Google Ambushes Social Web Market
Many people did not think that Facebook would remain in the spotlight for so long. Like Myspace, it was expected that a new social networking site would have come along by now to knock the big FB out of the limelight. Maybe Twitter was supposed to be the next big hitter but the blue whale of death is around too much for Twitter to be considered a threat. Well Google is attempting to be the next Facebook with their new ‘Google Me’ social media site.
Yesterday, June 29th, a former Facebook executive confirmed rumors about the existence of a Google social media site modeled after Facebook. On Quora, a site compiled of questions and answers on any topic imaginable, Adam D’Angelo said,
“[Google Me] is not a rumor. This is a real project. There are a large number of people working on it. I am completely confident about this.”
Google is a very ambitious “little engine that could.” They didn’t fear Microsoft when launching Google Chrome browser and operating system. They weren’t afriad of Apple and the iPhone 3Gs when developing Android. Along with the number one search engine, email service, etc. Google’s list of achievements could go on and on. A fairly recent project, Buzz, was meant to compete with Twitter by allowing any Gmail users to update his or her status and provided an option to follow friends. So it is not surprising that Google will be gunning for Facebook next. In the same post on Quora, D’Angelo also says,
“[Google] realized that Buzz wasn’t enough and that they need to build out a full, first-class social network. They are modeling it off Facebook. Unlike previous attempts (before Buzz at least), this is a high-priority project within Google.”
High priority project probably means highly secretive. Right now is definitely a good time for Google to come out with a Facebook competitor because of all the criticism Facebook has faced recently. You can bet Google’s social website will take into consideration and avoid all the fundamental mistakes of Facebook.
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New Chrome Gets Integrated Flash
I absolutely hate it when I’m looking around the Internet for something specific but when I finally find it I have to update my flash player to see it. I think we can all agree that is one of the more annoying aspects of Adobe’s Flash. Chrome browser has attempted to resolve that issue. The new update to Chrome 5.0 has flash player integrated into the browser itself. That means any updates that need to be made to your flash player are done when you update your browser.
Google mentioned a possibility of an integrated flash player over a year ago, but after fifteen months of not seeing any follow through we all forgot about it. Google announced the browser update on the Chrome blog last Thursday, June 24. The update will also solve numerous security issues seen in the last Chrome browser 5.0.
When Google’s Chrome browser passed up Safari last week, there didn’t seem to be reason behind the shift. I suspected that a new update might have helped push the browser into third place, but didn’t know any specifics so I couldn’t be too sure. The availability of an integrated flash player may confirm my theory with this new update. I will admit, the thought of not updating my flash player every time I try to watch a video or see a block of text on a website. Chrome 6.0 is still in the development stage.
It seems that Google released the stable version of this browser update only a day after releasing it in Beta version (according to their blog). Maybe Google was convinced the new version of Chrome was perfect or maybe they felt they needed to hurry it to stable status for users. Either way, it is available now and will make your Internet browsing less annoying (hopefully).
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Name One of the Greatest Tech Developments in Rece...
Yesterday I asked around the office what each Keystone employee thought was the best technology gadget to change its market in recent years. I got a few off the wall answers and a few I-don’t-know’s. One of our experts on the web development side, Jeremy Scott, suggested the iPhone. I almost rolled my eyes at this response because it seemed like such an obvious and overused answer. But then he expanded on his answer and said, “Everything before the iPhone was basically a phone with email capabilities and some crappy web browsing. Everything after the iPhone is about apps and mobile computing and app stores and so on. It completely changed the marketplace.”
He was right. Until the development of the iPhone and the app store in 2008, smartphones really weren’t that smart and app developers didn’t have any good way to get their product into the hands of consumers. Smartphones in general changed the cell phone market forever, but the iPhone had a particular impact because of its combination of music, phone, and Internet access. Smartphones before the iPhone had extra memory space, a decent camera, video capabilities, Bluetooth, limited WiFi access, and probably Windows Mobile 6 as the OS. Let’s flashback to some examples… the Motorola Q, the HTC Advantage, (one of the better ones) the Blackberry Curve, etc. Unlike these other smartphones, the iPhone was released with a touch screen, its own operating system, and its own application store.
Apple created a closed market of applications available to all iPhone users when it created the app store. The closed market provided advantages for both Apple and the app developers. Apple got all the credit and the creativity recognition. The app developers got to avoid the cheap carriers they had to settle with before and were able to reach a huge audience directly. Even in 2008 Wired Magazine recognized the potential in the app store when it said:
“Apple’s App Store changed [everything]. It made creating and distributing mobile applications for cell phone users easy — jumpstarting the mobile-app development market and creating clones such as the Android Market. It even forced Research in Motion to offer a BlackBerry Application Storefront. For thousands of programmers, the cell phone is the new PC.”
The iPhone changed phones like the iPod changed music. The iPod and iTunes made the music industry sweat because it allowed listeners to buy individual songs as opposed to an entire album. Music artists started relying more on ticket sales at concerts than record sales for income. So how will the app store affect smartphones? Well we have seen a major growth in applications since the app store gained popularity (there is even an app for skee-ball now!). Others continue to mimic the app store (like Android) but none will ever be as large as Apple’s original.
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USB Power Everywhere
When I heard about a coworker’s USB powered desk rocket launcher (yes, it’s real) I realized just how powerful USB’s can be. USB’s provide more possibilities than you might ever believe, like a USB powered flashlight. A basic USB 2.0 will supply about 500 milli-amperes of current for configured devices and there have been developments since the USB 2.0. Basically, that means USB can power external devices and its capabilities are growing with every new USB development. With such aggressive development, I won’t be surprised when USB’s start powering other, more common devices to provide a renewable source of energy.
USB’s are usually known for their storage capabilities. Now there is a USB that promises infinite storage, called Infinitec’s IUM drive. The “infinite” memory is provided not by having tons and tons of GB space, but by providing a connection between your computer and whatever other device you wish to upload files. Creating a virtual link between the two devices, the IUM uses your WiFi signal to deliver files. The IUM will be available August 1st this year and while it seems like a brilliant idea, I wonder if it will be able to withstand the real world. Being miles away from the “home” device that you wish to download files from, will the IUM be able to deliver?
Outside of digital storage, USB’s have started to give way to some crazy devices. And because USB’s have wireless capabilities now, the George Forman UBS iGrill sounds somewhat practical (if not totally cool!). Maybe one day our world will be running on UBS power in every aspect.
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Chrome in Third Over Safari in U.S. and Worldwide
Like I said in my article on Browsers, we have one Google Chrome advocate here in the office that will defend his browser of choice no matter what. Well today has been a good day for the guy. Chrome is now in third place for browser choice in the United States.
Chrome has been growing nonstop since it was released back in September of 2008. So much so that somewhere between June 21st and the 27th Chrome passed up Safari browser for third place in the United States. Chrome has managed to gain 9.31% of the United States market share in browsers putting it ahead of Safari’s 9.16%. Internet Explorer still sits comfortably in first with nearly 51% market share in the U.S. and Firefox in second with 29%. Worldwide, NetMarketshare reports that Chrome is in third over Safari by a solid three percentage points (7% to 4%).
Dell may want to jump on Chrome’s bandwagon after this news. Google’s browser strives to be fast, secure, and simple. And like any other Google project, Chrome has tons of add-ons and extensions to make your browser personalized to only you. Some of the most popular include Google Translate, RSS feed in the toolbar, and a URL shortener. An update to Chrome 5.0 became available for Macs, Linux, and Windows just a few days ago, June 24th, 2010. The update may give some reason to why the browser surpassed the third place contender so suddenly. Chrome shows no signs of slowing in growth.
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