Category: Google

Google’s Latest

~ rbonini

Without resorting to the Doubleclick acquisition that has been  analysed  ad nauseam around the  blogoshere these past few days, there are two things to point out that Google has also done.

The first comes to me via Andy Beal (which comes to me via Scoble).

Google Acquires Video Conferencing Company

There’s just no stopping Google. Seriously, if you’ve bought into the idea that Google is not a threat to your business, it’s time to re-evaluate that position.

Why so? Google has just announced their acquisition of Marratech, a video conferencing and collaboration company, which will now see them compete with the likes of WebEx.

Forgive me, but, how many services does Google have now? Just kidding, but you get my point. Google is diversifying beyond its core business of search. Why is Google doing this? Same reason why Microsoft is poring Billions in to its Home Entertainment Division – Defense In Depth. In addition to that the more diverse the company is the better able it is to survive, kind of like the  Greek Myth of the Hydra .

At the same time, its also returning to its core business of search though this acquisition. Confused? Read this:

Here’s how it works…

  • Works on Mac, Windows and Linux.
  • Runs on existing PC’s and Laptops – no additional capital expenditure.
  • Have a private ‘one-to-one’ conversation with any participant
  • Share any application and hand control to another user.
  • All participants can record and playback the entire net meeting including voice, video and whiteboard.
  • It’s easy to include office group meetings or video conferences in a Marratech video net e-meeting.
  • Call remote people into the video net meeting even if they are away from a computer.
  • It does all this over highspeed broadband internet without the need to use a telephone.
  • End-to-end encryption ensures security for your entire net meeting including voice, video and documents .
  • You can present or ‘broadcast’ to an unlimited audience.
  • Marratech’s licensed Manager works on Mac, Linux, Windows and Solaris servers.
  • Marratech Manager offers quick installation, upgrades and administration features for fast and easy configuration.

Let me just repeat that: All participants can record and playback the entire net meeting including voice, video and whiteboard.

Ahh, its clearer now. Google will have a killer algorithm for searching said recordings. Perhaps Google will provide contextual ads to help the meeting along.  So if you are, say, a construction company looking for a new timber supplier, the appropriate ads show up on the side of the screen.

I must admit, Google is good.

The other bit comes to me via Rex Hammrock ( also via Scoble).

He takes a look at Google Web History (formerly codenamed “Search History” 🙂 ).

The newly renamed service goes beyond chronicling merely what I’ve “searched” for via Google, but now maintains a history of every site I visit — complete with a time-stamp of when I visited. And, perhaps the most significant feature of all — if it truly exists — is speculated by Gary Price: that Google is caching a version of the page you visited, so that when you search across your history, you can find the site as it was when you visited. Yes, that is truly amazing, if it works, and is a feature that could make one overlook all of the creepiness of being shown the reality of everything Google knows about you when you use one service for searching, mapping, comparing products, sending email, and then, embed a tool of theirs in your web browser.

This now takes what we say and do on the web to a new level. What ever we write, will still be there in 100 years time – erasing it is not possible. Now what we do is in the same category.

Now you could argue that there are legitimate applications for this – i.e. policing employee behavior, in investigative police work and so on. But on the whole, its worrying. I can can also see parents demanding that this be turned on for their kids.

I would find it helpful to hear from some of the folks associated with AttentionTrust.org, as this type of data — and the belief that we, as users, “own” this data — is their focus. While I can see how to activate, pause, edit or delete the data stored in my “Web History,” I haven’t seen yet if I can “export” the information. If a user can export such data, it becomes more than a “feature,” it becomes the basis of an economy where I can exchange such data about myself for something of tangible value beyond the transaction I have engaged in with Google by exchanging my attention for the value I derive from the efficiency and productivity they provide me through such a service. If I can export that attention data, not only will Google be rewarded for knowing exactly what type of car I am shopping for at the moment, I will also be able to benefit from it in the marketplace.

Something about all of this makes me think of a song by Police.

Every move you make
Every breath you take
Every bond you break
Every step you take
Ill be watching you

If you’re interested, SearchEngineLand.com has a nice writeup of Web History

Anil Dash  (also via Scoble) has this to say:

From a technical standpoint, Google Web History is one of those tools that’s so well-executed it seems simple, or even obvious, the first time you see it. There’s a basic timeline of your search history, with the ability to drill into specific search result histories for Google properties like web search, image search, news, Froogle (now renamed Google Product Search, though the UI for Web History shows the old name), Video, and Maps. There’s even, astoundingly, a history of which AdSense Ads you’ve clicked on.

So Google, not content with merely searching the web, now enables us to search our own online lives.

All ideas in this post Copyright (C) 2007 Roberto Bonini All Rights Reserved

The Mobile Web (and Google)

~ rbonini

I don’t use the Mobile web much. In fact, I only use it to check my Google Mail and Reader and started that this weekend. Why only Google Reader and Mail? Because Google offers straight text for its mobile websites. Text is cheaper and faster to download over WAP than pictures.

The mobile websites for both Google services are fantastic, save a few things. Reader doesn’t allow you to share an item (which meant I had to star items I wanted to share and share them later), and its really irritating. The ability to add a post to your Google Notebook is also missing (this arguably should be one of the first things included on both the main and mobile sites). I add posts to my notebook all the time. The Google Reader log in page is the “normal” version and you need to scroll right to get to the log in box.

I did take a look at my own blog from my mobile and came away disappointed. It didn’t look very good. The header scaled down to fit the screen, but the background was all messed up.

For the rest of the websites I visited: GET A MOBILE WEBSITE NOW!

Normal websites viewed on a mobile browser become lists of links that are in the header and the “other interesting articles” sections which not only take time to download, but a heck of a lot of time to scroll down to the content you want to read. Again, irritating.

Now bear in mind, I’m not into doing scientific samples to determine wether this is a widespread problem or not and I’m going from my (limited) weekend browsing.

It wouldn’t take a lot to change. Most sites have CSS styles for printing articles that happen to be mostly text and no pictures and perfect for mobiles. Nokia and the rest probably have some culpability in this. They need to ensure that their browsers work properly and can handle “normal” websites better.

As far as I’m concerned, mobile websites for my websites have been added to the ToDo list for the summer.

Should I try Google Calender on my mobile now?

Google/Microsoft Wars

~ rbonini

If you havn’t spotted it yet, there’s a new feature to the Google Personalized Home Page. It’s with a twist. The themes change depending on the time of day. Its a great addition to Google Personalized Home. The P.H is yet another Google inititive to become the start page of the internet. Themes just make it better.

I think the Microsoft/Google wars are limited to the internet.

The Wars arn’t really about the internet. The Wars are more about who influences the user more. If Microsoft got its collective act together and pored the same zest and energy it’s used up fighting Google into its proven, core product lines of Windows and Windows Servers, there is no doubt that we’d have a kick-ass OS that has people queueing up to buy. Microsoft need to desperately concentrate on the bread-and-butter of its business. I’m not suggesting that Microsoft will suddenly disappear in a Kansas Tornado. Niether will Google. But surely its better to get the job done right the first time.

On the other hand, I’m not suggesting that Microsoft give up, far from it. I’m suggesting that greater priority be given to the Windows OS. Micrsoft has many winning products out there – look at the 360 for one. 

Look at Google as an example. Google have always leveraged thier core product : Search. All their features have search at their core. Why? Google are the class of the world when it comes to search. Why waste that? Google are not diversifng into OS’s or games- they are completely focused on their core product: Search. What do we, the consumers, get? A kick-ass search engine.

While Microsoft’s  Web effort is valiant, laudable and brave, catching up with Google seems a bit too far fetched even for viewers of  the Sci-Fi channel. In short: Its a fine line between fighting a battle and, fighting a losing battle.

Hilary Clinton, Apple and 1984

~ rbonini ~ 1 Comment

How are they all linked (via The browser)?:

Its a classic. Couldn’t resist posting it.

They comment:

On the Web, the rules are much murkier. The standards set last yearfor Internet campaigning and advertising are largely untested. And they’re also largely irrelevant: the Hillary 1984 video has already been viewed some 400,000 times on YouTube, without anyone being able to say definitively who posted it. Even if we one day learn the person’s identity, whatever damage (or help!) the video might be able to achieve will have been done. With that kind of viral power, you can be assured we’ll be seeing a lot more “anonymous” videos like this one.

This kind of power really warps the political dynamic in a way that hasn’t really been tested before. The ability for videos like this to go viral and keep their makers anonymous gives the political operative another weapon to add to his arsenal.  With technology being used extensively in the run up to the 2008 elections, its going to be very interesting to gauge its impact on the voters.

Windows Server Install, Part 4 -Update

~ rbonini ~ 2 Comments

The server should be here before the 20th (i.e. next tuesday). I’m hoping it’ll be here sooner.

I was gettng a few funny looks this morning as I attempted to explain to non-geeks precicely why this was worth the expense. They never got it. I’m so excited by this that I would be buying Microsoft shares if I could. As I said the other day, I think that the whole idea is revolutionary and could will bode well for Microsoft.

Though, as an aside, I think that Microsoft are trying as many product lines as possible to se where they can find firm ground and graction for the business model and only then stick to it. Just look at the Live debacle that has Microsoft renaming services to MSN and/or canceling them. Once Microsoft find the proverbial silver bullet, they are all set for global domination (or a purchase of Google, whichever comes first 🙂 ).

So, I’m thinking that Windows Home Server is that silver bullet. More properly, its the silver bullet to shoot Google with.

As yet another aside, I wonder if the fact that your WHS will be accesible through a live.com domain will allow Google to index it? Probably not. But it would give geeks a few hoots if it did 🙂 .

So considering the full usefullness of WHS is best left to next week when I’m actually using the thing, but one thing strikes me: I wonder how many people will actually have the opportunity to use the Restore Cd? 🙂

Google Reader – Again

~ rbonini

After 3 weeks of using Google Reader, I can honestly say that I’m not looking back.

The App is just so damn inteligent. The other day I read a shared Doc Searls post via Robert Scoble’s link blog. Not only was the post in the Link blog marked as read. But the same post in my seperate Doc Searls feed was marked read as well. Amazing. Its these small, hardly noticable, under publicised but highly valuble features that earn an app a loyal userbase. 

We’ll put up with a little less readability in order to share items with other people, in order to see the information on multiple computers and platforms, and the ability to mash up the content with content from other services ala BlogLines, NewsGator, or Google Reader or other RSS aggregators.

–Scoble

There is seriously very little to evern begin complaining about GoogleReader.

Perhaps integrated blogging with your own blog (they don’t even do Blogger!) in the form of a “Blog This” button.  Google should seriously think about this. If they want to become the worlds [Personalised] Homepage, they can do alot more.

The only sour note, if you can call it that, are people who use partial text feeds ( forgive the mixed tenses – I’m worked up about this 🙂 ). It drives me insane. Perhaps I should just unsubscribe?

The good thing about the whole Google experiance is that the page updates as if its a thick client application running localy – emails and all. I’d love to see the framework that makes it possible.

GoogleReader

~ rbonini

I’ve head alot about Google Reader, mainly from a certain Rboert Scoble. And boy is it good. I’ve still not gotten round to using the actual Reader exrensively. And the reason is that I use the Googel Reader Widget for the Google Personalised homepage.

Its brialliant. The widget allows you to read all of your blogs right there on the page without ever being send tot he originating URL. Almost briliantly enought  to get me to learn how to use PHP ( or what ever they use) .

In the few times I’ve actually gone to the Reader page, I’ve never once failed to be impressed and say ” I wonder if theres away to do that in ASP.Net”.

If the “Network is the Computer”as Sun CEO Schwartz says, then google have a monopoly.

Like.com

~ rbonini

Thanks to Scoble, I’m clued into the latest, geekest development onthe web. google introduced the much refineed version of searching that is synonomous wiht, well, search. Google’s oversight was that it searched text  (ie. filenames, titles, etc). Even the image search.

Like.com, however, searches the image itself for other similar items. For an alpha release its increbibly sophisticated, allowing you to fine tune the search according to color, shape and pattern You can choose the color you want. You can also toggle how important each charecteristic of the item is for your search.

This will do wonders for my bank balance. And the simple reason is: it works. While tags do go a certain way to describing an item, article ir webpage, the visual aspect is far more powerful. They say a picture is worth a thousand words – this proves it.

The facinating part of all this is that back end. Exactly what software its running on i’m not sure. but the hardware is impressive enough. 250 servers with 4 processors each and 20 gigs of RAM.  While the number of categories you can search may seem rather samll compared to the hardware arrayed for the task, using like.com and seeing its sophistication makes you see why.  

I’d love to see the code for this ;). Something tells me thats not gonna happen.

The idea is simple, buy mudersly complex in exectution. I’m not into image manipulation this far in my course, but getting the computer to think is a big enough job.

I hope the set of seaches expands in the near future. They are tweaking and testing and trying to wring every extra processor cycle out of the program. I know the drill.

 I just hope that a web service comes out of this. I already have an idea. Combine like.com with google maps ( or Windows Live Local) to show the nearest store you can buy the item from. That would be cool.

Anyway Scoble has a few titbits:

Some stories about Like.com.

1) The URL cost him $100,000. In the interview he explains how they bought it. It involved finding the guy who owned it, jumping a fence, and leaving a bottle of wine with a note on it (he wouldn’t answer his email).
2) Riya was pretty close to being sold to Google. If it had been, they never would have worked on this search engine. So, by getting turned down by Google Riya came back with a much better business.
3) Just the jewelry set takes 20GB of RAM.
4) Munjal still believes in blogs, but for this launch Riya talked with fashion bloggers, and journalists outside the tech world like at People magazine. Why? Well, this site — in its current incarnation — will be most interesting to women and non-geeks. If you’ve looked at who participates here, it’s heavily male.
5) Why not keep working on face detection? Because they learned through user testing that they’d never be able to make it good enough. They found that by focusing on visual image searches they can get a much more satisfied user base.

More  here and here.

YouTube or GoogleTube?

~ rbonini

Saw this yesterday on CNN. Again Google is expanding, trying to justify such a high shareprice. And I like the idea. Google, worlds most powerful seach engine and No.1 adsite buys YouTube worlds mostwatched video site. google needs ads, Youtube needs funding etc – an alliance of convinience unified by a common goal and purpose. Both of which are to do with Web 2.0. Scoble has a good write up here. He has an interesting analisis why Youtube is more popular than Blinkxs ( and I too had to triple check my spelliong of the name):

Also, the home page is WAY overbearing. Too many moving things. And one design principle I learned in college: pick ONE thing and make that twice as big as anything else on the page. YouTube wins here. Why? Because your eye needs something to enter the page with. If everything is the same size, as it is on Blinkx, your eye feels uncomfortable. Doesn’t know where to look.

He also make this interesting point. Coming from him as a student and connisour of new age media ( blogs, podcast vblogs and the like), its interesting:

Blinkx has lots of big-name videocontent. Movies. TV shows. Etc. YouTube has lots of “small-name” videocontent. Kittens. Goofy videos. We’re all looking for different kinds of content. Stuff to impress our friends with that they probably won’t have seen. Here’s a hint: your friends and family have probably already seen the latest Lost. But they haven’t seen the latest cute kitten video. Microsoft makes this mistake too (remember IE 4 with ActiveDesktop? What was there? Big name media companies. No small guys. I wonder if Microsoft will learn that it’s the small guys that make an experience different and interesting?)

Never thought about that. Again this is how the market regulats itself. Both ends of the market need satisfying. Youtube gets it nearly right with its mix of videos from the crowd. Those that dont get the mix right end up in the cold.

 Microsoft is too big to end up right out there becuase its product range is so broad so s to ward off blows easily but the effect will show on individual products (examples, anyone?). Microsoft also has the money to throw at the problem. Youtube didn’t have that then yet did a great job. my compsrison is unfair due to different business models and operating enviroments (you too, scobe), but its valid nonetheless. 

With google behind Youtube, I’m looking foawrd to hearing of new features ( purely to shake my head in amazement at thier

 

Found Blogs

~ rbonini

Thought I'd do a quick post before rebooting to Vista and tring out Media Centre that comes bundled with the Ultimate and Home Premium Editions And giving you a few more sacreen shots.

Now I'm not into the .Net Framework v3.0 yet (formally called Windows Presentation Foundation for some absurd reason), but I do intend playing around with it some once it ships (its in beta at the moment). So I found this blog(via Scoble) on v3.0 that just started. I gather its supposed to try ease the heartburn of learning an entirely new framework :). I'm still getting to grips with v2.0 and wonder why anyone would want to go without it in C++ :). Its by Micheal Lehman who works three doors down from Scoble.

I also found this blog on Google (also via Scoble). Richard makes an interesting point:

This reminds me of Microsoft's early days. Its products were mere "toys", people argued, it did not understand the enterprise, applications were very different than its core operating system business. Never forget what Microsoft taught the computer industry; it is much easier to move a product up in functionality than down.

Microsoft is now the company with overly complex products. Market research indicates that most people use only 20% of the functionality of Microsoft software. Microsoft has never offered simpler versions because it killed off all the competition (until now) and just didn't realize or didn't care that there was a need. Google is a master at simplicity. It can move up into the enterprise later.

Never thought about this. No wonder Microsoft has, to borrow an English expression, its knickers in a twist over "Google Office".

Been working with ASP.Net 2.0 and the Commerce Starter Kit . I'm building (alright, I'm subtly tweaking the kit) an e-commerce site for Herbalife products. Its going ,err, well as I discover the wonders of using Micosoft Visual Web Designer. It also made me realise how smart a move Microsoft made with the Express Editions: it makes people want to buy the Standard/Proffesional editions for extra features. It also made it easy for people to decide wheather this software met their needs or not. I'm going to grab a Standard Edition of Visual Studio 2005 come hell or high water.

About to re-boot to Vista and I'll post from the otherside.