twitter, social networking messages or RSS Feeds to the application. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: FOSS, Google, Mozilla, Raindrop, Wave
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Yahoo and Microsoft Partnership!!! July 29th, 2009
The Microsoft and Yahoo deal looks really promising to me because the deal maximizes the strengths of each of the two players. Microsoft is essentially going to be providing technology in the form of the Bing search engine and the Ad Center advertising engine. While Yahoo will provide the traffic. Its an 10 year agreement in which Microsoft will license Yahoo’s core search technologies, and Microsoft’s Bing will become the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo sites. Under the agreement, Yahoo! would focus on its core business of providing consumers with great experiences with the world’s favorite online destinations and Web products. The companies expect the closing to occur in early 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo
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Android Live CD!!! July 19th, 2009
If you have been interested in checking out what Google Android is all about without downloading the SDK or buying a G-1, here is a great solution.
Google Code has a project named live-android which provides you with a Live CD of
Google Android. Just grab the ISO, burn it on a CD or try it on a virtual machine like Virtual Box. The project is still in it’s infancy and there are a few stability issues here and there.
Check it out : Android Live CD.
Tags: Android, Google, Linux
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Google Chrome OS!!! July 9th, 2009
So Google’s going to release its own operating system. The company announced on Tuesday night, a move that threatens the very heart of Microsoft, long seen as Google’s biggest rival. Chrome OS, targeted at netbooks and those who spend most of their time on the Web.
Chrome OS is intended to be a very lightweight, quick-starting operating system whose central focus is supporting Google’s Chrome browser. Applications will run mostly inside the browser, making the web — not the desktop — into the computer’s default operating system. So in words the operating system would be good for people who live on the Internet. It would use software as services for users.
The OS is gonne be a Linux-based OS, whch would be the second for Google, following on Android, which is another open-source OS that intended for small devices such as mobile phones. Chrome OS will first be on netbooks — the popular lightweight and inexpensive notebook computers — in the second half of 2010, the company said in a blog post. Desktops will come later.
Google has already laid the ground work for a web OS by revolutionizing webmail with Gmail’s speed, features and capacity (now over 7GB). It followed that with free online word processing and spreadsheet software. Add in its online photo sharing services, and the myriad other online applications from Facebook to customized radio station Pandora, and most common uses of a computer can be done through a browser.
I agree that the concept of using the Internet to access applications is a great idea in developed countries, but in developing countries such as India and even continents like Africa it’s going to face more challenges as these places have have issues with regard to bandwidth and connectivity which would definitely limit the number of users opting to use Chrome OS.
If nothing else, Google has shaken up the operating system business quite a bit, with nothing more than an announcement of a future product. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next year or so, as they try to turn that announcement into a real tangible product.
Tags: Gooelg OS, Google, Linux
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