Technology Survivors October 17, 2008
Posted by mycto in Infrastructure, economy, search.Tags: Google, Great Depression 2.0, search
add a comment
Some, like Time Magazine’s Josh Quittner are using the phrase “Great Depression 2.0″ to describe the current financial mayhem. This is appropriate, if only for the way in which technology “versioning” has pervaded all of our lives–even our fear-laden financial ones.
Google seems to be doing OK despite all the frothing. The Sultans of Search smacked down 1.35 Billion dollars worth in the last quarter–that’s a 31 % jump since last we heard the numbers.
But I thought Armageddon was nigh and no one was going to do business anymore? Tell that to the Big G.
Google is so pervasive that it is hard to avoid them when you use that machine at your desk, or your home. They just keep making it easier and easier to use their tools. And in these testy time, users will choose free and easy.
Silver Cloud in the Future for Microsoft October 2, 2008
Posted by mycto in Browsers, Business Productivity, Infrastructure, operating systems.Tags: Google, Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, the cloud
add a comment
Did you hear the one about the guy from Microsoft, the guy from Google and the priest? Me neither.
What I did hear today was a lot about Microsoft getting into “the cloud”. What is this cloud and what magic does it perform you ask?
Cloud
The cloud is just a fancy phrase that describes the process where computers that are not at your desk do the majority of crunching / processing and you look at and edit this data on your pc through your browser.
If you look at your computer desktop you probably have a bunch of programs or applications that do things like word processing or spreadsheets or games. The future, will see the significant majority of all human interaction with data in “the cloud” be it on a desktop, a game console (think XBOX) or your phone.
Anyway, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s excitable CEO proclaimed today that Microsoft will be working on a version of an operating system (OS) that is geared for cloud computing. I believe I predict what this looks like already: strip out everything from the current version of Vista and just present users with an Internet Explorer button. CLICK. BLAM. INTERNET.
Microsoft
What Microsoft really needs is an easy to use online document editing and managing system and storage system. Wait–Google has one of those. Hmmmm. What would a company look like that was made out of these two entities?
One iPhone to Rule them All? September 19, 2008
Posted by mycto in Business Productivity.Tags: Android, Blackberry, Google, HTC, iPhone
2 comments
Even IF you live in a cave in the middle of the desert, you have probably still heard of the iPhone. This device is becoming ubiquitous and is certainly cool. They are sleek and shiny and work well.
There are some serious competitors that are bringing some devices to market that should create more competition in this space. For your viewing pleasure, dear readers, we present some screen shots of the HTC Dream and the Blackberry Thunder.
HTC Dream
The HTC Dream is intriguing because it runs on Google’s Android operating system. Who cares? Developers. Android is open and should encourage lots of innovative development with it. Expect to see many new applications for Android-based phones.
Here is a photo of the HTC Dream in all its glory (thanks, Gizmodo!):
Blackberry–well, RIM to be exact, does not want to be left out of the Great Touch Screen Wars of 2008. They are also experts at creating significant hype around devices. The Blackberry Thunder Storm marks RIM’s first entry into the touch screen space, and looks like it could be a significant challenger.
Here is a photo of the Thunder (thanks, Crackberry!):
Black Berry Thunder
Can You Hear Me? September 18, 2008
Posted by mycto in search, video.Tags: GAudi, Google, search, video
add a comment
Google just announced on its official blog that it will be bringing audio indexing to video. So what? This means that the audio content within a video will be searchable without the uploader having to add the transcript of the text. This will bring an immense amount of new searchable data.
For example, imagine that you wanted to search for video that contained the key phrase: I can see Alaska. The Google Audio Index will do this for you.
Hit the link for more info:
Google Docs–Best Free Software Around September 17, 2008
Posted by mycto in Business Productivity.Tags: Excel, Google, google docs, office, Power Point, Word
3 comments
I have been using Google Docs for the better part of a year now. Why? I can create documents (word, excel and powerpoint look-alikes) anywhere and google saves these for me for easy retrival from anywhere. Plus, it is free, and there is no need to update my computer with seemingly never ending software changes.
Using the word document interface is very easy. It is just like using Microsoft’s Word program–you just use your browser to do it. You can also easily share it with co-authors who have a Gmail account.
I am waiting for Microsoft to come out with their own model of this, but that would necessitate them cannabalizing their very profitable Office suite.
Try it out yourself at:
www.google.com/docs
Do I Need Chrome? September 12, 2008
Posted by mycto in Browsers, Uncategorized.Tags: browser, Chrome, Google, Microsoft
add a comment
Browser Wars
People have been asking me if they need Chrome, Google’s new browser.
Most people get locked into using one browser. It runs. It crashes. They start again. A few people might have two browsers on their computer (Internet Explorer and Firefox) and the odd person might be experimenting with Opera.
So, Google’s decision to get into the browser game is intriguing. Of course, they are better suited to tackle this challenge than anyone. They even toyed with marketing the link to download Chrome from their homepage last week and then yanked it down. Why build a browser?
The simple answer is this: if you can get your users to make your browser the default browser, you have a better chance to keep them directed to your products and services. Google understands that the overwhelming number of computer users still use Microsoft Outlook to read their email. If there is a link in the email for a site and they click on it–10 to 1 those users will be viewing the site in Internet Explorer. Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with its operating software years ago, and despite a ton of bad press and foot stomping all around, they crushed Netscape from becoming the dominant browser (remember them?). Google’s launching of Chrome is a preemptive strike in a new world where an increasing number of users rely on a browser to read email, do their banking, etc. The browser is the operating system and Google wants that space.
OK. Enough business conspiracy talk. Do you need to change to Chrome?
Do you need more than one good winter coat? Probably not, but sometimes you get tired of wearing the same color all the time. I am using Chrome right now to write this. It is fast, but not noticably faster than any of my other browsers. It imported all my bookmarks nicely for me. The navigation across the top is purely graphical, so they lost anyone who is older than 40.
Interested in trying it? Go here:
